Screening Of The Week:
Ran
Akira Kurosawa, 1985, 160 Minutes
Tuesday, 9:10 AM, The Sundance Channel
Not Kurosawa’s final film, but his final of the epic Samurai films that he’s best remembered for. He was known to describe Kagemusha, completed five years before, as a “dress rehearsal” for this one.
Ran opens with a hunting expedition led by feudal lord Hidetora Ichimonji. Also in attendance are two lords his family is allied with, and his three sons. Hidetora takes this opportunity to announce his “retirement”: he will abdicate his position in favor of his eldest son Taro; his two younger sons, Jiro and Saburo, will inherit two lesser fortresses in support of Taro. Taro’s all for this, as you might expect, and Jiro voices his support as well, but Saburo attempts to point out the flaws inherent in divvying up the power in such a way. This dissent does not sit well with Saburo, and soon he’s exiled from the kingdom. Of course, the transfer of power don’t go quite as expected, and once Taro and Jiro sense weakness from their father, relations between the men begin to deteriorate.
If this all sounds somewhat familiar, it might be because it’s inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear, but only loosely. It also draws inspiration from the historical Japanese lord Mori Motonari. But most importantly, it’s Kurosawa’s story from start to finish.
Leading the way on screen is Kurosawa’s leading man of choice (for his later films): Tatsuya Nakadai, who faithful readers of this blog (yes, both of you) will remember from the several previous shout-outs I’ve given him. He’s supported here by a talented ensemble, perhaps most notably Shinnosuke “Peter” Ikehata, as Ichimonji’s jester.
Kurosawa was nearly blind when he made Ran, which is astonishing considering how visual this film is. Each faction gets its own color scheme, and when the cavalries charge, the way the colors flow across the screen is something to behold. But this is not a stirring, inspirational film by any means. The title translates to “chaos”, and the message reinforces the nihilistic view of an absurd, random universe where ones life’s work can evaporate before ones eyes.
Other Good Films Screening This Week:
Yeah, I’m posting a day late, which means I’m too late to alert you to the fact that Turner Classic Movies showed Wait Until Dark last night. The fact that these sorts of things keep me awake at night, keeps me awake at night.
Anyway, this week’s theme is “monsters”, with Monster, Monster’s Ball, Pan’s Labyrinth and Sunset Boulevard.
Dancer In The Dark
- Tuesday, 6:15 AM, IFC
- David Morse usually plays nice guys, but I can never quite trust him after what he does in this one.
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
- Tuesday, 7:00 AM, The Sundance Channel
Eagle Eye
- Tuesday, 7:30 AM, HBO
- Everyone complained that this was too implausible, and by real-world standards, it is, but it consistently plays by its own rules, and I liked it.
Ran
- Tuesday, 9:10 AM, The Sundance Channel
Monster
- Tuesday, 11:20 PM, The Sundance Channel
Body Of Lies
- Wednesday, Noon, HBO2
- I like Ridley Scott, and I like Russell Crowe, but I haven’t always liked their collaborations. This is an exception – a well made thriller.
Gran Torino
- Wednesday, 4:00 PM, HBO2
Sunset Boulevard
- Wednesday, 6:00 PM, Turner Classic Movies
- Yes, it’s as good as advertised. Check it out.
The Informant!
- Wednesday, 6:00 PM, HBO2
Rashomon
- Wednesday, 10:00 PM, Turner Classic Movies
Brewster McCloud
- Wednesday, 11:45 PM, Turner Classic Movies
- I’ve caught bits and pieces of this over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it from beginning to end. I’m looking forward to doing so this week.
This Is Spinal Tap
- Thursday, 1:45 AM, Turner Classic Movies
- It took me a while to see this, and by the time I did, I had had all the jokes spoiled for me. But even knowing exactly what was going to happen, I still laughed like crazy during the Stonehenge scene.
Hunger
- Thursday, 3:20 AM, The Sundance Channel
Burn After Reading
- Thursday, 4:25 AM, HBO
- Just what is he building down there in the basement?
Encounters At The End Of The World
- Thursday, 7:15 AM, The Sundance Channel
- Werner Herzog’s career seems motivated by asking questions nobody else thinks to ask, and the world is better off for it.
Barton Fink
- Thursday, 10:35 AM, IFC
Ben-Hur
- Thursday, 8:00 PM, Turner Classic Movies
American Psycho
- Thursday, 11:15 AM, IFC
- I still think of this movie every time Huey Lewis comes on the radio.
Monster’s Ball
- Friday, 1:15 AM, HBO
- I love this movie, but it’s going to be a while before I’m ready to watch it again.
Duplicity
- Friday, 11:45 AM, HBO
(500) Days Of Summer
- Friday, 6:15 PM, HBO
Pan’s Labyrinth
- Friday Night/Saturday Morning, Midnight, The Sundance Channel
The Cincinnati Kid
- Friday Night/Saturday Morning, Midnight, Turner Classic Movies
The Mouse That Roared
- Saturday, 9:00 AM, Turner Classic Movies
- Name a 60s comedy about nuclear war that has Peter Sellers playing three roles. Well, OK, there’s that one, but there’s this one too.
Bend It Like Beckham
- Saturday, 10:05 AM, IFC
A Streetcar Named Desire
- Saturday, 8:00 PM, Turner Classic Movies
- Three years before Brando played Napoleon, he spends much of this film instructing us on the subtleties of the Napoleonic code.
The Wrestler
- Sunday, September 26, 2:50 AM, HBO
The Hunt For Red October
- Sunday, September 26, 3:40 AM, HBO2
