Ran (1985) quotes

Cast
Tatsuya Nakadai.
Akira Terao.
Jinpachi Nezu.

In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other…and him.

Man is born crying. When he has cried enough, he dies.
– Kyoami

Are there no gods… no Buddha? If you exist, hear me. You are mischievous and cruel! Are you so bored up there you must crush us like ants? Is it such fun to see men weep?
– Kyoami
Enough! Do not blaspheme! It is the gods who weep. They see us killing each other over and over since time began. They can’t save us from ourselves.
– Tango

In a mad world only the mad are sane.
– Kyoami

Why stay with this mad old man? If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you’ll go with it and be squashed. Only a fool stays aboard.
– Kyoami

I am lost…
– Hidetora
Such is the human condition.
– Kyoami

Men prefer sorrow over joy… suffering over peace!
– Tango

Saburo is not our only enemy.
– Kurogane
So what? If they attack, we retaliate. We grab their land and enlarge our own.
– Jiro
Fine words, but words don’t win wars.
– Kurogane

A serpent’s egg is white and pure. A bird’s is speckled and soiled.
– Kyoami
This is a castle… Here’s a wall.
– Hidetora
The bird left the speckled egg for the white.
– Kyoami
Strange…
– Hidetora
The egg cracks; out comes a snake.
– Kyoami
Empty space above the wall. Why?
– Hidetora
The bird is gobbled by the snake.
– Kyoami
Where am I? Who am I?
– Hidetora
Stupid bird!
– Kyoami

The failed mind sees the heart’s failings…
– Kyoami

Does a traitor betray himself?
– Saburo Naotora Ichimonji

The Great Lord goes nowhere alone.
– Hidetora
You renounced your power. You have no need of an escort.
– Jiro
Only the birds and the beasts live in solitude.
– Hidetora