Like someone who enjoyed Guns ‘n’ Roses’ Knocking on Heaven’s Door before listening to the original version by Dylan, I watched Ran, Kurosawa’s brilliant 1985 rendition of Shakespeare’s King Lear (yup, have never been to see a Shakespeare play – not even once.).

A tale of an elderly lord, Hidetora (played by Tatsuya Nakadai), being betrayed by two of his three sons, Taro and Jiro, after banishing his youngest son, Saburo. The elder Taro’s murder by the younger and ambitious Jiro. Jiro’s ultimate downfall after being manipulated by Lady Kaede, Taro’s widow. Saburo’s untimely death by an assassin’s bullet just when the elderly lord was about to redeem himself. Hidetora died an unforgiven man soon after.

Confused yet?

You see here an old man, once a brutal warrior and lord of his clan, trusting his two older (and soon-to-be Judases) sons to rule over the Ichimonji clan. The elder of the two sons later went on in an attempt to destroy their father and his 30-odd samurai retainers, after trusting the words of his wife, Kaede. After ordering his right hand man to murder his brother, Jiro was easily swayed by the deceitful Kaede’s womanly charms. It’s easy to see how far shedding a few tears and a shag (or two) could lead to a man’s ruin.

Sadder still was to see a man driven to madness and despair after being betrayed by his two sons whom he thought he trusted (again, influenced by their sweet persuasions), while his youngest son was banished for being blunt and outspoken about the truth. All three men died because of the inability to see the truth that was in front of their very eyes, despite being implored by the ones who really cared about them. If only they had listened to sense in the first place, rather than their hearts. In the end, no one wins.

If only I had the pleasure to see this epic masterpiece on a screen greater than 14″. I thought one of the most memorable scenes was the one in which Hidetora’s two concubines committed double suicide as Tora’s army invaded the castle. An honourable but unnecessary death. Such a gripping movie. I know. I sound like one of those book reviews. Honestly, I kid you not. I thouroughly recommend this film.