Ran (The Criterion Collection)
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Movie Reviews of Ran (The Criterion Collection)
Movie Review: A brilliant, moving epic
Summary: 5 Stars
Kurosawa may be the first world-class Japanese director that most Americans think of, but many Japanese consider him the most Western of their country's great artists. Old prints of his early works list his name in the traditional order: Kurosawa Akira. We, of course, know him as Akira Kurosawa.
RAN is a good example of that cultural balance. Not only is it an adaptation of KING LEAR -- in fact, it may be the best version of LEAR ever put on film -- but it casts the story in the historical context of 16th century feudal Japan and combines a dynamic, deep focus camera and ferocious battle scenes with the mannered performances of Nô theater. It brings together Lord Hidetora, an arrogant, tragic patriarch; Kyoami, Hidetora's wise and loyal fool; and Lady Kaede, that most cunning villain whose scheming brings disaster to them all. This cross-cultural balance probably shouldn't work but it intensifies, I think, the depth of the tragedy.
Parts of RAN, the plotting and back-room deliberations especially, may seem slow. The alternation of still, almost meditative deliberation with sudden action is a rhythm characteristic of the Nô drama. Kurosawa uses it beautifully.
Stephen Prince's audio commentary describes the background of some of the principal actors but concentrates primarily on Kurosawa's use of the camera and on the social and historical context of the story. I suspect that those who find such academic discussions informative will enjoy Prince's superb narrative. This recent Criterion release is nicely mastered with sharp images, vivid colors, and clear subtitles.
Movie Review: Anoter masterwork from Criterion. Better than the origilnal.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have just reviewed this disc, and as I anticipated, likewise "Kagemusha", this criterion version surpasses the quality and presentation to Japanese version.This Criterion version is the BEST ONE among any versions available of this landmark film in past, including my 15-years old LaserDisc, .
The image quality looks more saturated, and shows more defined sharpness than Japanese Masterwork Edition from Toho. The Criterion version has higher bit rate, since Japanese version carries too much on one disc (Feature film + documentary). As the credit shows, the sauce was from French studio CANAL ( but don't worry, it is NOT PAL converted transfer. The picture is 24F progressive ) with French titles which is not in the Japanese version. The other major difference is that while Japanese disc has discreet 4-channel surround sound with 384kbps, Criterion version includes 2-Channel stereo with 448kbps. The difference is subtle, but I would raise the flag on Criterion for more aggressive, powerful sound.
Also, it was very delightful for me to get "AK", an acclaimed making documentary as a supplement, and "Image" which was aired about 14 Years ago on Broadcast Satellite (now those ware individually available with... well, about $70 here). "AK" in Toho Box Set is presented in 4:3 with 60f video frame rate, while the one in Criterion supplement is 16:9 with 24F progressive picture.
$40 is a bit steep for double-dipping, but I don't feel any regret. I can not wait for their upcoming "The Bad Sleep Well", the most (criminally) underrated Kurosawa film.
Movie Review: An old man pays for his sins
Summary: 5 Stars
We meet the warlord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) as a pleasant old man, satisfied with his success in life, desiring only to bring peace to the land by dividing his kingdom among his three sons (Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, and Daisuke Ryu) and to spend his waning years spending time with each in turn. Soon, the colossal hubris of the man becomes apparent. He disowns the one son who has the integrity to tell him to his face that his idyllic plan will never work. Hidetora should have listened. After a lifetime of subjugating others with his armies, he believes that his desires will come to pass simply because he wishes it. However, his remaining sons have been raised in the house of a warlord during a time of constant warfare, and they have no intention of living in peace. Rather, they fall upon each other in a struggle for supremacy, turning the old man out as an inconvenience.
As our sympathy for Hidetora grows, we are also made to realize how richly he is reaping the seeds that he has sown through two important characters. Lady Kaede (Mieko Harada), who manipulates one of his sons into facilitating the downfall of his house, watched her family murdered by Hidetora. Tsurumaru (Mansai Nomura), a young blind man who lives a wretched, solitary existence, suffered the plucking out of his eyes at Hidetora's command when he was a young boy. Growing increasingly senile, Hidetora wanders through a land in chaos as the suppressed passions generated by the horrors he perpetrated bear full fruit. This is a complex, dramatic and often beautiful film.
Movie Review: One more release, but a major step up.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the 4th version of Ran that I have purchased. Having expensive redundant DVDs isn't fun (the first was VHS). The Fox Lorber first DVD release made my eyes hurt. The Masterworks edition was a better transfer but still reminded me of changing a 32-bit image to 8-bit, or compressing a jpeg to the max so that contrast is increased but in-between shades of color disappear.
This release is up to Criterion's quality standards. They probably saw that they had to do it after looking at the other releases. Just as a check, you can look at the horses' flanks and withers in the opening scenes on Mt. Aso; they now have contours and shape from the better shading. The colors of the greens of vegetation and the yellows on the tent are now vibrant.
If you own all the others like I do, because you wanted a better version of this masterpiece of film-making, it's now worth coughing up the $ to get the best version out there. You won't have to buy another version unless something replaces the DVD format. If you're wondering at which version to get because of price, stop looking, you get what you pay for and with the cheaper ones you don't get that much, but with this one you get the high quality transfer, commentary, and the 2nd DVD of extras.
When the DVD arrived, I had only planned to compare the 3 DVDs and started swapping them out. By the end of the comparison, I was drawn into this new edition all the way to Tsurumaru dropping the scroll of Buddha. This one is easy on the eyes and worth repeated viewing.
Movie Review: Thank you Criterion...thank you thank you thank you!
Summary: 5 Stars
It really is about time this masterpiece got the treatment it deserved. I have long held off purchasing this movie in its previous DVD incarnations because of the notoriously bad transfers. At long last, justice has been served. I couldn't ask for much more than this, short of getting to see it one more time on the big screen.
All the extras are great, and to me, more than justify the price. The commentaries are very much worth checking out, and the documentary on the second disc is quite fascinating just on its own.
As to the movie itself, there isn't really anything to be said about this stupendous achievement that hasn't been said already. Kurosawa very nearly bankrupted his studio making "Ran," and it really is a miracle that the movie ever found its way to the big screen in the first place. Simply to refer to it as an adaptation of "King Lear" is to do injustice to Kurosawa; he pillaged more Shakespeare than simply "Lear" (Lady Kaede owes more to MacBeth than to Lear, definitely), but he drew from multiple sources, and ultimately, from his own story-telling ability. Ultimately one is left with a devastating portrayal of treachery, vengeance, the disintegration of well-laid plans, and the fragility of the human condition. If that isn't enough, the battle scenes kick ass.
If you love the art of movie-making, this is a movie that has to be part of your collection. Just make sure to get the right version!