Shawn Levy, of the "Portland Oregonian" wrote, "In many respects, it's Kurosawa's most sumptuous film, a feast of color, motion and sound: Considering that its brethren include "Kagemusha", "Seven Samurai" and "Dersu Uzala", the achievement is extraordinary." Writing for the "Chicago Sun-Times", Roger Ebert stated, ""Ran" is a great, glorious achievement." In the "San Francisco Examiner", G. Allen Johnson stated: "Kurosawa pulled out all the stops with "Ran", his obsession with loyalty and his love of expressionistic film techniques allowed to roam freely."