Based on the Shakespeare play "King Lear", Akira Kurosawa's RAN tells the story of Lord Hidetora and the consequences he faces when he splits his kingdom between his three sons - one who wisely declines the offer of a castle and the two others who then become corrupt and turn against their father.

This is one of those movies that makes me glad to remember when I started taking a liking to foreign films, rather than sticking to what hollywood churns out. Better than anything I've seen America produce, RAN shocked me, astounded me, gave me the chills, made me laugh... It did it all. This is only the second Kurosawa film I've seen (Seven Samurai being the first) and I shall be sure to check out more of his work.

Stand-out scenes in RAN for me:
The horrific, almost silent (except for the music) attack on the third castle by Taro's and Jiro's armies!

Turned to madness, Hidetora's "failed mind sees the heart's failings"!

Finding out whose head he has wrapped in cloth, Kurogane delivers a deadly blow to Lady Kaede!

Stand-out quotes:
Kyoami: "In a mad world, only the mad are sane!"

Hidetora: "I am lost..."
Kyoami: "Such is the human condition."

10/10

sounds quite good, is it in the cinema or what?

A quick search shows this film was released in 1985, unless there has been a remake.

There's no remake. Just the original, and bloody good it is too.

Good, that's cleard that up then!

Just to add my two cents - the film is brilliant!

I didn't read the review guide 'til after I posted this okay!