Da'ud Bob's Movie Review
for
  February 2025


This month we're looking back to a review of a foreign film based on a Shakespeare play, which was first published exactly 25 years ago, in February 2000. Enjoy!



Why is there always such a difference between an experience you’ll always remember, and one that you’ll never forget?  Well, now, for years I’ve been able to use a stage production of Shogun Macbeth as an example of “Shakespeare gone bad, very bad”.  And it was.  Images from that production are seared in my memory, and try as I might, I have been unable to rid myself of them.  A samurai armored “Macbess” (Japanese doesn’t have a “th” sound, to the best of my knowledge) skulking about a darkened set, witches in obis, katanas instead of broadswords.  Burnham Wood had to travel a “fur piece” to arrive in shogunate Japan.  Does that mean, however, that Shakespeare cannot be done well in a Japanese setting?  (Well, some purists would argue that the question is merely rhetorical, or that it cannot truly be asked to begin with.  The answer, to them, is obvious.  “Of course not.”)  Akira Kurosawa, one of the world’s foremost moviemakers, has attempted what many consider to be impossible, and done it very well.  He did modify much of the language and all of the names, to make the setting in Japan more Japanese.  Be that as it may, this month Da’ud Bob reviews what might have been called “King Lear Meets Shogun”, but which was actually titled Ran.

Starring Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora Ichimonji, Akria Terao as Taro, Jinpachi Nezu as Jiro, Daisuke Ryu as Saburo, Mieko Harada as Kaede, and Peter as Kyoami the Fool, the story, for the three of you out there who have seen or read no Shakespeare, is: aging king decides to retire, and divides his lands among his three (in this case) sons, Taro, Jiro, and Saburo.  Two think it’s a good idea; the youngest doesn’t and is disinherited.  The two then pretty much take over, dictating to their father what he may do and how many attendants he may have, etc., etc.  In the end, as in every good Shakespearean tragedy, everybody dies.

Good points (besides the fact that Kurosawa is the director, I mean): The location shots.  The costuming.  (This film won the 1985 Oscar for Best Costuming.  Watch it and see why.)  The horse tack and tassles.  The armor and accouterments.  The battle scenes.  (Battle scenes are something that Kurosawa does extremely well.)  The beheading.  (Must be seen to be appreciated.)  That Kaede is one tough woman.

Bad points:  Too much blood.  (I think they must have been having a sale on red paint.)

Zero breasts.  16 gallons of blood.  169 dead bodies.  Arm rolls.  Plots (and counter-plots) roll.  Horsemen roll.  Arrows break.  Blood spurts.  Arrow fu.  Musket fu.  Flute fu.  Severed arm fu.  Gratuitous boar hunt.  Gratuitous sealing pact with blood.  Gratuitous moth squishing.  Gratuitous story with moral.  Academy Award nominations to Peter as Kyoami the Fool, one of the wisest, and most loyal, characters in the film; and to Tatsuya Nakadai as King Lear Hidetora, calling his son more than henpecked (Anna Sue’s term was a fair bit stronger, but not really repeatable in a “family friendly” newsletter), for “The hen pecks the cock and makes him crow.”  An 88 on the Vomit Meter.  Three Stars.  Da’ud Bob says “Check it out!”




Upcoming movies and miniseries to watch for!


Snow White
March 21, 2025		 Starring Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Rachel Zegler as Snow White, Andrew Burnap, and Ansu Kabia, this Disney production is a live-action "reinterpretation" of the 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This movie has gone from an early 2024 release to an early 2025 release, so apparently there have been issues with it.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight
2025		 A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros... a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends. A(nother) Game of Thrones prequel. Streaming on Max.
Highlander
2026		 Starring Henry Cavill. This is a remake of the 1986 original starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery that no one I know of is asking for. "An immortal Scottish swordsman faces off with other immortal warriors in order to obtain a coveted ability." Director Chad Stahelski confirmed the movie will be using Queen's soundtrack from the original but "Probably in a different way than you think, but hardcore yes." [Da'ud Bob says, "How about no?"]


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