While not the strongest film – even within director Jun Ichikawa's oeuvre – 2001's “Tokyo Marigold” is interesting within the context of Japan's ‘lost decades' and the changing face of the metropolis. At the turn of the millennium, the grime and gloom of 90s cinema was replaced by a cleaner, fresher look, as style replaced substance. Clearly a student of Ozu, Ichikawa's Tokyo story shows a Japan of the gloss and sheen of Haruki Murakami novels and Muji furnished apartments; of upwardly mobile young office workers in doomed, short-term love affairs.
Eriko (Rena Tanaka) is a young woman somewhat lost in adult life, working as a clerk for a car dealership, drifting through her days. Around her, colleagues and friends appear surer of themselves, going places with their lives, offering her friendly advice, job opportunities and chances at love: More exciting work comes when she bumps into an old school...
Eriko (Rena Tanaka) is a young woman somewhat lost in adult life, working as a clerk for a car dealership, drifting through her days. Around her, colleagues and friends appear surer of themselves, going places with their lives, offering her friendly advice, job opportunities and chances at love: More exciting work comes when she bumps into an old school...
- 4/30/2023
- by Andrew Thayne
- AsianMoviePulse
In 1993, Akira Kurosawa’s final feature, “Madadayo,” was released. Following this, he would leave the director’s chair entirely after he suffered an injury to his spine, forcing him to spend the final years of his life in a wheelchair. After decades of filmmaking, his career as a director had come to an end. Yet, he wasn’t done artistically speaking, remaining active as a screenwriter. Unfortunately, things would worsen for him in the following years as his health gradually declined, further restricting him from being artistically creative. On September 6th, 1998, Akira Kurosawa died due to a stroke. The death of the renowned filmmaker was met with international mourning. However, his legacy would continue to live on thanks to overwhelming admiration from audiences for his filmography and numerous tributes. On top of this, many who worked alongside the beloved auteur sought to honor him. One such movie...
- 1/30/2023
- by Sean Barry
- AsianMoviePulse
The 35th edition of the festival is set to take place in-person from October 2 to November 2.
Takahisa Zeze’s Japanese prisoner of war drama Fragments Of The Last Will is set to world premiere as the opening film of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs October 24 to November 2.
The festival will close with Oliver Hermanus’s UK drama Living, starring Bill Nighy, an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 Japanese drama Ikiru with a revised screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro, whose credits include Remains Of The Day and Never Let Me Go.
Fragments Of The Last Will is based on the true story of Hatao Yamamoto,...
Takahisa Zeze’s Japanese prisoner of war drama Fragments Of The Last Will is set to world premiere as the opening film of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs October 24 to November 2.
The festival will close with Oliver Hermanus’s UK drama Living, starring Bill Nighy, an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 Japanese drama Ikiru with a revised screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro, whose credits include Remains Of The Day and Never Let Me Go.
Fragments Of The Last Will is based on the true story of Hatao Yamamoto,...
- 9/12/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
“Man is born crying. When he has cried enough, he dies.”
From legendary director Akira Kurosawa comes his sweeping action epic Ran. Ran arrives November 16th on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Lionsgate, exclusively at Best Buy.
From legendary director Akira Kurosawa comes his sweeping action epic Ran. Ran arrives November 16th on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Lionsgate, exclusively at Best Buy. Akira Kurosawa’s Ran is a visually dazzling samurai epic that blends King Lear, 16th-century feudal Japan, and Kurosawa’s own notions of loyalty and honor to tell the story of aging Lord Hidetora, whose decision to bequeath his kingdom to his three sons sparks a power struggle that leads to chaos and madness. Hailed as a masterpiece by filmmakers and cinephiles alike, and winner of the 1985 Oscar® for Costume Design, Ran is a sumptuous 4K feast. Featuring all new artwork from artist Zi Xu, Ran will...
From legendary director Akira Kurosawa comes his sweeping action epic Ran. Ran arrives November 16th on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Lionsgate, exclusively at Best Buy.
From legendary director Akira Kurosawa comes his sweeping action epic Ran. Ran arrives November 16th on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Lionsgate, exclusively at Best Buy. Akira Kurosawa’s Ran is a visually dazzling samurai epic that blends King Lear, 16th-century feudal Japan, and Kurosawa’s own notions of loyalty and honor to tell the story of aging Lord Hidetora, whose decision to bequeath his kingdom to his three sons sparks a power struggle that leads to chaos and madness. Hailed as a masterpiece by filmmakers and cinephiles alike, and winner of the 1985 Oscar® for Costume Design, Ran is a sumptuous 4K feast. Featuring all new artwork from artist Zi Xu, Ran will...
- 9/29/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) and Chris Marker's A.K. (1985) are showing April and May, 2020 on Mubi in the United Kingdom in the series In Front and Behind the Scenes: Kurosawa & Marker.“It is King Lear, yet it is not King Lear.” This statement, made by Chris Marker during the course of his 1985 documentary, A.K., which records the making of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, is a noteworthy point when discussing the venerated Japanese master’s 1985 epic, as preliminary conversation concerning the film often centers on the seeds of influence found in the Bard’s 17th century drama. But while that story only entered Kurosawa’s mind after he had already conceived of Ran in the mid-1970s, he also drew inspiration, arguably more significant, from a parable about Mōri Motonari. In that account, the Sengoku-period warlord also had three children—three sons—who were admirably loyal to their father. Kurosawa took...
- 5/1/2020
- MUBI
“I had the following dream…”
When “Ran” was released in 1985 many cinephiles as well as critics thought it would be the swan song of director Akira Kurosawa, after a career which had spanned over 40 years starting with the first film of his in 1943. The Japanese had helped to put Japan on the map internationally in terms of cinema with classics such as “The Seven Samurai”, “Rashomon”, “Stray Dog” and “Kagemusha”. With “Ran” it was clear, considering the age of the filmmaker, that his career had probably reached its end, which was only emphasized by the fact that although “Ran” was praised by critics worldwide it made very little money.
However, it was his dream which made Kurosawa go back to the medium he had mastered so many times in the past. Ever since he heard about the dream journal of famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, he kept such a journal...
When “Ran” was released in 1985 many cinephiles as well as critics thought it would be the swan song of director Akira Kurosawa, after a career which had spanned over 40 years starting with the first film of his in 1943. The Japanese had helped to put Japan on the map internationally in terms of cinema with classics such as “The Seven Samurai”, “Rashomon”, “Stray Dog” and “Kagemusha”. With “Ran” it was clear, considering the age of the filmmaker, that his career had probably reached its end, which was only emphasized by the fact that although “Ran” was praised by critics worldwide it made very little money.
However, it was his dream which made Kurosawa go back to the medium he had mastered so many times in the past. Ever since he heard about the dream journal of famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, he kept such a journal...
- 3/20/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Akira Terao, Martin Scorsese, Mieko Harada, Mitsuko Baisho | Written by Akira Kurosawa | Directed by Akira Kurosawa, Ishiro Honda
Made in 1990, in the twilight of his career, this is the kind of out-there movie that only an auteur of Akira Kurosawa’s status could have brought (or had financed) to fruition. He had help from some American cineaste buddies like Steven Spielberg (producing) and Martin Scorsese (lending his acting skills and a ginger wig); but the result is something steeped almost entirely in Japanese culture, its history and traditions.
Dreams is structured as a series of brief chapters, each based on one of Kurosawa’s own dreams. It’s an approach that at once seems chaotic: half-formed vignettes with no connective tissue. But at the end of its two-hour runtime, the linking themes coalesce in the mind. In short, this is a heartfelt cry about the threat of industrialisation upon rural Japanese life.
Made in 1990, in the twilight of his career, this is the kind of out-there movie that only an auteur of Akira Kurosawa’s status could have brought (or had financed) to fruition. He had help from some American cineaste buddies like Steven Spielberg (producing) and Martin Scorsese (lending his acting skills and a ginger wig); but the result is something steeped almost entirely in Japanese culture, its history and traditions.
Dreams is structured as a series of brief chapters, each based on one of Kurosawa’s own dreams. It’s an approach that at once seems chaotic: half-formed vignettes with no connective tissue. But at the end of its two-hour runtime, the linking themes coalesce in the mind. In short, this is a heartfelt cry about the threat of industrialisation upon rural Japanese life.
- 1/31/2017
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
With a career spanning 50 years and over 30 feature films, legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa was an auteur all his very own. Best known for samurai epics like Seven Samurai, Kurosawa’s career featured ventures into noir (High and Low), crime drama (Rashomon) and even war epic (Dersu Uzala), but few of his films were as decidedly singular as one of his most grand and deeply personal works.
Entitled Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (at least how it’s billed on the Criterion Collection website), this sumptuous epic is admittedly an oddity in the Kurosawa canon. Narratively, the film is broken down into eight varied vignettes, all of which drawn directly from actual dreams had by the film’s director. Rooted heavily in Japanese culture and folklore, Dreams takes us from small scale stories like that of a young boy getting caught in the middle of a forest-set fox wedding, to the apocalyptic...
Entitled Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (at least how it’s billed on the Criterion Collection website), this sumptuous epic is admittedly an oddity in the Kurosawa canon. Narratively, the film is broken down into eight varied vignettes, all of which drawn directly from actual dreams had by the film’s director. Rooted heavily in Japanese culture and folklore, Dreams takes us from small scale stories like that of a young boy getting caught in the middle of a forest-set fox wedding, to the apocalyptic...
- 11/23/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Hisashi Igawa, Masayuki Yui, Kazuo Katô, Norio Matsui | Written by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Masato Ide | Directed by Akira Kurosawa
When aging warlord Hidetori Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides it is time for him to retire, he divides the lands he rules between his three sons. This causes a bitter power struggle between his eldest sons, and his youngest being banished for his warning of the impending doom. As the reality of retirement his Ichimonji war breaks out, with the banished son being the only one who could possibly save his father from the warring brothers.
Ran starts off showing the epic landscape of Japan, teasing at what to expect from the film, and this location is used to full effect in the film. There are many huge battles that feel truly impressive, but the real magic is...
When aging warlord Hidetori Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides it is time for him to retire, he divides the lands he rules between his three sons. This causes a bitter power struggle between his eldest sons, and his youngest being banished for his warning of the impending doom. As the reality of retirement his Ichimonji war breaks out, with the banished son being the only one who could possibly save his father from the warring brothers.
Ran starts off showing the epic landscape of Japan, teasing at what to expect from the film, and this location is used to full effect in the film. There are many huge battles that feel truly impressive, but the real magic is...
- 5/8/2016
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Chicago – The master director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) gave us a treasure trove of cinematic wizardry, to savor and revisit for years to come. Rialto Pictures is distributing the latest 4K restoration of one of his greatest pictures, “Ran” (1985). As part of a nationwide road show, it’s currently at the Gene Siskel Film Center of Chicago.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
The story is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” if the kingdom were present in 16th Century Japan. This is part of Kurosawa’s fascination and film journey (“Throne of Blood,” “Seven Samurai”) with the Japanese warrior culture, in the days of the samurai rule. This is his epic, the color film adaptation that is spectacularly rendered, so beautiful in its restoration it will make your eyes hurt in the finest way. The tale is compelling, the acting is sublime and the action sequences are better than any hack superhero film.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
The story is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” if the kingdom were present in 16th Century Japan. This is part of Kurosawa’s fascination and film journey (“Throne of Blood,” “Seven Samurai”) with the Japanese warrior culture, in the days of the samurai rule. This is his epic, the color film adaptation that is spectacularly rendered, so beautiful in its restoration it will make your eyes hurt in the finest way. The tale is compelling, the acting is sublime and the action sequences are better than any hack superhero film.
- 4/5/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Staggering battle sequences, thrones of blood and the spirit of Macbeth are abroad in one of the greatest screen adaptations of Shakespeare
The re-release of Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 epic Ran (the word means “chaos”) is an opportunity to see this stunning free transformation of King Lear, one of the great screen adaptations of Shakespeare. Perhaps it was the defamiliarising effect of Kurosawa’s film which, for me, opened up the meaning of Lear: a kind of human arrogance and self-importance which, in the face of mortality, needs to believe the world will be a divided and diminished thing when we are gone.
As well as Lear, Ran draws on the dark spirit of Macbeth, with its images of a scheming wife, a throne of blood and massed soldiery: fatally misleading and ominous, as in Dunsinane. After a lifetime of brutal rule, ageing feudal lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) tells his three...
The re-release of Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 epic Ran (the word means “chaos”) is an opportunity to see this stunning free transformation of King Lear, one of the great screen adaptations of Shakespeare. Perhaps it was the defamiliarising effect of Kurosawa’s film which, for me, opened up the meaning of Lear: a kind of human arrogance and self-importance which, in the face of mortality, needs to believe the world will be a divided and diminished thing when we are gone.
As well as Lear, Ran draws on the dark spirit of Macbeth, with its images of a scheming wife, a throne of blood and massed soldiery: fatally misleading and ominous, as in Dunsinane. After a lifetime of brutal rule, ageing feudal lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) tells his three...
- 3/31/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Ran (1985) Direction: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Hisashi Igawa Screenplay: Akira Kurosawa, Masato Ide, and Hideo Oguni Oscar Movies Akira Kurosawa's Ran By Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica: "Critical cribbing" is a term I coined in regard to the tendency of critics, in all fields, to not engage a work of art directly, but rather to fall back on lazily repeating claims that have been made by others about the work they are reviewing. Sometimes, these are positive blurbs; other times, they are bits of misinformation repeated endlessly — e.g., the (nameless) characters' names in films such as Alain Resnais' Last Year in Marienbad and Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup. Typical examples of critical cribbing can be found in reviews of Akira Kurosawa’s 27th (of 30) films, Ran (1985), a very good effort despite problems with character development and some mediocre acting.
- 3/29/2011
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
Chicago – Of all the cinematic variations on Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran” is one of the few that, dare I say, improves on the Bard’s original blueprint.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Kurosawa’s vision of Lear is not merely that of an aging warlord undone by his own foolishness, but a ruthless warrior haunted by the countless lives he destroyed during his reign. His fate is anything but undeserved, and seems inspired by classic tragedies more Greek than Shakespearian.
“Ran” may be a devastating experience, but it also proves to be an uplifting one for anyone moved by watching a master filmmaker in peak form. It was an extraordinary triumph for the seventy-five-year-old Kurosawa, battling near-blindness in order to see his decade-old dream project through to its completion.
After a series of professional and personal setbacks, the filmmaker was widely considered to be washed-up, and “Ran” did not receive...
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Kurosawa’s vision of Lear is not merely that of an aging warlord undone by his own foolishness, but a ruthless warrior haunted by the countless lives he destroyed during his reign. His fate is anything but undeserved, and seems inspired by classic tragedies more Greek than Shakespearian.
“Ran” may be a devastating experience, but it also proves to be an uplifting one for anyone moved by watching a master filmmaker in peak form. It was an extraordinary triumph for the seventy-five-year-old Kurosawa, battling near-blindness in order to see his decade-old dream project through to its completion.
After a series of professional and personal setbacks, the filmmaker was widely considered to be washed-up, and “Ran” did not receive...
- 4/19/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – I have to admit to a bit of trepidation every time a studio outside of the widely acknowledged masters tries their hand at catalog releases but the Lionsgate/StudioCanal Blu-ray releases of “Contempt,” “The Ladykillers,” and “Ran” are spectacular. Not only do the films look amazing in HD but they’ve been given copious special features. Don’t miss them.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
What do Jean-Luc Godard’s “Contempt,” Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran,” and Alexander Mackendrick’s “The Ladykillers” have in common? Basically nothing other than loyal followings and, apparently, the same production company that allows them to be released on Blu-ray on the same day. They’re all films well worth adding to any collection of classic titles, especially in packages this lavish and lovingly produced.
Contempt was released on Blu-ray on February 16th, 2010.
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video
Four words - “Brigitte Bardot in HD”. For movie lovers who know their classics,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
What do Jean-Luc Godard’s “Contempt,” Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran,” and Alexander Mackendrick’s “The Ladykillers” have in common? Basically nothing other than loyal followings and, apparently, the same production company that allows them to be released on Blu-ray on the same day. They’re all films well worth adding to any collection of classic titles, especially in packages this lavish and lovingly produced.
Contempt was released on Blu-ray on February 16th, 2010.
Photo credit: Lionsgate Home Video
Four words - “Brigitte Bardot in HD”. For movie lovers who know their classics,...
- 2/19/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Akira Kurosawa.s final epic finally comes to Blu-ray. Kurosawa had been borrowed from by Hollywood and the master looks towards Shakespeare again for his inspirations. It.s the best it has ever looked on home video but I also suspect that a high dollar restoration would only make it look even better. Aging warlord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to divide up his kingdom amongst his three sons. The elder Taro (Akira Terao) inherits the prestigious first castle and will become leader of the clan. Next in line Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu) inherits the second castle and control over the army. Finally, Saburo (Daisuke Ryu) inherits the less-prestigious third castle. The two younger brothers are instructed to follow their elder...
- 2/18/2010
- by Jeff Swindoll
- Monsters and Critics
Here’s the first full trailer for Shoichi Mashiko’s The Hovering Blade (Samayou yaiba) based on a novel by Keigo Higashino. Akira Terao plays Nagamine, a father whose daughter is kidnapped and brutally murdered by two adolescents who can’t get prosecuted by the Japanese law because of their age. So Nagamine decides to take the law into his own hands and starts to hunt down the boys while he himself gets tracked by two cops (Yutaka Takenouchi and Shiro Ito) who want to prevent more killings.
[See post to watch Flash video] While the scenario isn’t exactly new, I’m quite curious how the film will handle the revenge theme which, especially in Korean and Hk cinema, in most cases lead to bloody (and entertaining) consequences that leave the avenger either as a shining hero who has defeated his inner demons or show us how his action just lead to more and more suffering.
[See post to watch Flash video] While the scenario isn’t exactly new, I’m quite curious how the film will handle the revenge theme which, especially in Korean and Hk cinema, in most cases lead to bloody (and entertaining) consequences that leave the avenger either as a shining hero who has defeated his inner demons or show us how his action just lead to more and more suffering.
- 9/30/2009
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
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