December 14 movie: Ran. I had been thinking about buying this because I heard the new Criterion Collection DVD was so good, and then our friend Pru sent it to us for Christmas! I sat down and watched it the day we received it. It's not the kind of movie I'd watch too often; I wouldn't want to weaken its emotional power. I remember the first time I saw it, I had never read King Lear, and though I knew it was a tragedy I didn't know just how tragic. By the time the end credits rolled I was totally overwhelmed. I wasn't crying or anything; I just felt numb. I think I was kind of in shock. This movie, like Ordet, made me feel like .. well it's hard to articulate without falling into cliches. It made me feel like for two hours I got to see a tiny bit of how a genius sees the world. It's beautiful and horrible and magnificent. There, I hope that wasn't too cliched.
This was my third viewing and it's still an intense experience. Although this time I watched it with the commentary, which definitely provided some distance. The commentary was excellent, by the way. I haven't had a chance to watch any of the other extras yet, but there are a bunch.
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