Ran

Mr. Nakadai's potential for portraying a startled remove also serves comedy well, as in Kon Ichikawa's "I Am a Cat" (1975), about a frustrated intellectual. From samurai showdowns to yearning melodramas, Akira Kurosawa to Masaki Kobayashi, the Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai has been, at his best, a chameleon of genre, mood, and directorial style. ... Full Review

More than an adaptation, Ran re-invents Lear and wrings a terrible beauty from its bleak heart. Just sit in the dark and surrender - to its delicate rhythms, its silences and its music, its terrifying fury, its breathtaking battles. ... Full Review

Although the film is slow to establish its story, it's clear....It's a film for the ages--one of the few genuine screen masterpieces--and arguably serves as an artistic summation of the great director's career..... ... Full Review

it's a tribute to this relatively young actor....The two major battle sequences, the first about an hour into the film, the second providing the climax, are superbly staged.....Changing the sexes of the king's heirs provides not only fine roles for three excellent actors, but also gives Mieko Harada.... ... Full Review

the images of Ran are among the most powerful ever filmed -....By James Keast In 1985, legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa completed what he saw as the culmination of his life's work:....Shakespeare's King Lear transposed to the director's favourite period -.... ... Full Review

The film is beautifully well made, with subtle changes in color and texture as the story progresses. Now in theatrical reissue, casual moviegoers once again have the chance to see Ran , Kurosawa's masterpiece, on the big screen. ... Full Review

While those docs must necessarily split their focus between discussions of Kurosawa as an artist and Ran as the art, the fabulous commentary by scholar Stephen Prince helps peel away the many layers of Ran's meaning, symbolism, structure and form. ... Full Review