Ran

Pros: Breathtaking cinematography, battle scenes and impressionistic score

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: Highly Recommended: One of Akira Kurosawa's greatest achievements. Intriguing tale of treachery amid stunning visual effects.

Review: There are few more prolific and masterful directors in the history of cinema than Japan’s Akira Kurosawa. But while most of his legacy was built around the 1950’s and early 60’s, subsequent years would be something of a struggle for him ...

Pros: Kurosawa's Direction/Editing, Script, Location, Cinematography, Look, Sound, Score, & Cast.

Cons: None.

The Bottom Line: Ran is a Superb, Exhilirating, & Ambitious Masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa & Co. Featuring a Magnificient Performance from Tatsuya Nakadai.

Review: Throughout the late 1940s and to the mid-1960s, there was no director who was as revered as Japan's Akira Kurosawa. Many of the films he made in that time were often considered seminal not just to filmmakers but were often considered landmark films ...

Pros: another fine film on par with Kurosawa's Kagemusha

Cons: Violent and pessimistic

The Bottom Line: Kagemusha is probably slightly better, but both these films are prime Kurosawa from his later period.

Review: It seems as if many famous directors experience a sway in their careers only to be followed by another upswing which brings them up to prominence once again. Japanese director Akira Kurosawa was one of those guys. He made many famous films during the ...

Pros: fantastic characters, plot, beautiful costumes and fantastic sceneries

Cons: slow, tends to drag a little

Review: In this complex world we live in, the definition of love is often vague and far fetched. More often we hear sweet words of love from those who have little knowledge of what love is. Many poets and writers have spent a lifetime writing novels, poems and...

Pros: One of the great films of all time in every respect

Cons: Viewer must have tolerance for subtitles and long film

The Bottom Line: An epic masterpiece based on King Lear, beautifully adapted to 16th century Japan, with a strong story and extraordinary cinematography, visual effects, musical score, and performances.

Review: Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 epic, Ran, is an expansive and tragic masterpiece, well worth experiencing by any and all movie lovers. It is often viewed as Kurosawa’s supreme effort, which is a remarkable assertion considering that Kurosawa ...

Pros: A King Lear saga with a Japanese Twist, nothing more, nothing less.

Cons: Well, that's a good question...

The Bottom Line: William Shakespeare had nothing on Mr. Kurosawa.

Review: Akira Kurosawa directed this masterpiece {pronounced 'ron'} while still mourning his recently dead wife. He had been working on the script for the movie for years, but when his wife became ill and ultimately died, he hesitated no longer. He dedicated the ...

Pros: If Kurosawa adapted all of Shakespeare's plays, the world would be a better place.

Cons: The excessive amount of blood may appear fake to some.

The Bottom Line: A visual masterpiece that combines the humanity of "Ikiru" with the grandeur of "Seven Samurai."

Review: "Ran" is a 1985 Japanese adaptation of "King Lear" (i.e., Shakespeare meets "Seven Samurai"). A knowledge of Shakespeare's "King Lear" enriches the experience, but even those unfamiliar with it will appreciate Akira Kurosawa's final great epic. Hideto ...

Pros: Photography; acting; direction; story

Cons: The subtitles may alienate some viewers, but it's their loss

The Bottom Line: Akira Kurosawa makes Shakespeare both accessible and beautiful in this stunning adaptation of "King Lear."

Review:
Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, the crowning gem in a career dedicated to the creation of crowning gems, is his 1985 epic, Ran. It is a film whose merits are difficult to communicate with words, for these mere units of language are unable to...

Pros: Magnificent acting, brilliant story, beautiful cinematography, beautiful costumes

Cons: Difficult to read all the subtitles, even the text coloring could have been better.

The Bottom Line: Amazing Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear. Director Aikira Kurasowa worked 10 years on the story boards, a little long but a viewing experience.

Review: I'm actually just a little emotionally drained right now, having just viewed Aikira Kurasowa's "Ran". All of that Shakespearean tragedy is about to give me a brain aneurysm, let me say it really makes an impact. This is the story of a house divided ...

Pros: beautifully filmed, not a wasted shot or a false moment

Cons: may be too long or formal for some

Review: This grand epic from the 75-year-old Japanese master Akira Kurosawa is one of his finest achievements. Crafted from Shakespeare's "King Lear," it concerns an aged warlord who wishes to divide his kingdom up between his three sons (instead of...