Against images of stunning natural beauty, graceful artistic culture and heroic military bravery, Akira Kurosawa remakes Shakespeare's King Lear as a medieval Japanese tale. For all its physical beauty, the story unfolds darkly, shaped by slowly-revealed cruelty, predatory revenge and helplessly suffering innocence.

The film opens with an ominous hunt during which mounted archers slay an old wild boar, too tough to eat. The leader of the hunt is Lord Hitedora, ready to resign to his sons the leadership of his territory. Through his life he gained and maintained his power by cruelty and deceit, but he expects that his sons will treat him with kindness and respect when he gives them authority. When his youngest and only loving son Saburo objects to Hitedora's plan, Saburo is banished. Hitedora loses favor, his sons war on one another, neighboring lords destroy his hard-won kingdom, his sons are murdered. Hitedora sees the children of his former enemies take vengeance on his family or suffer increased degradation.

Shakespeare built sympathy and recovery into the end of King Lear. Though Lear and his daughters all die, we witness acts of regenerative kindness and justice. The British kingdom is restored. Kurosawa leaves us with a bleak vision of suicidal destructiveness and social disintegration.