Ran

Kurosawa filmography #2 Clearly a much more cynical Kurosawa than the one that made Seven Samurai. This film blends bleak attitudes with gorgeous landscapes, castles and great blue skies. But every once in a while - maybe like 3 times in the entire movie? It turns to hell. Blood, bodies, mayhem. Devastating, a complete aesthetic shift.  I’ve heard this is (loosely) based on Shakespeare’s play King Lear, which yes, I can definitely see the shakespearian inspiration throughout its runtime. Some scenes feel very dramatic in that way, if you understand what I’m talking about. It’s long by the way, heck it’s 3 whole hours. Doesn’t feel like it though. I watched this tired, like really tired. I’m also writing this review tired. Right now I’m quite proud of my writing but I’ll probably wake up tomorrow and rewrite this entire thing. Don’t sleep on Kurosawa mfs. Watched on Blu-Ray