260 RAN
of where to go, Hidetora and his com pany depart from Jiro’s castle. Tango finds
his father and informs Hidetora of Taro’s new decree: anyone who assists Hidetora
will be sentenced to death. Hidetora flees to Saburo’s castle, which was left empty
when Saburo went into exile. [Act III] Hidetora and his samurais are attacked by
Taro’s and Jiro’s forces. In the ensuing battle, almost all of Hidetora’s men are killed
and the Third Castle is set on fire. Hidetora, alone and losing his mind, leaves the
castle as it is consumed by flames. During the siege on the castle, Taro is killed by
a bullet from Jiro’s general, Shuri Kurogane’s (Hisashi Igawa) gun. Meanwhile, Hide-
tora wanders the wilderness and is found by Tango, who tries to assist him. The pair
take shelter in a peasant’s home, but realize that the peasant is Tsurumaru (Mansai
Nomura), the brother of Lady Sué (Yoshiko Miyazaki), Jiro’s wife. Tsurumaru was a
victim of Hidetora’s regime: he was blinded and left for dead after Hidetora mur-
dered his father and conquered their land. [Act IV] After Taro’s death, Jiro takes on
the title of the Great Lord, moving into the First Castle and commanding the Ichi-
monji clan. Jiro returns to the castle to find Lady Kaede, unbothered by Taro’s death,
waiting to blackmail Jiro into an affair. Lady Kaede uses her influence with Jiro to
call for Lady Sué’s death. Jiro orders Kurogane to carry out the task, but he declines,
stating that Kaede will be the ruin of both Jiro and the clan. Kurogane runs to tell
Sué and Tsurumaru to leave. Meanwhile, two ronin are captured by Tango, who
coerces them to reveal plans for assassinating Hidetora. Tango leaves to share the
news with Saburo. Hidetora is overtaken by madness and runs off into a volcanic
plain while Kyoami (Pîtâ) runs after him. Saburo and Jiro meet on the battlefield
and agree on a truce, and Saburo becomes concerned by the report of his father’s
onset of madness. While Saburo meets with Kyoami and takes 10 warriors along
to rescue Hidetora, Jiro takes advantage of the situation and sends gunners to
ambush his brother and father. Jiro also attacks Saburo’s army, which falls back
into the woods as the soldiers go on the defensive. As the family is warring, a mes-
senger shares news that Ayabe, a rival lord, is headed towards the First Castle. At
the same time, Saburo locates Hidetora, and the father experiences a reprieve
from his insanity and begins to heal his relationship with his son. However, in the
midst of the reconciliation, one of Jiro’s snipers kills Saburo. Hidetora dies out of
sadness. Fujimaki arrives with his troops to see Tango and Kyoami grieving. [Act V]
In the meantime, Tsurumaru and Sué get to the ruined castle, but realize that
they forgot a flute at Tsurumaru’s home, one that Sué had gifted to Tsurumaru
at the time of his banishment. She goes back for the flute, but is discovered and
murdered by one of Jiro’s assassins. Si mul ta neously, Ayabe’s army attacks the First
Castle. When Kurogane hears that Lady Sué has been killed by Jiro’s assassin, he
corners Kaede and pushes her for information. She comes clean about her plot to
obliterate Hidetora and his clan to avenge the deaths of her family members. Kuro-
gane decapitates Kaede for her treachery. As Ayabe’s army overtakes the First
Castle, Jiro, Kurogane, and all of Jiro’s men are killed. Tsurumaru is left amidst the
rubble, alone.Reception
Ran had its world premiere in Tokyo on 25 May 1985. It was subsequently screened
at a number of film festivals before going into staggered general release in about