One of Kurosawa’s better movies based on one of Shakespeare’s better plays. As Throne of Blood was to Macbeth, so this production is to King Lear, a samurai-ization of Elizabethan drama. Visually this is a stunning movie. The Masterworks restoration does wonders for some parts of the picture but appears to give other scenes something of a brownish, shadowy shift. But technical quality aside, the story is an entertaining if sometimes over-sentimental retelling of the Lear tale. Lots of Byzantine intrigue. Lots of lightning-quick swordplay. An epic battle or two. I admit it would probably help to like the director’s work or at least be a genre fan, but if you qualify on either count you should get a real kick out of this. Worth seeing
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