Ran
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Akira Kurosawa
Produced by	Katsumi Furukawa Serge Silberman Masato Hara
Written by	Akira Kurosawa Hideo Oguni Masato Ide
Starring	Tatsuya Nakadai Mieko Harada
Music by	Tōru Takemitsu
Cinematography	Asakazu Nakai Takao Saitō Masaharu Ueda
Editing by	Akira Kurosawa
Distributed by	Greenwich Film Productions Herald Ace Inc. Nippon Herald Films
Release date(s)	June 1, 1985 (Japan) December 20, 1985 (US)
Running time	160 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	US$12 000 000
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Ran (乱, Ran^? "chaos", "revolt") is a 1985 film written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. It is a jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) depicting the fall of Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai), an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. The story is based on legends of the daimyo Mori Motonari, as well as on the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear. Image File history File links Kuroran. ... Kurosawa redirects here. ... Serge Silberman (May 1, 1917 – July 22, 2003) was a French film producer. ... Kurosawa redirects here. ... Japanese leading actor Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代達矢 Nakadai Tatsuya) became a star after he was discovered working as a shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the 1950s. ... Mieko Harada as Lady Kaede in Ran. ... Tōru Takemitsu (武満 å¾¹ Takemitsu Tōru, October 8, 1930–February 20, 1996) was a Japanese composer of music, and four time winner of the Japanese Academy Award, who explored the compositional principles of Western classical music and his native Japanese tradition both in isolation and in combination. ... Kurosawa redirects here. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... USD redirects here. ... // 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. ... Screenwriters, scenarists, or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ... Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ... Kurosawa redirects here. ... Jidaigeki (時代劇) is a genre of film and television in Japan. ... Japanese leading actor Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代達矢 Nakadai Tatsuya) became a star after he was discovered working as a shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the 1950s. ... “Sengoku” redirects here. ... A warlord is a person with power who has de facto military control of a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. ... Look up abdication in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori visits the residence of a retainer. ... Mōri Motonari (毛利 元就 Mōri Motonari, 1497-1571) was one of prominent daimyō in the west Chugoku region. ... Shakespeare wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career. ... For other uses, see King Lear (disambiguation). ...

Ran was Kurosawa's last epic. With a budget of $12 million, it was the most expensive Japanese film ever produced up to that time.^[1] Kurosawa directed three other films before he died, but none on so large a scale. The film was hailed for its powerful images and use of color—costume designer Emi Wada won an Academy Award for Costume Design for her work on Ran. The distinctive Gustav Mahler-inspired film score, written by Toru Takemitsu, plays in isolation with ambient sound muted. Japanese cinema (映画; Eiga) has a history in Japan that spans more than 100 years. ... Costume design is the design of the appearance of the characters in a theater or cinema performance. ... Emi Wada , born March 18, 1937 in Kyoto Prefecture) is a renowned Japanese costume designer. ... This Academy Award was first given for movies made in 1948 when separate awards were given for black-and-white and color movies. ... Mahler redirects here. ... A film score is a set of musical compositions written to accompany a film. ... Tōru Takemitsu (武満 徹 Takemitsu Tōru, October 8, 1930 - February 20, 1996) was a Japanese composer of music, who explored the compositional principles of Western classical music and his native Japanese tradition both in isolation and in combination. ...

Plot

According to Stephen Prince, Ran is "a relentless chronicle of base lust for power, betrayal of the father by his sons, and pervasive wars and murders that destroy all the main characters."^[2] It is a tale about the downfall of the once-powerful Ichimonji clan after its patriarch Hidetora decides to give control of his kingdom up to his three sons: Taro, Jiro, and Saburo. Taro, the eldest, will receive the prestigious First Castle and become leader of the Ichimonji clan, while Jiro and Saburo will be given the Second and Third Castles. Jiro and Saburo are to support Taro, and Hidetora illustrates this by using a bundle of arrows.^[3] Hidetora will remain the titular leader and retain the title of Great Lord. Saburo criticizes the logic of Hidetora's plan: he reminds his father that he achieved power through treachery, war and bloodshed, yet foolishly expects his sons to be loyal to him. Hidetora mistakes these comments for a threat and when his loyal retainer Tango comes to Saburo's defense, he banishes both of them.

Following Hidetora's abdication, Taro's wife Lady Kaede begins pushing for Taro to take direct control of the Ichimonji clan, and engineers a rift between Taro and Hidetora. Kaede is a vengeful, manipulative woman whose family was slaughtered by Hidetora in his own rise to power and has thus dedicated her life to bringing about the downfall of the Ichimonji clan.

Matters come to a head when Hidetora kills one of Taro's guards who was threatening the fool Kyoami. When Taro subsequently demands that Hidetora confirm Taro's new standing and powers by signing a document in blood, Hidetora reluctantly complies and storms out of the castle. He then travels to Jiro's castle, only to discover that Jiro is more interested in using Hidetora as a pawn in his own power play. During this time Hidetora visits Jiro's wife, Lady Sué. Like Kaede, her family was murdered by Hidetora, who also blinded her brother Tsurumaru, but she has embraced the gentle creed of Pure Land Buddhism and forgiven him. Meanwhile Taro's retainer Ogura arrives to the Third Castle to take possession of it. Refusing to serve him, Saburo's troops leave to join their lord in exile. Meanwhile Hidetora's entourage is reduced to camping in the wilderness where they face the prospect of starvation because the peasants have been threatened by Taro not to provide them with food. Tango, following Hidetora in disguise, arrives at the camp to convince his lord to go meet Saburo. But Hidetora, though ashamed of his mistakes, refuses to let go of his pride and, influenced by his devious adviser Ikoma, orders his samurai to burn the villages as punishment, over the protests of Tango. He decides to go to the Third Castle. When Kyoami uses a jest to criticize his master's decision he is violently reprimanded by Hidetora and left behind with Tango. Hidetora takes control of the Third Castle and settles in it. The Buddha Amitabha, 13th century, Kamakura, Japan. ... Buddhism is a Dharmic religion and philosophy[1] with between 230 to 500 million adherents worldwide. ...

Shortly afterwards Hidetora and his retinue are attacked from within and without by the combined forces of Taro and Jiro (yellow and red forces respectively). Hidetora's retainers are slaughtered, his concubines kill each other in despair, the Castle is set on fire, and Hidetora is left to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). However, to his dismay, Hidetora finds his sword broken and he cannot commit seppuku. Instead of killing himself, Hidetora becomes insane and wanders distracted out of the burning Castle, unharmed by the attackers who, awe-struck by his transformation, clear a path for him. As Taro's and Jiro's forces storm the castle, Ogura assassinates Taro. Hara-kiri redirects here. ...

Hidetora stumbles in madness from the burning Third Castle as Jiro and Kurogane (center right) look on.

As the Castle burns, the deranged Hidetora wanders about during a storm in the grassy fields of the nearby mountains when he is discovered by Tango and Kyoami, the only people who have remained loyal to him. At first, regressing to childhood, he gathers flowers, ignoring his companions; then, suddenly overcome by a horrifying vision of all the people he has had killed, he flees in terror. The three take refuge from the storm in a nearby peasant's home, only to discover that the peasant is Tsurumaru, the brother of Lady Sué, blinded years before on the Great Lord's orders. Image File history File links CastleBurn_Ran. ... Image File history File links CastleBurn_Ran. ...

Upon his return from battle Jiro, as part of the plan made with his generals, publicly embarrasses Kaede. Later, when she comes to supposedly congratulate him for his new rank, she manages to overpower him. With a dagger pointed at his throat Kaede extracts from Jiro the truth about Taro's death, blackmailing him and becoming his lover. She swiftly becomes the power behind the throne of the weak-willed Jiro, in her secret efforts to destroy the Ichimonji. She demands that Jiro leave his wife for her. When Jiro offers to divorce his wife Lady Sué and marry Kaede instead, she demands he have Sué killed. Kurogane is given the order to kill Sué, but he publicly disobeys and warns Jiro not to trust Kaede.

The treacherous Ikoma and Ogura have given Jiro good service, as his generals in the recent campaign against their erstwhile lord, Hidetora. But now the traitors are themselves betrayed, when Jiro offers them presents in thanks but also in farewell, dismissing them on the grounds that having betrayed one master, they might betray another. As they are travelling into banishment, they are discovered and killed by Tango, who learns that Jiro intends to murder his father should he recover sanity. Kyoami and Tango decide that to ensure Hidetora's safety he must be taken to Saburo. But shame at his shabby treatment of his only loyal son prevents Hidetora from willingly reuniting with his son. Therefore, Tango goes out to bring Saburo to Hidetora. Kyoami stays with the Great Lord as the old man descends deeper into madness, wandering into the remnants of the castle of Lady Sué's father - a castle that Hidetora himself destroyed.

Lady Sué flees the second castle and, meeting up with her brother Tsurumaru, flees to the ruins of their father's castle. Along with an aide they barely outrun enemy forces sent by Jiro. But suddenly, Tsurumaru remembers that he has forgotten his flute. He tries to convince his sister that he does not need the flute, but Sué goes back anyway, leaving with Tsurumaru a scroll, illustrated with a picture of the Buddha. She is killed and beheaded by Jiro's forces, and Tsurumaru is left by himself in the ruins.

Jiro and Saburo face off at Hachiman field.

With Hidetora's whereabouts a mystery and his calamities and plight now well-known, Saburo's army (blue forces) crosses back into the kingdom to find him. Worried about his brother's actions and mindful of his alliance with rival warlords who want the Ichimonji lands for themselves, Jiro hastily mobilizes his much larger army to stop them. The two forces meet on the field of Hachiman. Saburo's new patron, a warlord named Fujimaki (white forces) anticipates a major battle and marches to the border. Another rival warlord, Ayabe, also shows up with his own army (black forces). After arranging a truce with Jiro, Saburo rides off with ten soldiers to find Hidetora. But Jiro breaks the truce and sends a gunnery brigade after Saburo and then orders an attack on Saburo's remaining forces. Despite their superiority in number, Jiro's army is decimated by arquebus fire from Saburo's army. Image File history File links Jiro_Ran. ... Image File history File links Jiro_Ran. ... Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppō) Example of an arquebus The arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus[1] or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning hook gun[2]) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. ...

Saburo finally finds Hidetora, who comes back to his senses. As father and son ride contentedly together on horseback, Saburo is killed by Jiro's gunnery brigade. Overcome with grief, Hidetora finally dies, collapsing atop the body of Saburo.

Word reaches Jiro and Kurogane that a large part of Ayabe's army has unexpectedly left the battlefield and is marching towards the First Castle. Thus, Jiro realizes, the army on the hilltop is a decoy. Jiro's army promptly disintegrates and flees back to the castle, barely making it there just as Ayabe's forces arrive. During the battle against Ayabe's forces, Kurogane confronts Lady Kaede about her actions; she admits that she herself had planned for events to transpire this way all along, and so Kurogane immediately kills her. The second castle's defenses are ultimately overcome and breached by Ayabe's forces, and Jiro's death and the fall of his army are implied.

While Saburo's army mourns for their fallen leader, the film ends with a shot of Tsurumaru, standing alone on top of the ruined castle of his father. As he wanders blindly about, he nearly falls from a ledge and accidentally drops the scroll given to him by his sister.

Background

When I read that three arrows together are invincible, that's not true. I started doubting, and that's when I started thinking: the house was prosperous and the sons were courageous. What if this fascinating man had bad sons?

—Akira Kurosawa, July 1986.^[4]

Kurosawa first got the idea that would become Ran in the mid-1970s, when he read a parable about the Sengoku-era warlord Mori Motonari. Motonari was famous for having three sons, all incredibly loyal and talented in their own right. Kurosawa began imagining what would have happened had they been bad.^[4] Despite the similarities to Shakespeare's play King Lear, Kurosawa only became aware of the similarities after he had started pre-planning. According to him, the stories of Mori Motonari and Lear merged in a way he was never fully able to explain. He wrote the script shortly after filming Dersu Uzala in 1975, and then "let it sleep" for seven years.^[5] During this time, he painted storyboards of every shot in the film, later published with the screenplay and available as an extra on the Criterion Collection DVD release of the film, and continued searching for funding. Following his success with 1980's Kagemusha, which he sometimes called a "dress rehearsal" for Ran, Kurosawa was finally able to secure backing from French producer Serge Silberman. The Sengoku Period (戦国時代 Sengoku jidai) or warring-states period, is a period of long civil war in the History of Japan that spans through the middle 15th to the early 17th centuries. ... Mōri Motonari (毛利 元就 Mōri Motonari, 1497-1571) was one of prominent daimyō in the west Chugoku region. ... Shakespeare redirects here. ... For other uses, see King Lear (disambiguation). ... Dersu Uzala (Russian: Дерсу Узала, Japanese: デルス ウザーラ; alternate U.S. title: Dersu Uzala: The Hunter) is a 1975 joint Soviet-Japanese film production directed by Akira Kurosawa. ... Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of previsualizing a motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity. ... The Criterion Collection is a joint venture between Janus Films and The Voyager Company that was begun in the mid 1980s for the purpose of releasing authoritative consumer versions of classic and important contemporary films on the laserdisc and DVD formats. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc - see Etymology) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... Kagemusha ) is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. ... Serge Silberman (May 1, 1917 – July 22, 2003) was a French film producer. ...

Kurosawa once said that "Hidetora is me," and there is some evidence in the film that Hidetora serves as a stand-in for Kurosawa.^[6] Hidetora's crest is the sun and moon, and the Chinese character of Kurosawa's first name "Akira" (kanji: 明) is combined from the kanji meaning "sun" (日) and "moon" (月).^[7] Roger Ebert agrees, arguing that Ran "may be as much about Kurosawa's life as Shakespeare's play."^[8] Ran was the final film of Kurosawa's "third period" (1965–1985), a time where he had difficulty securing support for his pictures, and was frequently forced to seek foreign financial backing. While he had directed over twenty films in the first two decades of his career, he directed just four in these two decades. After directing 1965's Red Beard Kurosawa discovered that he was considered old-fashioned and did not work again for almost five years. He also found himself competing against television, which had reduced Japanese film audiences from a high of 1.1 billion in 1958 to under 200 million by 1975. In 1968 he was fired from the 20th Century Fox epic Tora! Tora! Tora! over what he described as creative differences, but others said was a perfectionism that bordered on insanity. Kurosawa tried to start an independent production group with three other directors, but his 1970 film Dodesukaden was a box office flop and bankrupted the company.^[9] Many of his younger rivals boasted that he was finished. A year later, unable to secure any domestic funding and plagued by ill-health, Kurosawa attempted suicide by slashing his wrists. Though he survived, his misfortune would continue to plague him until the late 1980s. By the time he directed Ran, he was almost completely blind; to make matters worse, his wife of forty years, Yôko Yaguchi, died during production. Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji   ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... For other uses, see Red Beard (disambiguation) Red Beard (Japanese: 赤ひげ, Akahige) is a 1965 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa about the relationship between a village doctor and his new trainee. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the six major American film studios. ... For the Melvinss album, see Tora Tora Tora (album) Tora! Tora! Tora! is a 1970 American-Japanese film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the series of American blunders that unintentionally improved its effectiveness. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... Dodesukaden (どですかでん) is a film by Akira Kurosawa set in a Japanese rubbish dump in the period immediately following World War II. The film focuses on the fantasy life of its characters, focusing primarily on a mentally retarded boy who pretends to be a tram conductor by following a set route... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ...

King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce.

King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... For other uses, see King Lear (disambiguation). ... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm William Dyce (September 19, 1806, Aberdeen, Scotland—February 14, 1864, London) was a distinguished Scottish artist]. Dyce began his career at the Royal Academy schools, and then traveled to Rome for the first time in 1825. ...

King Lear

What has always troubled me about 'King Lear' is that Shakespeare gives his characters no past. ... In Ran, I have tried to give Lear a history.

—Akira Kurosawa^[10]

While Kurosawa said that Ran is not a direct adaptation of King Lear, he did admit to being influenced by the play and incorporated many elements from it into Ran. Both follow an aging warlord who decides to divide up his kingdom among his offspring. In place of Lear's daughters, Hidetora has three sons — Taro, Jiro, and Saburo (who correspond to Goneril, Regan and Cordelia respectively). In both, the warlord foolishly banishes anyone who disagrees with him as a matter of pride — in Lear it is the Earl of Kent and Cordelia and in Ran it is both Tango and Saburo. The conflict in both is that two of the lord's children ultimately turn against him, while the third supports him, though Hidetora's sons are far more ruthless than Goneril and Regan. Both King Lear and Ran ultimately end with the death of the entire family, including the hapless Lord. For other uses, see King Lear (disambiguation). ... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce (1806-1864) King Lear is generally regarded as one of William Shakespeares greatest tragedies. ... Regan may mean: Regan Harrison, Australian Olympian Brian Regan, Comedian C. Tate Regan, British ichthyologist Donald Regan (1918-2003), US official Gerald Regan, Nova Scotia premier Geoff Regan, son of the above, Nova Scotia MP and federal Cabinet minister. ... Queen Cordelia was a legendary queen of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ...

However, there are some crucial differences between the two. King Lear is a play about undeserved suffering and Lear himself is at worst a fool. Hidetora, by contrast, has been a cruel warrior for most of his life, a man who ruthlessly murdered men, women, and children to achieve his goals.^[11] In the film, Lady Kaede, Lady Sué, and Tsurumaru were all victims of Hidetora; whereas in "King Lear" the character of Gloucester had his eyes gouged out by Lear's enemies, in Ran it was Hidetora himself who gave the order to do the same to Tsurumaru. Kurosawa also expanded the role of the Fool into a major character (Kyoami), while also making him sexually ambiguous (he was played by "Peter", an entertainer well-known for cross-dressing). His other major addition was Lady Kaede, who is the polar opposite of Kyoami. Although he probably based her on Shakespeare's Goneril, she is a much more complex and important character in the film.^[12]

Production

Prior to filming, Kurosawa spent ten years storyboarding every shot in the film as paintings. This is the Third Castle upon Hidetora's arrival.

Ran was Kurosawa's last epic film and by far his most expensive. At the time, its budget of $12 million made it the most expensive Japanese film in history.^[13] The film used approximately 1,400 extras, which required 1,400 uniforms and suits of armor to be fabricated. These were designed by costume designer Emi Wada and Kurosawa, and were hand-made by master tailors over more than two years. The film also used 200 horses, a number of which had to be imported from the United States.^[7] Kurosawa loved filming in lush and expansive locations, and most of Ran was shot amidst the mountains and plains of Mount Aso, Japan's largest active volcano. Kurosawa was also granted permission to shoot at two of the country's most famous landmarks, the ancient castles at Kumamoto and Himeji. For the castle of Lady Sué's family, he used the ruins of the Azusa castle.^[5] Hidetora's third castle, which was burned to the ground, was actually a real building which Kurosawa built on the slopes of Mount Fuji. No miniatures were used for that segment, and Tatsuya Nakadai had to do the scene where Hidetora flees the castle in one take.^[5] Apparently, Kurosawa also wanted to include a scene that required an entire field to be sprayed gold; it was filmed but Kurosawa cut it out of the final film during editing. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (913x726, 115 KB) Summary Prior to filming Ran, Kurosawa spent ten years storyboarding every shot in the film as paintings. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (913x726, 115 KB) Summary Prior to filming Ran, Kurosawa spent ten years storyboarding every shot in the film as paintings. ... Costume design is the design of the appearance of the characters in a theater or cinema performance. ... Emi Wada , born March 18, 1937 in Kyoto Prefecture) is a renowned Japanese costume designer. ... Who ever deleted my page is a prat and i wil hunt them down on lucy and shout at them loudly! RAAAAARRR! connie sansom ... For the city in Kumamoto Prefecture, please see Aso, Kumamoto. ... Kumamoto (熊本市; -shi) is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of KyÅ«shÅ«, Japan. ... Himeji Castle (Japanese: ; -jō) is a Japanese castle complex located in Himeji in Hyōgo Prefecture and comprising 82 wooden buildings. ... Mount Fuji Mount Fuji , IPA: )   is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 m (12,388 ft). ...

Kurosawa would often shoot a scene with three cameras simultaneously, each using different lenses and angles. Many long-shots were employed throughout the film and very few close-ups. On several occasions he used static cameras and suddenly brought the action into frame, rather than using the camera to track the action. He also used jump cuts to progress certain scenes, changing the pace of the action for filmic effect.^[12] In film, a long shot is a view from a distance. ... Close Up is a half hour long New Zealand current affairs program produced by Television New Zealand. ... In film editing, a jump cut is a cut between two similar scenes, so that the objects in them appear to jump from one position to another. ...

Akira Kurosawa's wife of 39 years, Yôko Yaguchi, died during the production of this film. He halted filming for just one day to mourn before resuming work on the picture. Yôko Yaguchi (died 1 February 1985) was a Japanese actress, and the wife of famous Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa for 39 years. ...

Acting style

While most of the characters in Ran are portrayed using conventional acting techniques, two performances in Ran were greatly influenced by Japanese Noh theater. This is exemplified in the heavy, ghost-like makeup worn by Tatsuya Nakadai's character, Hidetora, which resembles the emotive masks worn by traditional Noh performers. The body language exhibited by the same character is also typical of Noh theater: long periods of static motion and silence, followed by an abrupt, sometimes violent, change in stance. The character of Lady Kaede is also a Noh influenced performance. The Noh aspects of these two characters emphasize their ruthless, passionate, and single-minded natures. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Japanese leading actor Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代達矢 Nakadai Tatsuya) became a star after he was discovered working as a shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the 1950s. ...

Casting

Akira Kurosawa (center) gives stage directions to Tatsuya Nakadai (left) and Jinpachi Nezu (right) during the filming of Ran.

Ran was a late Kurosawa film and so it lacked many stalwarts of earlier Kurosawa films, such as Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune. The description of Hidetora in the first script was originally based on Mifune, who had been estranged from Kurosawa since Red Beard.^[10] However, for various reasons the part ultimately went to Tatsuya Nakadai, who had played several supporting characters in previous Kurosawa films, as well as Shingen and his "kagemusha", "double", in Kagemusha. But because the character had been written for Mifune, Nakadai found himself playing Toshiro Mifune playing Hidetora.^{[citation needed]} Two other Kurosawa veterans in Ran were Hisashi Igawa (Kurogane) and Masayuki Yui (Tango), who were both in Dreams and Madadayo (Yui had also been in Kagemusha and Igawa would later appear in Rhapsody in August). Many of the other actors had also appeared in other late Kurosawa films, such as Jinpachi Nezu (Jiro) and Daisuke Ryu (Saburo) in Kagemusha. Others had not, but would go on to work with Kurosawa again, such as Akira Terao (Taro) and Mieko Harada (Lady Kaede) in Dreams. He also brought in two comedians for lighter moments: Shinnosuke "Peter" Ikehata as Hidetora's fool Kyoami and Hitoshi Ueki as rival warlord Nobuhiro Fujimaki. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1161x716, 107 KB) Summary Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa (center) gives stage directions to actors Tatsuya Nakadai (left) and Jinpachi Nezu (right) during the filming of Ran. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1161x716, 107 KB) Summary Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa (center) gives stage directions to actors Tatsuya Nakadai (left) and Jinpachi Nezu (right) during the filming of Ran. ... Kurosawa redirects here. ... Japanese leading actor Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代達矢 Nakadai Tatsuya) became a star after he was discovered working as a shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the 1950s. ... Takashi Shimura as the doomed bureaucrat Watanabe in Ikiru. ... Toshiro Mifune in the film Drunken Angel. ... For other uses, see Red Beard (disambiguation) Red Beard (Japanese: 赤ひげ, Akahige) is a 1965 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa about the relationship between a village doctor and his new trainee. ... Japanese leading actor Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代達矢 Nakadai Tatsuya) became a star after he was discovered working as a shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the 1950s. ... Kagemusha ) is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. ... Hisashi Igawa (born 17 November 1936) is a Japanese actor who has appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawas Dodesukaden, Ran and Madadayo. ... Dreams — aka Akira Kurosawas Dreams, Yume (夢), I Saw a Dream Like This, Konna yume wo mita, or Such Dreams I Have Dreamed — is a 1990 portmanteau film based on actual dreams of the films director, Akira Kurosawa at different stages of his life. ... This was the last film of Akira Kurosawa. ... Rhapsody in August ) is a 1991 film by Akira Kurosawa. ... Daisuke Ryu is a Japanese actor born in Tokyo, Japan on 14th February 1957. ... Akira Terao (寺尾聰) (born May 18, 1947) - Japanese musician and movie actor. ... Mieko Harada as Lady Kaede in Ran. ... Dreams — aka Akira Kurosawas Dreams, Yume (夢), I Saw a Dream Like This, Konna yume wo mita, or Such Dreams I Have Dreamed — is a 1990 portmanteau film based on actual dreams of the films director, Akira Kurosawa at different stages of his life. ... Peter (or ピーター) (b. ...

Themes

Chaos

The murder of Hidetora's concubines during the castle massacre.

A terrible scroll of Hell is shown depicting the fall of the castle. There are no real sounds as the scroll unfolds like a daytime nightmare. It is a scene of human evildoing, the way of the demonic Ashura, as seen by a Buddha in tears. The music superimposed on these pictures is, like the Buddha's heart, measured in beats of profound anguish, the chanting of a melody full of sorrow that begins like sobbing and rises gradually as it is repeated, like karmic cycles, then finally sounds like the wailing of countless Buddhas. Image File history File links War_Ran. ... Image File history File links War_Ran. ... A swampy marsh area ... This article is about the theological or philosophical afterlife. ... // In Hinduism In Hindu mythology, the Asura (Sanskrit: असुर) are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes misleadingly referred to as demons. ... For the historical founder of Buddhism, see Gautama Buddha. ...

—Ran Screenplay^[14]

As the title suggests, chaos occurs repeatedly in the film; in many scenes Kurosawa foreshadows it by filming approaching cumulonimbus clouds, which finally break into a raging storm during the castle massacre. Hidetora is an autocrat whose powerful presence keeps the countryside unified and at peace. His abdication frees up other characters, such as Jiro and Lady Kaede, to pursue their own agendas, which they do with absolute ruthlessness. While the title is almost certainly an allusion to Hidetora's decision to abdicate (and the resulting mayhem that follows), there are other examples of the disorder of life, what Michael Sragow calls a "trickle-down theory of anarchy."^[15] Kurogane's assassination of Taro ultimately elevates Lady Kaede to power and turns him into an unwilling pawn in her schemes. Saburo's decision to rescue Hidetora ultimately draws in two rival warlords and leads to an unwanted battle between Jiro and Saburo, culminating in the destruction of the Ichimonji clan. Cumulonimbus cloud in central Oklahoma. ... An autocrat is generally speaking any ruler with absolute power; the term is now usually used in a negative sense (cf. ...

The ultimate example of chaos is the absence of gods. When Hidetora sees Lady Sué, a devout Buddhist and the most religious character in the film, he tells her, "Buddha is gone from this miserable world." Sué, despite her belief in love and forgiveness, eventually has her head cut off. When Kyoami claims that the gods either don't exist or are the cause of human suffering, Tango responds, "[The gods] can't save us from ourselves." Kurosawa has repeated the point, saying "humanity must face life without relying on God or Buddha."^[4] The last shot of the film shows Tsurumaru standing on top of the ruins of his family castle. Unable to see, he stumbles towards the edge until he almost falls over. He drops the scroll of the Buddha his sister had given him and just stands there, "a blind man at the edge of a precipice, bereft of his god, in a darkening world."^[16] This may symbolize the modern concept of the death of God, as Kurosawa also claimed "Man is perfectly alone... [Tsurumaru] represents modern humanity."^[5] A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... For the novel, see God is Dead (novel). ...

Nihilism

What I was trying to get at in Ran, and this was there from the script stage, was that the gods or God or whoever it is observing human events is feeling sadness about how human beings destroy each other, and powerlessness to affect human beings' behavior.

—Akira Kurosawa^[15]

In addition to its chaotic elements, Ran also contains a strong element of nihilism, which is present from the opening sequence where Hidetora mercilessly hunts down a boar to the last scene with Tsurumaru. Roger Ebert describes Ran as "a 20th century film set in medieval times, in which an old man can arrive at the end of his life having won all his battles, and foolishly think he still has the power to settle things for a new generation. But life hurries ahead without any respect for historical continuity; his children have their own lusts and furies. His will is irrelevant, and they will divide his spoils like dogs tearing at a carcass."^[8] This article is about the philosophical position. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig. ... Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ...

This marked a radical departure from Kurosawa's earlier films, many of which were filled with hope and redemption. Only Throne of Blood, an adaptation of Macbeth, had as bleak an outlook. Even Kagemusha, though it chronicled the fall of the Takeda clan and their disastrous defeat at the Battle of Nagashino, had ended on a note of regret rather than despair. By contrast, the world of Ran is a Hobbesian world, where life is an endless cycle of suffering and everybody is a villain or a victim, and in many cases both. Heroes like Saburo may do the right thing, but in the end they are doomed as well. Unlike other Kurosawa heroes, like Kikuchiyo from Seven Samurai or Watanabe from Ikiru, who die performing great acts, Saburo dies pointlessly. Gentle characters like Lady Sué are doomed to fall victim to the evil and violence around them, and conniving characters like Jiro or Lady Kaede are never given a chance to atone and are predestined to a life of wickedness and ultimately violent death as well.^[17] Throne of Blood , literally Spider Web Castle) is a black and white 1957 film directed by Akira Kurosawa, which transposes the plot of William Shakespeares play Macbeth to medieval Japan. ... This article is about Shakespeares play. ... Kagemusha ) is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. ... Takeda clan mon (coat-of-arms) The Takeda ) was one of many clans of daimyō (feudal lords) in Japans Sengoku period; its importance derives almost entirely from the power and fame of Takeda Shingen. ... Combatants Takeda forces combined Oda-Tokugawa forces Commanders Takeda Katsuyori, Anayama Nobukimi, Takeda Nobukado, Takeda Nobutoyo Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Okudaira Sadamasa Strength 15,000 38,000 Casualties 10,000 dead, incl. ... This article is about the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. ... For other uses, see Seven Samurai (disambiguation). ... Ikiru (生きる) is a 1952 black and white movie written and directed by the acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and inspired by Leo Tolstoys The Death of Ivan Ilyich. ... Predestination (also linked with foreknowledge) is a religious concept, which involves the relationship between the beginning of things and their destinies. ...

Warfare

All the technological progress of these last years has only taught human beings how to kill more of each other faster. It's very difficult for me to retain a sanguine outlook on life under such circumstances.

—Akira Kurosawa^[18]

According to Michael Wilmington, Kurosawa told him that much of the film was a metaphor for nuclear warfare and the anxiety of the post-Hiroshima age.^[19] He believed that, despite all of the technological progress of the 20th century, all people had learned was how to kill each other more efficiently.^[18] In Ran, the vehicle for apocalyptic destruction is the arquebus, an early firearm that was introduced to Japan in the 1500s. Arquebuses revolutionized samurai warfare, and the age of swords and single combat warriors fell rapidly by the wayside. Now, samurai warfare would be characterized by massive faceless armies engaging each other at a distance. Kurosawa had already dealt with this theme in his previous film Kagemusha, with the destruction of the Takeda cavalry by the arquebuses of the Oda and Tokugawa clans. The Titan II Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) carried a 9 Mt W53 warhead, making it one of the most powerful nuclear weapons fielded by the United States during the Cold War. ... For other uses, see Hiroshima (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Apocalypse (disambiguation). ... Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppō) Example of an arquebus The arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus[1] or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning hook gun[2]) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. ... For other uses, see Samurai (disambiguation). ... Kagemusha ) is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. ...

In Ran, the Battle of Hachiman Field is a perfect illustration of this new kind of warfare. Saburo's arquebusers annihilate Jiro's cavalry and drive off his infantry by engaging them from the woods, where the cavalry are unable to venture. Similarly, Saburo's assassination by a sniper also shows how individual heroes can be easily disposed of on a modern battlefield. Kurosawa also illustrates this new warfare with his camera. Instead of focusing on the warring armies, he frequently sets the focal plane beyond the action, so that in the film they appear as abstract entities.^[20]

Reception

Though Ran opened to generally positive reviews at its premiere on June 1, 1985 in Japan, it was only modestly successful financially, earning only ¥2,510,000,000 ($12 million), just enough to break even.^[21] Its U.S. release six months later earned another $2–3 million, and a re-release in 2000 accumulated $337,112.^[22] is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Yen redirects here. ...

Ran had similar indifferent luck in the awards categories: it was completed too late to be entered at Cannes and had its premier at Japan's first Tokyo International Film Festival.^[23] Kurosawa skipped the film's premiere, angering many in the Japanese film industry; as a result Ran was not submitted as Japan's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Oscars. Serge Silberman then tried to get it nominated as a French co-production but failed. However, American director Sidney Lumet helped organize a successful campaign to have Kurosawa nominated as Best Director.^[10] The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1939, is one of the worlds oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals. ... TIFF was established in 1985, and celebrates its 18th anniversary this year. ... As a Special Award 1947 Shoeshine (Sciuscià) (Italy) - Societa Co-operativa Alfa Cinematografica - Paolo William Tamburella producer - Vittorio De Sica director 1948 Monsieur Vincent (France) - E. D. I. C., Union Général Cinématographique - George de la Grandiere producer - Maurice Cloche director 1949 The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di biciclette) (Italy) - Mayer - Vittorio... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Portrait of Sidney Lumet, May 7, 1939. ... The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to directors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ...

Ran was also nominated for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Costume Design (which it won). It was also unsuccessfully nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.^[7] In Japan, Ran was conspicuously not nominated for "Best Picture" at the Awards of the Japanese Academy. However, it won two Prizes for Best Art Direction and Best Music Score and received four other nominations, for Best Cinematography, Best Lighting, Best Sound, and Best Supporting Actor (Hitoshi Ueki, who played Saburo's patron, Lord Fujimaki). Ran also won two awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Make Up Artist and was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Screenplay - Adapted.^[7] The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. ... Charles Rosher the first recipient in 1928 The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his work in one particular motion picture. ... This Academy Award was first given for movies made in 1948 when separate awards were given for black-and-white and color movies. ... The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... The Japanese Academy Awards have been held since 1977 to reward excellence in Japanese film. ... BAFTA Award The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ...

Despite its limited success and reception at the time of its release, Ran has since been reexamined, and its accolades have improved greatly, to the point that it is now regarded as one of Kurosawa's masterpieces. ^[8]

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Boston Herald is a tabloid format newspaper, though not a tabloid in the traditional sense, and is the smaller of the two big dailies in Boston, Massachusetts (the other being The Boston Globe). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 337th day of the year (338th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Salon. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Ran (film)

• Criterion Collection essay by Michael Wilmington
• Ran Script — Dialogue Transcript: A transcript of film from Drew's Script-O-Rama.
• Ran trailer at Video Detective
• Ran at the Internet Movie Database
• Ran (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
• Ran at Rotten Tomatoes