Ran

NEW 35MM PRINT! ► The magisterial Ran — the great masterpiece of Kurosawa’s late period — is both an enthralling piece of epic movie-making and an inspired reworking of King Lear. Ran transposes Shakespeare’s play to 16th-century Japan, and transforms its three daughters into sons. The film’s Lear, played by Kobayashi and Kurosawa regular Tatsuya Nakadai, is aging warlord Hidetora. When he abdicates in favour of his eldest son, it precipitates a fratricidal struggle of apocalyptic proportions. Ran is a visually overwhelming work, with exquisite costume and sets, dazzling (and horrifying) battle sequences — some filmed in haunting silence — unfolding over vast landscapes, and extraordinary colour. The title translates from the Japanese as “war” or “conflict,” but Kurosawa emphasizes an older, Chinese meaning of the word: “chaos.” The film’s final image — a blind fool tottering on the brink of an abyss — is perhaps the ultimate expression of the director’s pessimism. Ran won one Oscar (Costume Design) and was nominated for three more (Director, Cinematography, and Art Direction). “Spectacular . . . Among the most thrilling movie experiences a viewer can have” (Terrence Rafferty, New York Times). “The results are all that one could possibly dream of . . . A Lear for our age, and for all time” (Chris Peachment, Time Out). Colour, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. 162 mins.

Please note: Double-bill prices in effect for this film.