Top 250 Challenge: 191

Ran (1985)
Number 107 on IMDb's Top 250

It is a Jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) depicting the fall of Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. His kingdom slowly disintegrates as each son struggles for power, murdering rivals and laying waste to the land. Hidetora goes insane after watching his retainers slaughtered in an epic massacre, the centerpiece of the film. As the kingdom crumbles and rival warlords move in for the kill, the Ichimonji clan collapses in a culmination of revenge and betrayal as old scores are finally settled. Hilarity ensues. The story is based on legends of the daimyo Mori Motonari as well as on the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear.

Trivia: Several hundred costumes were all created by hand, a process that took two years. The castle destroyed in the middle of the movie was specially constructed on the slopes of Mount Fuji for the film and then burned down. No miniatures were used for that segment, although an optical of another castle being burned at the end was used.

This was a very nice epic with sweeping visuals and beautiful colorful costumes...But what is up with the Lady Kaede? She is one of the most viscious, ruthless, manipulative characters I have ever seen. Half way through I thought "What a..." then I remembered that this is a family blog. She gets it in the end though...I mean she got it in the neck in the end, complete with a large splash of blood on the wall (way too much blood for a woman her size).