Ran... Whoa. Still processing.

Okay, so I finally watched 'Ran' (1985). I knew going in it was a Japanese take on King Lear, a play I actually love, but wow...Kurosawa really knocked it out of the park. The sheer scale of everything is breathtaking, and the colours? Forget about it! The battle scenes are just...insane. The costumes, the choreography, the sheer number of people involved...it's a visual feast. I literally gasped out loud a couple of times. I think what really got to me was the tragedy of it all. Taro and Jiro, they're just so consumed by ambition and paranoia they bring it ALL crashing down. The Lady Kaede character?!? What a force! I mean evil, but a brilliantly written evil. She was like Lady Macbeth, but make it samurai. That scene where she's basically manipulating Jiro after killing her husband....chilling. And Tatsuya Nakadai as Lord Hidetora...absolutely phenomenal. The slow descent into madness, the sheer weariness in his eyes...you could just feel his regret. Honestly, I think it's one of the most powerful performances I've ever seen. The pacing is a bit slow at times, and you gotta be paying attention to keep track of everyone. But honestly, it's worth it. The ending just ripped my heart out. I'm gonna be thinking about this one for a while. Anyone else find themselves just completely overwhelmed by the visuals and the story? I'm also wondering if anyone else had a hard time remembering who was who. I might need to watch it again!