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Ran - Criterion Collection

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 0715515016827
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Criterion Collection
Languages: EnglishSubtitledJapaneseOriginal Language
Manufacturer: Criterion Collection
MPN: IMED1618D
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Criterion Collection
Region Code: 1
Release Date: November 22, 2005
Running Time: 162 minutes
Studio: Criterion Collection
Theatrical Release Date: 1985

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 11/22/2005

Amazon.com:
As critic Roger Ebert observed in his original review of Ran, this epic tragedy might have been attempted by a younger director, but only the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, who made the film at age 75, could bring the requisite experience and maturity to this stunning interpretation of Shakespeare's King Lear. It's a film for the ages--one of the few genuine screen masterpieces--and arguably serves as an artistic summation of the great director's career. In this version of the Shakespeare tragedy, the king is a 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai as Lord Hidetora) who decides to retire and divide his kingdom evenly among his three sons. When one son defiantly objects out of loyalty to his father and warns of inevitable sibling rivalry, he is banished and the kingdom is awarded to his compliant siblings. The loyal son's fears are valid: a duplicitous power struggle ensues and the aging warlord witnesses a maelstrom of horrifying death and destruction. Although the film is slow to establish its story, it's clear that Kurosawa, who planned and painstakingly designed the production for 10 years before filming began, was charting a meticulous and tightly formalized dramatic strategy. As familial tensions rise and betrayal sends Lord Hidetora into the throes of escalating madness, Ran (the title is the Japanese character for "chaos" or "rebellion") reaches a fever pitch through epic battles and a fortress assault that is simply one of the most amazing sequences on film. Although this awesome epic is best viewed on a big theatrical screen, the DVD presents the widescreen film with a higher quality of image and sound than was ever previously available in any home-video format. --Jeff Shannon




Rating: - Good
The DVD, put out by Wellspring, as The Masterworks Edition, actually offers some different features than the later two disk The Criterion Collection of the DVD. Both DVDs offer enhanced versions of the film. The Wellspring DVD still has some dirt and splotchiness, although the colors are well restored. And unlike Criterion, Wellspring uses gold subtitles, which are easier to read than the white subtitles Criterion uses. The DVD I saw has production notes, the film in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, a restoration ... Read More

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Rating: - Ran
This 1985 Japanese film is based on the plot elements of King Lear. Primary difference is substituting three sons for three daughters.

Hidetora, the patriarch, decides to retire and turn over the affairs of his kingdom to his three sons--Taro, Jiro, and Saburo. Since Taro is the oldest, he receives the greater portion of the House of Ichimonji. This suits Taro's wife Kaede just fine for the time being. William Shakespeare would have been proud of Kaede--she's cunning, intelligent, devious, ... Read More

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Rating: - Another Display of Directorial Ineptitude from the "Master"
Review in one sentence: This movie has zero energy. What follows is my fragmented, chronological lambasting of this "masterpiece."

The characters are cardboard cutouts with very little in terms of actual development. The opening scene begins with an argument between Hidetora and his three sons. It's almost like it assumes retroactive character maturity that was never established to begin with. It would have been nice to see some color in terms of personality, with each of these three key players ... Read More

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Rating: - Bridled chaos...
A lot of my friends rave this film as one of the best films of all time. I'm not in that boat quite yet, but I must say that this ambitious retelling of Shakespeare's `King Lear' is not just an impressive undertaking but it is also one of the more engrossing and rapturous `variations' of this story I've ever seen. With great attention to detail and directorial flourishes that will keep the audience on edge, `Ran' is certain to leave a lasting impression.

I'll be honest; I thought the opening segment ... Read More

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Rating: - Good movie - Poor Video Quality
Ran's a great movie that deserves a better transfer. I saw the film in the theater a week before getting this blu-ray. It was a scratchy print but it didn't have the noise that is prevalent in this disc.

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