Ran

Synopsis
Feature film. A Japanese version of King Lear, directed by Akira Kurosawa, transposed to 16th-century feudal Japan. An old man, now a warlord, cedes his kingdom to his eldest son and starts a power struggle between the brothers.
Language
Japanese
Country
France; Japan
Medium
Film; Video
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
1985
Duration
165 mins
Availability
Sale

Credits

Director
Akira Kurosawa
Producer
Serge Silberman
Screenplay
Akira Kurosawa; Hideo Oguni; Masato Ide
Music
Toru Takemitsu
Costume
Emi Wada
Art Direction
Shinobu Muraki; Yoshiro Muraki
Cast
Tatsuya NakadaiHidetora Ichimonji (Lear)
Akira TeraoTaro Ichimonji (Goneril)
Daisuke RyoSaburo Ichimonji (Goneril)
Jinpachi NezuJiro Ichimonji (Regan)
Satoshi Terao 

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Historical period
16th Century
Plays
King Lear
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items
A.K.

Notes

General
In Japanese ‘ran’ means chaos.
Awards
Academy Award 1986 - Best Costume Design. Three nominations for Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.

BAFTA Film Award 1987 - Best Foreign Film
Reviews
Dawson, Anthony ‘Cross-Cultural Interpretation: Reading Kurosawa, Reading Shakespeare’ in Diana E. Henderson, ed., A Concise Companion to Shakespeare on Screen. Oxford: Blackwell, 2006. pp 155-75.

Buchanan, Judith, ‘Cross-Cultural NarratIve Rhymes: the Shakespeare Films of Akira Kurosawa’ in Shakespeare on Film (Harlow, Pearson Education, 2005). pp. 71-89.

The Criterion DVD has an audio commentary by Stephen Prince and contains Chris Marker’s documentary A.K. on the making of the film.

Production Company

Name

Greenwich Film Productions

Name

Herald Ace

Name

Nippon Herald Films

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Ran". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/17842 (Accessed 13 Nov 2024)