Ran (1985)

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.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Akira Kurosawa (screenplay), Hideo Oguni (screenplay)

Stars:

Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu

Top Rated Movies #133 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 28 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
Akira Terao	...	Taro Takatora Ichimonji
Jinpachi Nezu	...	Jiro Masatora Ichimonji
Daisuke Ryû	...	Saburo Naotora Ichimonji
Mieko Harada	...	Lady Kaede
Yoshiko Miyazaki	...	Lady Sue
Hisashi Igawa	...	Shuri Kurogane
Pîtâ	...	Kyoami (as Peter)
Masayuki Yui	...	Tango Hirayama
Kazuo Katô	...	Kageyu Ikoma
Norio Matsui	...	Shumenosuke Ogura
Toshiya Ito	...	Mondo Naganuma
Kenji Kodama	...	Samon Shirane
Takashi Watanabe
Mansai Nomura	...	Tsurumaru (as Takeshi Nomura)

Storyline

Japanese warlord Hidetori Ichimonji decides the time has come to retire and divide his fiefdom among his three sons. His eldest and middle sons - Taro and Jiro - agree with his decision and promise to support him for his remaining days. The youngest son Saburo disagrees with all of them arguing that there is little likelihood the three brothers will remain united. Insulted by his son's brashness, the warlord banishes Saburo. As the warlord begins his retirement, he quickly realizes that his two eldest sons selfish and have no intention of keeping their promises. It leads to war and only banished Saburo can possibly save him.

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Plot Keywords:

shakespeare's king lear | nihilism | misanthropy | pessimism | hopelessness | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Japan France

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 June 1985 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Ran

Filming Locations:

Aso, Kumamoto, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$11,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$90,000, 22 December 1985, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,522,421

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greenwich Film Productions, Herald Ace, Nippon Herald Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

162 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Almost the entire film is done in long-shot and there are only a handful of close-ups, such as when The Lady Kaede is presented with the head of a fox statue.

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Goofs

During the battle at the third castle, there is a sequence where Hidetora emerges from the castle at the top of a flight of stairs and confronts enemy soldiers ascending the stairs. When he retreats, his bodyguards suddenly appear and retreat with him, even though they were not present moments earlier.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Version of King Lear (1982)

User Reviews

Single. Greatest. Shakespeare. Adaptation. Ever.

Thankee kindly.

Kurosawa, while a great director, isn't somebody whose films I blindly endorse.

However, Ran takes the cake. It easily makes my personal top five films any time I think about it.

The imagery is absolutely stunning, and the dialogue is quite clever. The battle scenes are suitably horrific, and the humor (and yes, there is humor) is subtle enough not to get in the way.

All told, one of the greatest films it's been my privilege to see. I watched it to get the nightmare that was Cold Mountain out of my head, as proof that long movies can actually be epic, as opposed to boring, trite, and predictable.