History Film / Ran

** Before that, Lady Keade expects the head of Lady Sué. Instead, it's the head of a fox statue. Kurogane tells her "Lady Sué must have been a fox in disguise! A clever fox indeed!"

* GunVsSword: The musketeer units devastate the samurai who fight with more traditional weapons whenever they take the field (though they are also shown having an insane rate of fire for matchlock arquebuses).

* GunVsSwords: The musketeer units devastate the samurai who fight with more traditional weapons whenever they take the field (though they are also shown having an insane rate of fire for matchlock arquebuses).

Kurosawa wrote the screenplay ten years before its eventual release, [[DoingItForTheArt during which he meticulously painted storyboards for every scene]] while he sought funding. At the time of its release--five years after ''Film/{{Kagemusha}}'', a film considered by Kurosawa a dress rehearsal for ''Ran''-- it had the largest budget of any Japanese film ever made until then. While it garnered praise from critics worldwide, its box office performance was lackluster, [[AwardSnub and was passed over for the Academy Awards in both the United States and Japan]]. In the years since, [[VindicatedByHistory it has come to be seen as one of Kurosawa's best films, and one of the best films of all time]].

* ShesAManInJapan: See the notes on the GenderFlip. Shakespeare’s openly assertive princesses would look less plausible in feudal Japan.

* MoralEventHorizon: Much of Kaede's scheming against Hidetora and his family is fairly justified (or at least understandable) considering her [[DarkAndTroubledPast unpleasant history with the Lord.]] [[spoiler: Her plan to murder Sué, an innocent party and entirely unneccessary to her long-term goals, proves that her revenge plot has pushed her past any chance of sympathy.]]

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Entirely subverted with Taro and Jiro. Jiro is especially cowardly, and his lack of strong back-bone makes him Lady Kaede's obedient little lap dog. He deliberately ignores Kurogane's veteran military wisdom and commits to [[GeneralFailure foolhardy strategies]] that [[spoiler: ultimately lead to the destruction of his kingdom]].

** Kurogane plays this role in Jiro's circle. He's the only one maintaining anything resembling a code of ethics. Naturally, his insight - which could have prevented half the tragedy in this movie - is discarded. Instead, [[WhatAnIdiot Jiro opts to bend over for Kaede.]]

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Hidetora didn't become the sole head of the Ichimonji clan through sycophantic grovelling. He paved his way to kingship through war and battle. But when he retired...

* KillEmAll: As described on this page, very few characters survive this film.