Why I like this film, and think it unparalleled.
Why I love RAN I don't identify with any of the characters in the film, save maybe a bit with Saburo the blue clad brother of the three brother characters in this film. There is aboslutely no one in here who is worth much sympathy. What this film is to me is a kind of anthropological analysis. No matter how far mankind reaches for social perfection to create an order with his fellow simians, no matter how aesthetically pleasing it may appear, no matter how majestic or how much grandeur there is in presentation, mankind must contend with the fact that he is just another species on this planet, and no matter how much cranial energy he puts into his efforts, he still has to fight with himself and his fellow homo-sapien-sapien because of all of his shortcomings. I'm reminded of the gorillas who pound, slap or clap their chests in a display of dominance. Or the rams or other horned beasts that butt heads with one another to compete for the right to mate. It is all about survival. Reptiles have some pretty basic programming; hunt to eat, establish territory, and then take a mate. But they do so without regards to what other reptiles think. Mammals on the other hand, give some consideration to other creatures. Not always, but far more often than reptiles, for reptiles only have basic programming; beat the other guy. Sometimes mammals lack anything more than reptilian thinking, or, worse yet, recognize the way of the reptile, and use it to overcome their fellow mammal. And that's kind of what we have in RAN. And when the main character is shown all that he has done, all the blood he has shed, all the destruction, all or the pain and misery, what does he do? The film's tale is rendered with supreme artistry. A kind of mastery that can only come from the grand-master of film making himself; Akira Kurosawa. Nearly each shot or sequence of shots is a painting. No surprise since Kurosawa trained as a painter in both classic Japanese and European oil disciplines. The lensing, the shot setup (what film historians, isntructors, and snobs call mis-en-scene) or composition, the pacing of the film done in Kurosawa's classic somewhat static style, and the use of color and natural landscape and historical sites, create a visual feast of a movie that, in my personal and not so humble opinion, cannot be paralleled. This is a bleak and dark tale. It is a tragedy. It is, in a very detached and immediate sense, like our own universe. Things in nature, rivers, rocks, sand, wind, the tides, and things beyond our planet, other worlds, other suns, gas and the like, are cold and impersonal. Living creatures struggle to live and thrive in these environments. They prey on other creatures, sometimes their own, and when they get too old or diseased to live, they become prey themselves. RAN has that vibe going for it. We codify it, we try to make sense of it, we create science and art around it, but when it comes right down to it, we sometimes find our fellow man still fraught with faults and shortcomings that bewilder us. For as they strive to out compete the rest of us, and may achieve and amass great wealth and notoriety, they then falter, and in their falling create great social chaos. They create RAN. The jealousies of the guy without a girlfriend who is jealous of the guy with a very attractive girlfriend. Of the poor man jealous of the wealthy man. When such envy goes beyond mere confrontation, and manifests itself in politcal maneuvering and martial efforts by fielding infantry, archers and cavalry, blood is shed. Misery is cast upon all. Violent blood fury passions butcher people and civilization alike. Pain. Constant pain. When jealousies get that old, they become spiteful, and war is waged. But again, on that same level, we can regard it perhaps both as a personal reflection on our fellow man, and instruction to us as a species of the pitfalls of false pride, of celebrating the destruction of one's fellow man, and such revelry and expectancy of reverence can lead to revenge from the most innocuous of sources, with the power to destroy empires. How can we celebrate the destroyer of men who expects love? Or should we have pity on him and understand that he is a reflection of our more base nature? In essence, we are "the gods" looking in on this Greek tragedy. We are reminded that even though we can achieve great things relative to ourselves and those of our fellow species who also reside on this planet, that still have faults. And perhaps more complex faults by our very abilities, than say those of any creature living in the woods, the sea, deserts or forests of this world. In this way it is a kind of reminder of what it means to be a Stewart of ourselves, and guardian of our fellow human, lest RAN be visited upon us. Or, in Kurosawa's own words, why can't people be happy? Or to paraphrase Toshiro Mifune's character from Yojimbo, a long boring life with porridge is best. And that is why I like RAN. That is why this is a masterpiece of cinema. This is why Kurosawa will always be the grand-master of cinematic arts and sciences. 4K UHD review update; So, there's more detail in the 4k release. The image doesn't bounce around from side to side as per previous video releases. The translation is more in sync with the original translation that came with the initial VHS home video release. But, in the end what we're looking at is a criminal scenario, or a worse case scenario. The original Shakespeare play had Lear's daughters coaxing and cajoling men into military adventurism, whereas Kurosawa merely removes the middle "man" (women) and lets the man have at it. This film is aimed at the well to do and educated might-be criminal who is weighing in their minds if they could "get away with murder" for monetary gain. Hence a lot of money dumped into sets, props and so forth. "Why can't people be happy?" says Kurosawa. This film doesn't answer that, but gives a stern warning that money can't buy you happiness. Nor can killing your family and taking what they have. Read more
