Watch Ran (1985) – Free Movies | Tubi

I recently watched Kurosawa’s already-known take on King Lear.  I also saw elements of Titus Andronicus in the plot, with, for example, Lady Kaede as a Tamora-type character.  While watching, I couldn’t help but see that as Hidetora Ichimonji’s mental and physical state deteriorates, the film briefly draws visual inspiration from European Baroque paintings.  Also, if you click the King Lear link I embedded in the sentence (plus this other link), you can see that Shakespeare wrote and published the play around the same time Caravaggio and Georges de la Tour created these paintings that I use as examples in this entry.

The Conversion of Saint Paul 1600-1

Caravaggio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, 1610

Caravaggio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

St Sebastien Attended by St Irene, 1649

Georges de La Tour, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Dream of Saint Joseph, 1600-49

Georges de La Tour, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Furthermore, the agonized facial expressions (accentuated with makeup) of Hidetora Ichimonji, perfectly captured by actor Tatsuya Nakadai, reminded me of the pained looks of saints depicted in old, illuminated manuscripts.

Saint Matthew writing a Gospel, from the Ebbo Gospels, 9th Century

Giraudon/Art Resource, NY, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

While I have no idea whether Kurosawa drew inspiration from any Baroque-era artists or Medieval-era manuscripts whose images I embedded in this blog entry, Ran‘s beautifully executed imagery inspired me to write and publish the thoughts that came to me from watching this film.

Disclosure: I have watched Julie Taymor’s adaptation of Titus Andronicus, but I have not read the play itself.