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Features: DVD
Editor's Note
For his 27th film, the "sensei" of Japanese cinema, Akira Kurosawa, transposes Shakespeare's KING LEAR to feudal Japan. RAN, which translates as "chaos" or "turmoil," is the tragic tale of Lord Hidetora, a warlord who decides to divide his empire among his three sons on the eve of his 70th birthday. However, Hidetora's youngest and most compassionate son, Saburo, defiantly objects to this hasty decision and is disowned by the proud, stubborn ruler. Once the two eldest sons take control of the empire, they quickly turn on their father and begin vying for total control over the land. As Hidetora is banished from his own kingdom in a bloody battle, he must confront the consequences of his violent, ruthless past. Ten years in the making, RAN represents the culmination of Kurosawa's career by revisiting his skill at adapting Shakespeare, as evidenced in THRONE OF BLOOD, and displaying the cinematic splendor of his other landmark films such as SEVEN SAMURAI and RASHOMON. With its magnificent costumes, breathtaking settings, and amazingly photographed battle sequences, the film is truly stunning. An epic on the grandest of scales, RAN is not only one of Kurosawa's finest films, it is a glorious masterpiece of Japanese cinema.
Plot Summary
With RAN, master director Akira Kurosawa transforms Shakespeare's KING LEAR into an epic tragedy set in feudal Japan. On the eve of his 70th birthday, Lord Hidetora prepares to divide his empire among his three sons. In the process, he ends up disowning his youngest son, the only one who truly cares about him. The empire is engulfed in bitter warfare as the two older brothers, after fighting among themselves over the inheritance, turn on their father. Homeless and abandoned by all but his most loyal followers, Hidetora must face both his tragic present state and the actions of his brutal past.
| Features | Keep Case | | Widescreen - 1.85 | | Audio:
| Stereo - Japanese | | Subtitles - English - Optional | | Additional Release Material:
| Bonus Documentary:
| 1. Appreciation of the film by director Sidney Lumet | | 2. AK, a 74-minute film by Chris Marker examining making of RAN | | 3. AKIRA KUROSAWA: IT IS WONDERFUL TO CREATE, a 37-minute "making of" documentary | | 4. IMAGE: KUROSAWA'S CONTINUITY, 35-minute reconstruction of RAN through Kurosawa's paintings and sketches | | Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer | | Interviews: Tatsuya Nakadai - Actor | | Text/Photo Galleries:
| Essays:
| 1. New essays by film critic Michael Wilmington and Shakespeare scholar Anthony Davies |
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| Technical Info
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Release Information
|  | Studio: Image |
| Release Date: 11/22/2005 |
| Running Time: 160 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1985 | | Catalog ID: 1618 DVD | | UPC: 00715515016827 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Japanese | | Available Audio Tracks: Japanese | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Academy Awards (1985) |  | Winner, Best Costume Design |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"...Sweeping..." -- Recommended 04/01/1994 p.146Sight and Sound
"...Kurosawa directs RAN with the easy grace that comes of a lifetime's experience..." 03/01/1985 p.133-4 Los Angeles Times
"...Brisk and vital, elegiac and contemplative, intimate and epic, tragic yet shot through with humor. It combines the energy of youth with the perspective of maturity..." 12/28/1985 p.C2 Chicago Sun-Times
"...The film is visually magnificent. Kurosawa refined everything he learned about battle scenes in KAGEMUSHA and the earlier samurai epics..." 10/01/2000 p.5 USA Today
"...A deft switch on Shakespeare's King Lear....[A] stirring epic about familial deceit..." 01/28/1995 p.8D Uncut
"The film] still packs a punch 19 years after its original release." 08/01/2004 p.131 Entertainment Weekly
"Transposing King Lear to feudal Japan, Akira Kurosawa delivers this visual feast of Shakespeare, No theater, and action epics." 11/25/3005 p.88 Entertainment Weekly
Ranked #9 in Entertainment Weekly's Top Ten DVDs Of The Year -- "With his last great masterpiece, Akira Kurosawa accomplished the remarkable -- improving upon Shakespeare." 12/30/2005 p.129 Total Film
5 stars out of 5 -- "Intimate and epic, beautiful and savage, RAN glides between astonishing action sequences and forceful drama..." 02/01/2007 p.124 |
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