Movie Club Edition Eleven: Ran- SPOILERS

RanzB

RanzB

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****The discussion starts Monday 18 May 2015****

Ran is a 1985 Japanese-French epic film directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. The story is based on legends of the daimyo Mōri Motonari, as well as on the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear.
Click to expand...

Kuroran.jpg


**A review is encouraged, and a star review out of 5 is preferred over a /10 score.

0 - Couldn't finish it was so bad
1- Horrible
2 - Very Bad
2.5 -OK <- just to be in the middle
3 - Good/Very Good
4- Excellent
5 - Perfect

Previous Discussion Threads:
1. Vertigo
2. Chinatown
3. Blue Velvet
4. Angel Heart
5. Porco Rosso
6. Fargo
7. The Shining
8. Amelie
9. American History X
10. Ran
 
Watched this 2 weeks ago from Randhirs link and all I can say is wow. Apart from the breathtaking scenery and unforgettable shots there's a genuinely beautiful story to be told.
This movie is all about family with special emphasis on a man and his relationship with his 3 sons which can easily echo many real life stories today albiet on a different scale.

A must watch with the family and you'll be guaranteed they wont be put off by old setting and subtitles but rather completely absorbed by the unfolding drama which does sometimes border on a soap operaish feel.

Inspired now to dust off and watch the Seven Samurai dvd which has been sitting unwatched on my shelf for over 5 years.

A solid 4.7 / 5 for me and thanks for this recommendation.
 
I got about 2/3rds of the way through last night in the middle of sick kids which wasn't the ideal setting, but what I saw so far I enjoyed immensely.

The scale of the film is astonishing and his reliance on physical actors and locations rather than special effects pays off dividends - particularly in the battle sequences where castles burn down and armies of red and yellow flags contrast with the hellish warscape.

I feared that a nearly 3 hour Japanese 15th century version of King Lear was going to be a difficult watch but it isn't at all; I was gripped from the beginning.
 
My first download failed a couple of weeks ago. I just searched again and will try another on off of NZBGeek. 8Gb though so will only watch later in the week, or have t o rip throughout the day tomorrow.
 
Final score - 4.5/5.

I knocked it down a .5 because the ending is just so bleak, that blind pitiful deserted peasant dropping his Buddha scroll... But otherwise a brilliant, watchable movie and I feel justified to call it a masterpiece. The scale transitions from clashing armies (beautifully choreographed and coherent - I was cheering when blue army beat off the reds) to intimate personal dramas. This one will stick with me for a while and I'd like to rewatch it again in a few years.
 
Truly an epic, this one. Unbelievable what they achieved with $12mil.

Japanese and Chinese films often manage to give scale to a movie and story in a way that Western filmmakers often struggle with.

4.5/5 for me, too.
 
Started it yesterday but was wiped out. Will finish it today.
 
OrbitalDawn said:
Japanese and Chinese films often manage to give scale to a movie and story in a way that Western filmmakers often struggle with.
Click to expand...

I'm convinced that it's down to choreography. If you compare it to something like Lord of the Rings' Helms Deep scene, objectively LoTR has much greater scale but the action is so muddled that you're left feeling confused about who is fighting whom.

On a similar note:
[video=youtube;Z1PCtIaM_GQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1PCtIaM_GQ[/video]
 
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