Scene of the Week: Ran – Epic Battle Scene

To put it very simply, Ran is one of the most gorgeous movies I’ve ever seen. Released in 1985, Ran was one of legendary director Akira Kurosawa’s last films and the final samurai film that he was able to direct himself. If you had to break it down into a single sentence then you could say that Ran is a retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear set in feudal Japan. The problem with that is that you’re trying to break down the work of two artists without taking them fully into context.

I tend to believe that Kurosawa is the greatest director of all time and I’m not even sure it’s close. One could search far and wide throughout his filmography and I’m not sure you would find a single flawed film. Below is one of the more action-packed scenes in Ran. The three sons of Lord Hidetora Ichimonji have been jockeying their own ways for a position as his heir and it all culminates in the battle seen here. To say that the emotional and psychological tolls taken on Lord Ichimonji is greater than the physical tolls would be and understatement. Whatever awards Tatsuya Nakadai received for his role in Ran they weren’t enough. The man is an absolute genius and I, for one, can’t get enough of this film.