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Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada ... see more see more... , Yoshiko Miyazaki , Hisashi Igawa , Masayuki Yui , Kazuo Kato , Takeshi Katô , Kenji Kodama , Norio Matsui , Takeshi Nomura , Daisuke Oka , Jun Tazaki , Hitoshi Ueki , Toshiya Ito

Ran is Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's reinterpretation of William Shakespeare's King Lear. The Lear counterpart is an elderly 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai), who announces that he's about... read more read more... to divide his kingdom equally among his three sons. In his dotage, he falls prey to the false flattery of his treacherous sons (Akira Terao and Jinpachi Nezu), while banishing his youngest son (Daisuke Ryu), the only member of the family who loves him enough to tell him the unvarnished truth. Thanks to his foolish pride, his domain collapses under its own weight as the sons battle each other over total control. Kurosawa's first film in five years, Ran had been in the planning stages for twice that long; Kurosawa had storyboarded the project with a series of vivid color paintings that have since been published in book form in England. The battle scenes are staged with such brutal vigor that it's hard to imagine that the director was 75 years old at the time. This 160-minute historical epic won several international awards, but it was not a hit in Japan, and it would be five more years before Kurosawa would be able to finance another picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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R, 2 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Release Date: June 1, 1985

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DVD Release Date: November 22, 2005

Stats: 2,286 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,286)

  • axadntpron
    February 19, 2012
    axadntpron
    "Men prefer sorrow over joy, suffering over peace."
    Simply put: When an aging father gives various portions of his empire to his sons, let's just say things don't go exactly as planned. Kurosawa's brilliant epic is a powerful look at the insatiable lust for power that lurks in th... read moree hearts of men. How congeniality can turn to savagery at the slightest hint of gain.
    Also, and what I think is his most effective message of the film: We as a people lie, cheat, steal, and in some instances murder, yet expect the world to be fair to us in return.
    Like all Kurosawa films, he loves using nature to reflect what is happening in the story. As the family bonds being to fray, he often cuts to ominous clouds descending upon the castle. When the father realizes that he is no longer welcome in his kingdom, we get a close up of the sun and the sweat beading on his brow. These are just classic Kurosawa staples that are done beautifully here. While I was expecting this focus on nature, I was not however prepared for how graphic the film would be.
    There are extended gory battle sequences that frankly were very shocking to me. I have nothing against violence, I just haven't seen Kurosawa tackle it with such intensity. Although it is arresting, it is very fitting to the film as Kurosawa shows that these aren't men engaged in acts of valor, this is wanton violence brought on by greed. The music that plays over it isn't triumphant, it is of something lost. At the tender age of 75, you would think he wouldn't want to dabble in such brutality. But I guess 75 is as good as age as any to show some good old-fashion double suicides.
    While there is a lot to chew on, I think that if Kurosawa wants you to walk away with one message, it is to never give up power, especially to your rotten kids.
  • garyX
    February 1, 2011
    garyX
    After a lifetime of conquest, ageing Lord Hidetora hands the reigns of power to his eldest son, but banishes his youngest when he questions the loyalty of his two brothers. When Hidetora is betrayed as Saburo predicted, he is left to wander the desolate lands his armies had ravag... read moreed in earlier times. Ran was the last of Kurosawa's great epics for which he was forced to seek financial backing outside of Japan where he was considered too old-fashioned. It is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear and was clearly a very personal project for him. Unlike Lear, Hidetora is shown as a man repenting his past crimes, and on his wandering is constantly reminded of the life of conquest and butchery he had led up until this point. In fact everyone involved whose interests are in power and material wealth inevitably meet a sticky end and only his victims are shown to achieve any kind of peace. It is impossible not to compare Ran with his earlier works, and because he was virtually blind by the time this film was made, it misses his keen eye for composition and photography; despite the epic scale and colourful costumery, I personally preferred his black and white photography of his classics. The sets and costumes are as epic as the themes and it avoids the sentiment of a lot of Kurosawa's work, but I found Tatsuya Nakadai's performance a little too ripe for my tastes, and is as theatrical as his rather severe make-up. On the other hand the most formidable personality is to be found in the shape of Lady Kaede played by Mieko Harada who, unlike the coquettish Lady Asaji Washizu of Throne Of Blood, is a strong willed and wily adversary whose role turns the entire chain of events on its head. My criticisms are only born of the incredibly high standard of the rest of Kurosawa's work, and by any other it is a majestic period drama full of lush imagery and dark themes that leaves a lasting impression.
  • animegirlaya
    January 18, 2011
    animegirlaya
    Project 1 (Epic Films)

    Directed by Akira Kurosawa and staring Tatsuya Nakadai, Mieko Harada, Jinpachi Nezu and Daisuke Ryû.


    The centre forge of such Isolation and Power is the main part of this epic. Do I love Akira films??? Yes I do and I have watched them over and over,... read more this movie about the struggle of power and of course Kurosawa is very crone to Shakespeare that's how he made this movie all on his work but a more of our Japanese style to it. I remember when I first watched this and that was like years ago I didn't really like the film back then but today, this is one of my favourite epics ever.

    I read somewhere that Akira Kurosawa painted everything before he under took the movie and he get the idea from Lucio Fulci from his masterpiece The Beyond. The way Fucli painted the powerful images of hell and then took them to the screen with the films ending climax with the two Americans in an atheist vision of hell. As well as the croned haunted hell house. I just admire Kurosawa's visions of this epic with the burning of the 3rd castle that was just amazing.

    A story of greed, a lust for power, and ultimate revenge. The Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji has decided to step aside to make room for the younger blood of his three sons, Taro, Jiro, and Saburo, the Lord's only wish now being to live out his years as an honored guest in the castle of each of his sons in turn. While the older two sons flatter their father, the youngest son attempts to warn him of the folly of expecting the three sons to remain united; enraged at the younger son's attempt to point out the danger, the father banishes him. True to the younger son's warning, however, the oldest Son soon conspires with the second son to strip The Great Lord of everything, even his title.

    I admire the films themes of

    Warfare: Saburo's assassination by a sniper also shows how individual heroes can be easily disposed of on a modern battlefield. Kurosawa also illustrates this new warfare with his camera. Instead of focusing on the warring armies, he frequently sets the focal plane beyond the action, so that in the film they appear as abstract entities.

    Chaos: The ultimate example of chaos is the absence of gods. When Hidetora sees Lady Sue, a devout Buddhist and the most religious character in the film, he tells her, Buddha is gone from this miserable world. Sue, despite her belief in love and forgiveness, eventually has her head cut off. When Kyoami claims that the gods either do not exist or are the cause of human suffering, Tango responds, the gods can't save us from ourselves.

    And of course there are powerful themes of Power, Greed and Nihilism.

    Even though it may not appear so it is based on the struggle of King Lear, well not entirely directed towards or near it I see the similarities or the two stories and how it was based on it. I read the book once upon a time and it was just beautiful to know were he got inspiration besides overusing Shakespeare. (Not in a bad way at all).

    The acting style is very strange and controversial. It's rather more body language and the way people reflect on there situation. It's mainly influenced by Noh theatre, it also more body language as I have sated and the distraction of silences that goes into that scene. Not just focusing on the scenery and what is happening to this struggle. Noh aspects of these two characters emphasize their ruthless, passionate, and single minded natures.

    I really liked the way with the camera instead of the simple one camera stands there and...Take done. No he uses more of the old technique and advances more on Long shots to catch the beauty of that scene and what is in view of it, such as the people and the building as well as catching there responses to that action. As well as the arrow hitting the man and the peoples reaction to the perpetrator doing so.

    I really liked the costume designs they took more then two years to make all of them by hand and for every lead and every extra and done so with such creative talent it's not just the leads that get the best it's all of them. I really liked the aspect of course with all the detail put into it, It's not today you see these sort of things anymore. So overall it was worthy of its Oscar for best costume design and I can think of a million other categories it should have won.

    The sets are just breathing again Akira spent years painting everything to his likening and everything had to be right down to every detail. The burning of the 3rd castle was just incredible no miniatures no computer generated imagery...No. Everything was burned to the ground in the order that it should and every actor or extra needed to know what they were doing. And its not just sets its scenery I remember the scene with the filed of gold they just went for miles and she was walking throw it like nothing because she was no greedy man.

    I think by the end every man, women, child needs to view this epic masterpiece.

    Keiko's score 100%
  • webalina
    January 10, 2011
    webalina
    This film is more proof that Akira Kurosawa deserves every accolade and his reputation as one of history's greatest filmmakers. Everything about this film is brilliant -- performances, costume design, cinematography, score. Tatsuya Nadakai completely steals the film as Lord Hidet... read moreora, not just in the role as Warlord and patriarch of the House of Ichimonji, but also in his portrayal of the sadness and pain of old age.

    The first hour or so is exposition, so is a bit slow, although not in a bad way. But at that point the film kicks into high gear and never backs down. The battle scenes from here on out are among the best I've ever seen just in terms of their impact. And the final scenes of the film between Lord Hidetora and his son are heartbreaking.

    Like my favorite Kurosawa, Throne of Blood, this is based on a Shakespeare play, this time King Lear. Kurosawa had such a way of taking these plays and making them his own, it makes me wish he had just started at the top of The Bard's playlist and worked his way down. What would he have done with Hamlet? Romeo and Juliet? Othello? The mind reels.
  • mjgildea
    April 1, 2010
    mjgildea
    While Ran is indeed a well-done and solid picture, and for as much shit as I expect to catch for this, I believe its also seriously overrated. Possibly because of its Shakespearean roots which I also find myself rarely giving a damn about, but Ran was done decades after Akira Kur... read moreosawa's most fruitful period and for as good as this was, it's more or less an afterthought for me. Admittedly, the cinematography was astounding (considering every other Kurosawa film I've seen has been in beautiful black and white--which oddly enough, I was almost wishing Ran was shot in) and as gorgeously unruly as the battles scenes were (the shot of the old man sitting there catatonic as the place is falling down around him was haunting) I did catch myself checking my watch more and more frequently during the last hour. I liked Ran, but I didn't love it. Hated the jester, but I loved that final shot though.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 25, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    what a fantastic movie. this film is great, very similar in a lot of ways to kagemusha but much better. tatsuya nakadai does an absolutely wonderful job and each scene was shot beautifully. i cant believe that in akira kurosawa we had one man that could make so many incredible... read more films. this is one of the best films i have ever seen and i can name 5 of his i liked better. there are plenty of characters in this film to root for and plenty of villians as well, great war film from fuedal japan.
  • flixsterman
    December 13, 2009
    flixsterman
    This may well be the best epic film ever made. It's certainly amongst the best I have ever seen.
  • bottcorecords1
    May 6, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    Ran is the epic tale of Japanese Lord, who in his advancing years has decided to hand the rule of his kingdom over to his sons. He makes his oldest son the absolute ruler all of his domain, and his middle son a ruler of his 2nd castle. But before he can get to his youngest son,... read more the son speaks up and calls his father a fool, claiming the father's plan will destroy the kingdom. The father is outraged by his son's insolence and disowns him. Meanwhile, the two older sons are weak-willed cowards who are easily manipulated by a shrewish wife. She's power hungry and convinces the oldest son to betray his father. When the father realizes that all the youngest son predicted has come to pass, he's overcome with remorse, and in fact is driven mad. Although the story is loosely based on Shakespeare's "King Lear", it seems more suited to the japanese tradition of honor and respecting your parents, especially. It is revealed throughout the course of the movie that the Lord isn't a particularily sympathetic character, that his rise to power was built upon a great deal of bloodshed. I've read that this is Kurosawa's great anti-war piece, that the war is never glorified, but the chopped off arms and the arrows in the eye sockets do at times seem gratuitous. Still, the end result of building your kingdom on the blood of others is that you will live to see it crumble. From a filmmakers standpoint, Ran contains some of the best scenery ever put on film. Armies with different colored flags, mounted on horseback, sit atop great, misty green hills. Certain scenes seem almost like paintings. It's a visually beautiful film that blends eastern and western myth into a great piece of cinema.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    April 22, 2009
    cancercapricorn2002
    There is no doubt whatsoever that Akira Kurosawa was one of the greatest film directors who ever lived. Directing a myriad of great movies over a career spanning 50 years, Kurosawa was known by many as Japan's greatest director, and the term 'legendary' was used frequently to des... read morecribe his vision and cinematic genius. Although some of his movies weren't quite as good as his best work, Kurosawa's greatest films continue to amaze, astound, engross and enthral us today.

    Ran is just one of the movies from his celebrated and acclaimed filmography, and as well as being a contender for his magnum opus it's undeniably and unquestionably one of the greatest movies ever made. Kurosawa effortlessly and successfully adapts Shakespeare's King Lear, and combined with the director's vision we get is a brilliant, flat-out masterpiece, and a film that adds even more repute to Kurosawa's already respected name.

    Retaining much of King Lear's story and themes, Ran is a faithful and successful adaptation of said play, considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest works. Like most (if not all) of Kurosawa's films, the film is set in Japan ? medieval Japan, to be precise ? and the whole concept of Feudalism and warlords etc is substituted in brilliantly. Despite being set on an English play written 500 years prior, Kurosawa's own personal touch and style are added to it exceptionally.

    The whole story starts when Great Lord Hidetora, the head of the Ichimonji family, decides to step down as ruler of his kingdom. He divides his empire up into three, each one diminishing in significance and power in accordance with the age of his three sons (in lieu of three daughters as in Shakespeare's play): Taro, Jiro and Saburo. Sanjuro, being the youngest of the three, warns his father that the other two will develop a lust for power, and will destroy the Ichimonji family in their quest for the title. Enraged and furious at this claim, Hidetora banishes Sanjuro and disowns him as a son.

    Taro, being the oldest son, becomes the head of the Ichimonji family and claims all power and responsibilities, whilst his father still retains the title and privileges of Great Lord. But just as Sanjuro predicted, Taro's fealty to his father is nothing but a façade, and he plots to get rid of Hidetora by any means necessary, and hence become the real head of the family. Meanwhile, Jiro becomes the lord of the second Ichimonji castle, and will do anything to get his older brother out of the way ? even if it means civil war. Kurosawa's brilliant epic tracks the majestic rise and fall of the once mighty Ichimonji clan, and perfectly illustrates power, greed and revenge as the darkest and most contemptible aspects of human nature.

    Ran is a movie as close to utter perfection as you can get, and whilst it does have flaws (like every other movie), these are so, so minor compared to the greatness of the movie ? you're inclined to just ignore them. The fact is, the positives outweigh the negatives one million to none, and the audience can only be awestruck and astounded at the sheer masterpiece that is Ran.

    There are way too many good things about Ran, I simply can't write them all down in a review, let alone in an orderly fashion. Among other things, there's the wonderful screenplay (which, like I said previously, is excellently adapted), the visual-sumptuousness of the film and, of course, Kurosawa's grand and fine direction. Ran's excellence can only be fully realised when one watches the film right the way through; only then can you truly understand why it's considered to be such a great film. It's what an epic should be: sweeping and glorious but at the same time grim and bleak in its view of the world. Even though it's strictly for fans of drama, Ran is a must-see for any film aficionado. Trust me, you definitely will not regret seeing it.
  • RCCLBC
    December 1, 2008
    RCCLBC
    Visually stunning, but about one hour too long.

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Critic Reviews

Mark Feeney
March 18, 2010
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe

What could be more exciting than the prospect of one of the giants of world cinema, his career resuscitated, adapting Shakespeare's most modern play? Full Review

Kenneth Turan
March 5, 2010
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

What's remarkable about Ran is that the drama enhances the spectacle the same way the spectacle bolsters the drama. Few other directors had Kurosawa's ability to convey the intimate as well as the epi... Full Review

Richard Schickel
July 9, 2008
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

It is a film that already belongs to the ages. Full Review

Amy Taubin
July 1, 2008
Amy Taubin, Village Voice

For aficionados of the war movie, the western, and the period action epic, Ran is necessary viewing. Full Review

Variety Staff
July 1, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

At age 75, the director has made his most costly epic to date, and it's a dazzlingly successful addition to his distinguished career. Full Review

Dave Kehr
July 1, 2008
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Akira Kurosawa's 1985 film is slightly marred by some too obvious straining toward masterpiece status, yet it's a stunning achievement in epic cinema. Full Review

Glenn Abel
June 16, 2003
Glenn Abel, Hollywood Reporter

Kurosawa dares to edit Shakespeare's story lines, adding back stories and deleting major characters, but the motivations and emotions remain true.

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

A film of the sort of grandeur that brings to mind Griffith's Birth of a Nation, Napoleon Vu par Abel Gance and Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible.

Bob Graham
January 1, 2000
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle

List any element -- from concept through cinematography, battle action, editing, acting, sound, music, costumes or whatever, right down to makeup -- and Kurosawa's commitment is total. Full Review

John Hartl
January 1, 2000
John Hartl, Film.com

It has become a cliche to call Kurosawa the world's greatest living filmmaker.

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