Ran (DVD, 2005)

A masterpiece from one of the world's great directors, the Criterion release finally gives us a worthy transfer to DVD. Earlier DVD releases were muddy, with sometimes difficult subtitles, and inferior sound. If you take nothing else from this review, let it be my recommendation to check that you are purchasing the Criterion release.

Now on to the movie...

"Ran" is Akiro Kurosawa's fusion of Shakespear's "King Lear," a sprinkling of "MacBeth," his own viewpoint on the lessons of aging, and material drawn from Japanese history.

Like "King Lear," "Ran" gets off to a slow start. The plot gathers force as Kurosawa draws you into the story, building to some of the most incredible action-filled battles ever filmed, and on to a profound, thought-provoking ending. In Japanese, "Ran" means "Chaos" - and there is chaos aplenty in this story - but this is chaos with a purpose.

I don't propose to tell the plot - it would be pointless. For those who know Shakespeare's Lear, the first viewing will be filled with moments of recognition. For those who don't know "King Lear," then the story will stand on its own, and perhaps encourage some to seek out Shakespeare's plays. Kurosawa's works are experiences which are visually told, not narrated.

By the time "Ran" was ready to be filmed, Akiro Kurosawa was regarded as something of a has-been in Japan. Many of those who worked with him during his glory days in the 1950's and early 1960's had gone on to other directors and projects. He had developed a reputation for being "difficult" in Hollywood (where he had been fired from "Tora! Tora! Tora!"). And this new project, which ended up being the most expensive movie in Japanese film history, was seen as a risky investment in a passé director doing a commercially unpopular costume drama. With little support in Japan, Kurosawa ended up going to overseas investors to secure financing (hence the credits to the French backers). Added to all this, the death of his wife during early production meant that "Ran" was a hugely difficult enterprise for a seventy-four year old to pull off - and it is a masterpiece.

The Criterion package also includes some worthy extras. Full-length documentaries on the filming by Chris Marker and Sidney Lumet make one wonder at the sheer logistics of putting the director's sweeping vision onto film. There are also gorgeous paintings and sketches by Kurosawa, which he had created to storyboard the film years prior to the actual filming. These are overlaid onto the soundtrack so that you can see how close he came to implementing his ideas. Finally there is an interview with the actor, Tatsuya Nakadai, who plays the lead (a shock to see out of makeup and character).

Suffice to say that "Ran" has something in it for nearly any viewer - stunning scenery, betrayal, romance, lust, some of the best battles on film, intrigue, plot twists, comedy, pathos, and a facinating insight into Japan's cultural heritage. It is not suitable for pre-teens due to graphic violence. It is a must-see for everyone else.