RAN

Ran

Let's move on from the somewhat disappointing Yojimbo and get to an epic piece of cinematic history. Based on the King Lear story this movie takes place in the later days of the Samurai era, like many of Kurosawa's films. The film centers on Tatsuya Nakadai who plays Lord Hidetora, an old man who decides to leave his kingdom to his oldest son, Akira Terao who plays Takatora, much to the hidden dismay of his 2 other children Masatora(Jinpachi Nezu) and Saburo(Daisuke Ryu). Giving away the power while still keeping some doesn't go the way he thinks, and sparks internal fighting between the 2 oldest brothers, who both shun him, and his youngest son go into exile with his Father-in-law to be.

The tale is full of epic struggles, great characters, both male and female, loyalty, betreyal, lust, repent and madness. It's one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, the colours leap from the screen. Great castles and gorgeous landscape shots are littered through the film, it's got a great score, and all in all is a wonderful epic movie. It really has to be seen. It may be too long for some people, but it's well worth the wait for the conclusion at the end, which for most of the characters end in dismay.

Rating(out of 10)


It may very well merit a full 10 of 10 with the next viewing.

Yojimbo

Yojimbo

Yes this is the movie you've heard is the greatest since sliced bread, Kurosawa's finest and miles better than the pseudo American remake known as Fistful of Dollars.

Any samurai fanboys will be infuriated, but this is not a great movie. Infact it's surprisingly equal to Fistful of Dollars. They're both based on the same novel(and Leone obviously was inspired by Yojimbo), and share many similiar shots, but both work seperatly since they're in different worlds. The biggest advantage Fistful of Dollars has over Yojimbo is that it's much more plausible that a gunslinger can take out several at one time, than a samurai chopping people down like they're kindergarten kids.

Before you launch into a furious tirade, this IS a good movie, but it doesn't deserve the praise it gets. Compared to Kurosawa's finer pictures such as Ran or 7 Samurai it falls short by a long shot. Nothing about the movie really excells. Toshirô Mifune does a good job as the samurai, but then again so did Clint Eastwood. Enjoy this film at your own leisure, but don't expect a masterpiece.

One thing however is certain, it's miles better than the Bruce Willis remake Last man standing.

Rating(out of 10)