Ran - Criterion Collection
starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû, Mieko Harada
directed by: Akira Kurosawa
directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 0715515016827
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Criterion Collection
Languages:
Manufacturer: Criterion Collection
MPN: IMED1618D
Number Of Items: 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 essential video:
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. --Jeff Shannon
Average Rating: 
Rating:
- RanI was just browsing around Amazon and saw that this version of Ran had finally been discontinued. I was thinking about writing something after seeing Lionsgate was publishing the Blu Ray after the problems last year. In all my DVD ownership I've owned every version of Ran from the non-anamorphic Fox Lorber, to the botched Masterworks, and Criterions usual superlative double disc edition. The Blu has a good list of features but nothing as packed as the Criterion DVD.
The film itself is one I'd ... Read More
Rating:
- Color has never been used more effectively in the cinema"Ran" takes its time to engage the audience. Approach this as you would an afternoon in a Greek amphiteatre overlooking the Aegean. Thunderclouds threaten. You may get rained on. But by nightfall, you have lived through an unforgettable experience.
The experience includes a display of color that will haunt your mind forever. It also includes perhaps the most overwhelming film score since Prokofiev's "Alexander Nevsky."
As for Shakespeare, he's probably o.k. with this. ... Read More
Rating:
- A mixed bag from the masterThe Bottom Line:
Ran's gorgeous photography and impressive first hour may be just enough to recommend it despite the fact that its King Lear-meets-Japanese-folk-legend plot doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, the closing battle scenes aren't staged very well (men on horses ride toward the enemy, men get shot, men fall off horses, horses are all fine) and the 160-minute running length often feels interminable; know what you're getting into before you watch this dubious classic.
... Read More
Rating:
- Great documentary disk, great movieThe Criterion collection is terrific for Kurasawa fans. The interviews with him are illuminating and the watercolor narrative derived from his paintings is very interesting. If you don't yet have a copy of Ran, this collection is the one to get.
Rating:
- Great film now out of printGreat film. Unfortunately, Criterion just announced this title as 'out of print' due to rights issues. Grab one while you can!
