Ran

“Most directors,” Francis Ford Coppola once remarked, “have one film for which they are known or possibly two. Akira Kurosawa has eight or nine.” I challenge anyone to dispute Coppola’s statement: by 1985 - the year of Ran’s release - the then-75-year-old director had directed such cinematic wonders as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and High and Low. However, Ran, in my opinion, is Kurosawa’s very best. An adaptation of King Lear, Kurosawa did not initially notice the parallels; the fact that Kurosawa accidentally echoed the world’s greatest storytelling genius speaks volumes about his own ability. Indeed, as Great Lord Hidetora decides to divide rulership of his kingdom between his three sons, he catalyses a desperate conflict for absolute power that shatters his family and kingdom in the process. ‘Ran’ translates to ‘chaos’ in English, and nobody has captured such as potently as Kurosawa; the battle sequences in Ran are among the most impressive in cinema, transmitting the full horror of war through twisted spectacle. Ran is also a defining masterpiece for its lead actor Tatsuya Nakadai, which is quite a claim when considering Nakadai’s numerous acclaimed works with director Masaki Kobayashi; Nakadai’s visual and psychological decay across the film is haunting to watch, transforming Hidetora into a reprehensible and - almost - sympathetic figure. Ran stands out as one of Kurosawa’s most nihilistic films, making it a tough, often devastating watch, yet it represents a director - unlike its protagonist - having so much more to give in old age, and what he offers is perhaps the greatest work of Japanese cinema.

Sam Ripley

At the age of seventy, after years of consolidating his empire, the Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to abdicate and divide his domain amongst his three sons. Taro (Akira Terao), the eldest, will rule. Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu), his second son, and Saburo (Daisuke Ryu) will take command of the Second and Third Castles but are expected to obey and support their elder brother. Saburo defies the pledge of obedience and is banished. Akira Kurosawa redefines what an epic film is, with astonishing storytelling, entirely believable characters and real life battle scenes without the use of special effects/CGI. He retells the story of King Lear in his own way and no one would recognize that it was actually an adaptation beforehand. But just like Shakespeare, there is humour, irony, death and not a happy ending. The acting is pretty much excellent and certainly believable. Everyone who played a part in the production of this film deserves some kind of recognition.

Anjana Radhakrishnan