Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
Ran review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 03/16/2012
It is the story of Lord Hidetora and his 3 sons Taro, Jiro, and Saburo. Taro has driven his father from the first castle. Hidetora visits his other son Jiro and likewise becomes disappointed. Taro orders his father to be banished. Screenplay was thought provoking with quotes from Hidetora – “We live in a dark world.” “Is this justice?” and from other characters - “They can't save us from ourselves.” “Men prefer sorrow over joy, suffering over peace. The score was haunting which was fitting for the mood of Hidetora’s situation. Themes of blasphemy, power, betrayal, sibling rivalry, virtues and vengeance were put in effect. Cinematography and locations of the shoot were splendid. The only qualms this reviewer had were the pacing and a bit of plot confusion. Ran …
Rating of
3/4
"Ran" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/25/2012
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 ravaged 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 …
