Ran (1985)

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Ran (1985)
Topic Started: Oct 25 2009, 09:12 PM (109 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Oct 25 2009, 09:12 PM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	In Feudal Japan, a powerful but aging warlord decides to break his kingdom into three parts and award 1/3 to each of his three sons. The youngest son argues that such a move is madness; the family will be torn apart and chaos ("ran") will result. The father banishes him for his impertinence, but all the son has predicted comes true with a vengeance, and the father is soon cast into the wilderness with one loyal advisor and the court Fool, the only one who makes any sense. Another masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa, in fact, one of his greatest films, and ten years in the making - he couldn't get financing, and finally a backer in France helped him produce the film. Obviously based on King Lear, with various Japanese legends and stories woven in. Although the father and his three sons are the focus of the story, you'll be more interested in the so-called "supporting" characters, who really propel the story and drive the plot. Notably, Mieko Harada as Lady Kaede, who pushes the second son into destroying the kingdom - she is one of the screen's great and most memorable villainesses. Tatsuya Nakadai is Lord Hidetora, and his descent into madness - he is little more than a ghost with flesh - is remarkable. The battle scenes are amongst the best I've ever seen captured on film, and I've seen a LOT of battle scenes. The Criterion DVD looks great and has the usual extensive bonus materials. Very, very highly recommended.



JazzGuyy	Oct 26 2009, 08:43 AM Post #2
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,162 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	Strongly second the recommendation. One my favorite Kurosawa films. It is also based on Shakespeare's "King Lear" and is Kurosawa's second reworking of Shakespeare. The first was "Throne of Blood" which is a Japanese retelling of "Macbeth" (also a must-see). Also among the important supporting characters to watch is the character of the court jester/fool. Edited by JazzGuyy, Oct 26 2009, 08:43 AM.



Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Oct 26 2009, 08:49 AM Post #3
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,166 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	Of all the directors I've watched the past 2 and a half years, Kurosawa is my favorite.
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


panzer the great & terrible	Oct 26 2009, 09:47 AM Post #4
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	He's also the bleakest of all movie directors. Ran came right before his suicide attempt as I recall, but I can't find my Kurosawa book today.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


JazzGuyy	Oct 26 2009, 10:30 AM Post #5
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,162 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	If I remember correctly "Ran" was not very popular with the Japaneses critics and maybe audience. That might have had something to do with Kurosawa being depressed.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 26 2009, 12:04 PM Post #6
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	It may have been a factor, but I think the real problem was his exceptionally dark view of life and human nature -- pretty natural, I'd say, for a sensitive Japanese who lived through the insane buildup to WWII and its catastrophic results. Check out No Regrets for Our Youth to see what I'm talking about. The Japanese believing they could win that war was as batty as the South's idea they could win the Civil War, and Kurosawa was aware of it. They had technology, but they didn't have enough people.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


JazzGuyy	Oct 26 2009, 12:55 PM Post #7
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,162 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	I think both the Japanese and Germans grossly underestimated how productive the U.S. could be when it came to turning out war materiel. The U.S. had the advantage over both countries of also being fairly self-sufficient in all but a handful of raw materials and of course isolated from both countries by thousands of miles of ocean. Since both the Japanese and Germans had passed on developing and building true long-range bombers and the Germans had no aircraft carriers and the Japanese no Atlantic fleet and a Pacific fleet that never got anywhere near the West Coast, there was also little they could do to curb that American productivity.



Laughing Gravy	Oct 26 2009, 01:46 PM Post #8
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	By this stage in his career, Kurosawa was considered "old fashioned" in his native land and had a great deal of trouble getting financing for his pictures, which did not do big box office. He was, if memory serves, 75 years old when he directed Ran, and doubtless the story of the main character hit him on many levels. I think over the last 20 years of his career, he directed only 4 or 5 films. (He did garner a deserved Oscar nomination for Ran).



Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Oct 27 2009, 03:23 AM Post #9
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,166 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	Laughing Gravy Oct 26 2009, 01:46 PM By this stage in his career, Kurosawa was considered "old fashioned" in his native land and had a great deal of trouble getting financing for his pictures, which did not do big box office. He was, if memory serves, 75 years old when he directed Ran, and doubtless the story of the main character hit him on many levels. I think over the last 20 years of his career, he directed only 4 or 5 films. (He did garner a deserved Oscar nomination for Ran). Clifford's post made me think of 2 films I saw at the Belcourt during the "Kurosawa In Color" weekends about a year ago. The films are Kagemusha and Dreams, and I looked them up on IMDb, cause I knew they were around the Ran period (Ran also was played during the color retrospective). Kagemusha is a 1980 film and Dreams is a 1990 one. Both films are bookends for Ran. I regard both films as 2 of my favorites. Kagemusha for the excellent story-- A man who is to be executed has an uncanny resemblance to the king, so his life is spared, in case a stand-in is needed if something were to happen to the king. Of course a stand-in is needed, and during war time too. I consider this story my favorite other than The Hidden Fortress. Dreams has short storuies that are based on, well, dreams the director claims to have had in his life. From the opening of the little boy searching for the end of a rainbow, to the close ups of Van Gogh's paintings (not to mention Martin Scorsese as van Gogh). I think the director's use of colors is rivaled only by The Adventures Of Robin Hood, in films which I've seen on the big screen. So to summarize: The movie going public in the 80s were, how should I put this? Watchin' too many Terminator films?
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


panzer the great & terrible	Oct 27 2009, 07:13 AM Post #10
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Something like that. The fad for foreign films in the U.S. had passed too (I never understood why, but in the seventies college kids kept telling me they hated films with subtitles). If Ran hadn't done well in Europe, it would have been a real financial disaster.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Laughing Gravy	Oct 27 2009, 07:37 AM Post #11
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	My son, Kid Gravy, has his first-ever girlfriend, Honey Gravy, and she came over for the very first time to watch a movie, and out of the thousands (I dunno, maybe 5000?) DVDs in the house, these two teenagers selected Pan's Labyrinth to watch, and loved it. Of all the films they could've seen, they opted for one with subtitles, and it was no big deal whatsoever to them. Don't you just LOVE these kids today???



Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Oct 27 2009, 08:28 AM Post #12
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,166 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	I think the foreign fad is back. Pan's Labynith was a popular film. Asian horror films are all the rage with many youngsters nowadays, not to mention that Hollywood remakes 'em about as fast as the far east makes 'em.
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


panzer the great & terrible	Oct 30 2009, 08:55 AM Post #13
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	My grandkids like 'em too -- I dunno what happened in the Seventies. Well, to be honest, I don't REMEMBER much about the Seventies.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


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