Tuesday Movie

Feb. 10: Ran (1985)

Akira Kurosawa's extravagant retelling of King Lear is set in 16th century Japan and tells the story of the Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji, who at the age of seventy, after years of consolidating his empire and ruthlessly exterminating all opposition, decides to abdicate and divide his domain amongst his three sons. The youngest defies the pledge of obedience and is banished. He warns his father: “You have spilled an ocean of blood. You showed no mercy, no pity. We too are children of this age, weaned on strife and chaos ...” When inter-filial squabbling erupts, the tragic engine of this film starts firing on all cylinders as Hidetora is dropped into a nightmarish hell of civil war and madness as his comeuppance for a lifetime of inflicting misery comes due, along the way receiving an earful of choice dialogue from his former court jester. One of the most stirring tragedies ever put to film.

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