Ran in terms of scale was a massively lager film than any other film we've seen this semester. It was also made a good many years after any other film we saw (1985) as well and is the only Kurosawa film shown this semester that was in color. Despite all these bells and whistles, I was still a bit disappointed with this film. The plot seems to follow the tried and true trappings of a classic Greek tragedy (and is also an adaptation of King Lear). We have a very classic setup at the beginning of the film where the main character, Hidetora, sets himself up for his own demise when he passes leadership of the family to his eldest son. The youngest son tries to dissuade him of this decision as he knows what his brothers are planning, but Hidetora foolishly ignores his advice and even goes as far as to banish the only son who cares for his well being. The evil scheming of the two other brothers and their thirst for power eventually leads to the downfall of the entire family.
The story had alot of potential, but after watching three really great films from Kurosawa in a row (Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, and Yojimbo), this one came as a bit of a letdown, especially with the pacing. The first half of the film moves very quickly and has lots of intense action, but after an epic battle half-way through, the film comes to a grinding halt and we spend the last half doing...well not much of anything. It really reminds me a lot of the book of Job. Everything goes to hell in a hand basket right off the bat and we are left for the rest of a very long story just watching the main character morn his loss. On the positive side, the battle scenes were by far the most spectacular of all the films and the sets were enormous and very well constructed. The film is also of very high quality and rich color, but these elements alone are not enough to make a great film.
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