Ran (1985)

[Winston T. Boogie]

Title: Ran (1985)

Tagline: In a mad world, only the mad are sane.

Genre: Action, Drama, History

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Mansai Nomura, Hisashi Igawa, Shinnosuke Ikehata, Masayuki Yui, Kazuo Katô, Norio Matsui, Toshiya Ito, Heihachiro Suzuki, Kenji Kodama, Haruko Tôgô, Reiko Nanjo, Tokie Kanda, Sawako Kochi, Kumeko Otowa, Takeshi Katō, Jun Tazaki, Hitoshi Ueki, Takao Zushi, Yoshitaka Zushi, Tetsuo Yamashita, Akihiko Sugizaki, Masaaki Sasaki, Satoru Fukasaku, Susumu Terajima

Release: 1985-06-01

Runtime: 160

Plot: With Ran, legendary director Akira Kurosawa reimagines Shakespeare's King Lear as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. Majestic in scope, the film is Kurosawa's late-life masterpiece, a profound examination of the folly of war and the crumbling of one family under the weight of betrayal, greed, and the insatiable thirst for power.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, this is my second Kurosawa for the month of December. The first having been Dersu Uzala, which I had never seen before. While Quentin Tarantino often speaks about older directors losing their mojo and not retiring soon enough, Kurosawa was 75 when he made this and apparently nearly blind. This picture is one hell of a film for a guy that was 75 and could not see very well. If you want a lesson on how to use color or shoot a castle siege, look no further than this film. A beautiful and violent epic to be cherished by all those who love motion pictures.

I have the Studio Canal Blu-ray of this and I thought Criterion had put out an edition of this but I guess not. There does appear to be a 4K of the film available in Europe.

Here is the Siskel and Ebert review:

 

[jayembee]

I have the Studio Canal Blu-ray of this and I thought Criterion had put out an edition of this but I guess not. There does appear to be a 4K of the film available in Europe.

Criterion released it on DVD in 2005. They announced it later for Blu-ray when they started releasing titles in that format, but then lost their licensing deal with StudioCanal, so the US Blu-ray ended up getting released by Lionsgate. Lionsgate released it on UHD about a year ago.

UHD Review - A Few Words About - A few words about...™ Ran -- in 4k UHD

There are numerous films that simply because of their cinematographic importance, and that of their directors, that should ascend to 4k, even though the image may not call for it. Akira Kurosawa's 1985 Ran is one of them. The Lionsgate release, based upon the latest Studio Canal restored...

www.hometheaterforum.com

 

[bujaki]

Tarantino is full of shit. Kurosawa; Bunuel; Manoel de Oliveira (who directed into his centenary years); Varda; Godard; Antonioni; Bergman; are prime examples of great directors working far into their Social Security years. And still making movies of quality.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Tarantino is full of shit. Kurosawa; Bunuel; Manoel de Oliveira (who directed into his centenary years); Varda; Godard; Antonioni; Bergman; are prime examples of great directors working far into their Social Security years. And still making movies of quality.

I guess Quentin is using that idea as why he should retire after his next picture, although I would say that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood might be his best, so even he might be getting better with age.

I might watch Kurosawa's Dreams next. I am kind of on a Kurosawa kick and I actually want to watch Dersu Uzala again but am trying not to do that and to wait at least a little while before I watch it again. I may also go back to Seven Samurai this month but figured I had an excuse to go through his color films.

There is such a great contrast between Dersu Uzala and Ran. Dersu is such a gentle film about nature and the bonds between human beings and Ran is a film about violence and the destructive power of human greed. Kurosawa handles both like the master he is.

 

[bujaki]

I guess Quentin is using that idea as why he should retire after his next picture, although I would say that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood might be his best, so even he might be getting better with age.

I might watch Kurosawa's Dreams next. I am kind of on a Kurosawa kick and I actually want to watch Dersu Uzala again but am trying not to do that and to wait at least a little while before I watch it again. I may also go back to Seven Samurai this month but figured I had an excuse to go through his color films.

There is such a great contrast between Dersu Uzala and Ran. Dersu is such a gentle film about nature and the bonds between human beings and Ran is a film about violence and the destructive power of human greed. Kurosawa handles both like the master he is.

The final two films, Rhapsody in August and Madadayo are very affecting. I remember seeing them theatrically. Alas, only available in anamorphic DVDs.

 

[TravisR]

Tarantino is full of shit. Kurosawa; Bunuel; Manoel de Oliveira (who directed into his centenary years); Varda; Godard; Antonioni; Bergman; are prime examples of great directors working far into their Social Security years. And still making movies of quality.

If Tarantino was treating that as an absolute rule (and he's not), I'd say that he was wrong but I think it's very fair to say that a lot of directors start to make worse movies as they get older. Look at most of the 70's New Hollywood directors (Scorsese and Spielberg excepted), most of them are making movies that are nowhere near as good as what they used to make.

That being said, a guy like William Friedkin did some excellent work after a terrible string of movies in the 1990's so to me, it's completely worth the bad movies to get more good ones later in their career.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Thanks for your thoughts, Reggie. Ran is one of my favorite Kurosawa films. I did pick up the UHD release last year, and thought it looked terrific.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Thanks for your thoughts, Reggie. Ran is one of my favorite Kurosawa films. I did pick up the UHD release last year, and thought it looked terrific.

So, somehow that UHD got by me, I guess because it was a Best Buy exclusive. It is now priced in the $80-100+ range. I missed that that came out and don't recall seeing The Few Words About by Mr. Harris on it. I assume it will be released again without the steel book packaging. I knew I saw it on a Criterion at one point but as Jerry pointed out, I guess that was the DVD.

Ran is a great film. Really beautiful to look at and a fantastic story.

The truth is I never really studied Kurosawa himself, so the story of his depression and attempted suicide and how Dersu actually helped pull him out of that kind of makes his later pictures all the more emotional to watch. I do get the sense that he was really deeply invested in those later pictures and that is part of why they are so great. To make Ran at 75 as he was going blind. Drawing the scenes for his cinematographer so they knew what he wanted...it is kind of incredible. It is such a visual feast it is hard to believe the guy made it while he was losing his sight.

 

[Robert Crawford]

So, somehow that UHD got by me, I guess because it was a Best Buy exclusive. It is now priced in the $80-100+ range. I missed that that came out and don't recall seeing The Few Words About by Mr. Harris on it. I assume it will be released again without the steel book packaging. I knew I saw it on a Criterion at one point but as Jerry pointed out, I guess that was the DVD.

Ran is a great film. Really beautiful to look at and a fantastic story.

The truth is I never really studied Kurosawa himself, so the story of his depression and attempted suicide and how Dersu actually helped pull him out of that kind of makes his later pictures all the more emotional to watch. I do get the sense that he was really deeply invested in those later pictures and that is part of why they are so great. To make Ran at 75 as he was going blind. Drawing the scenes for his cinematographer so they knew what he wanted...it is kind of incredible. It is such a visual feast it is hard to believe the guy made it while he was losing his sight.

Thanks for reminding me that I need to watch that 4K disc. I bought mine from my local BB last year in November for $19.99 plus state tax. I didn’t watch it then because I watched the iTunes 4K digital about six months earlier.

 

[jayembee]

So, somehow that UHD got by me, I guess because it was a Best Buy exclusive. It is now priced in the $80-100+ range. I missed that that came out and don't recall seeing The Few Words About by Mr. Harris on it. I assume it will be released again without the steel book packaging. I knew I saw it on a Criterion at one point but as Jerry pointed out, I guess that was the DVD.

Hunh. I got the UHD SteelBook, and knew that it was a Best Buy Exclusive, but I didn't realize there wasn't a standard release as well.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Hunh. I got the UHD SteelBook, and knew that it was a Best Buy Exclusive, but I didn't realize there wasn't a standard release as well.

The only Best Buy exclusive steelbook I own is the one for The Limey, which came out recently. I happened to be at a Best Buy and they actually had it on display which was the only reason I ended up with it...because I forgot that was coming out too. I don't see the promotions for these things and don't see ads for retail anymore. So, I have no way of knowing that these things are coming. The Limey had never had a Blu nor 4K release, and suddenly Best Buy gets an exclusive on it...seemed odd.

I would have purchased the Ran steelbook but I never knew it existed. I have the Lionsgate/Studio Canal Blu of it and so can watch it whenever the mood strikes me. It is available through secondary sellers but I don't have an interest in paying $80 or more for it. I figured that after the "exclusive" period is over they would release it again without the steelbook. The Studio Canal Blu will do me just fine until or if I decide to buy it again.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Mark Kermode on Ran:

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, I was thinking of showing this picture to a couple of friends that prefer not to read subtitles. I watched the picture with the English dub on and was surprised that it is pretty good, a better translation than the subtitles, I think. I am wondering if I can get more people into this because the Lionsgate/Studio Canal Blu has the English dub available on it. Actually, I think they have it dubbed into several languages.