King Lear and Kurosawa

Director Akira Kurosawa made "Ran" in 1985 after a strong renowned career in the '50s and '60s, followed by a slump in the 1970s. While the film isn't his final contribution to the world of cinema, it's safe to say that "Ran" is his final masterpiece.\nThe title "Ran" translates as 'chaos' in English and perfectly describes the world that Akira Kurosawa presents to us. The film is loosely based on William Shakespeare's King Lear and is set during medieval war plagued Japan. Similarly to Lear, "Ran" focuses around the old lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Kurosawa regular Tatsuya Nakadai) as he slowly enters a world of madness and remorse.\nLord Hidetora has a dream about his past and future and decides to hand his power and reign over to his sons, the eldest son Taro claiming full control over the families most valuable castle. His decision comes as a shock to his sons, especially the youngest Taburo who pleads with his father to reconsider, voicing his discontent with his older brothers whom he feels are greedy and power driven. What follows after the initial shift of powers is an intricate web of lies and betrayal that the old lord watches with eyes wide open.\n "Ran" is not Kurosawa's first cross-cultural adaptation of a work by Shakespeare (1957's "Throne of Blood" took the tragedy of Macbeth to medieval Japan) and isn't his first tackling of medieval Japan, however, it's one of his darkest and more pensive films. The film deals with the destruction of life, both physically (through violent battle scenes) and mentally (through ones road to madness) and the chaos that erupts in this once prosperous family.\nUnlike previous Kurosawa films like "The Seven Samurai" or the "Yojimbo/Sanjuro" series, "Ran" doesn't feature any heroes or moments of victory. Kurosawa instead decides to tackle themes dealing with lust for power, greed, revenge, betrayal and reflection of a life not as successful as it seems.\n"Ran" marks the Criterion Collection's thirteenth Kurosawa release and is given their usual detailed treatment. The film features a brand new digitally restored high definition transfer and an interesting commentary track by Kurosawa historian Stephen Prince who discusses in great detail the cinematography, Kurosawa's use of highly saturated and brilliant color and the films use of cultural and historical motifs. \nDisc two features a number of detailed documentaries on the making of "Ran," Kurosawa as a director and a wonderful feature on the epic collection of paintings that Kurosawa created to storyboard "Ran."\nWhile "Ran" might not be as important as Kurosawa's undisputed masterpiece "Rashomon" or even "The Seven Samurai," it's definitely one of Kurosawa's finest contributions. The film is visually stunning, has tremendous acting performances all around and shows a level of maturity and beauty unlike anything Kurosawa has ever done.