Ran
Kurosawa uses Shakespeare's King Lear as a template, but in Ran Lear's three scheming daughters are sons, and the action is transposed to a mythic, dreamlike, feudal Japan. Like an adrenalized fever dream of ultimate power gone awry, Ran reveals Kurosawa's grasp of visual splendor at its most powerful.
"...cinematic Art with a capital `A.' It doesn't hurt matters, of course, that Kurosawa used Shakespeare's King Lear as..."
Dec. 1, 2000 Movie Review by Marc Savlov