Ran, Akira Kurosawa’s majestic late masterpiece, reimagines Shakespeare’s King Lear as a historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. At the age of seventy, after years of consolidating his empire, the Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to abdicate and divide his domain amongst his three sons. Taro (Akira Terao), the eldest, will rule while Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu), his second son, and Saburo (Daisuke Ryu) will take command of the Second and Third Castles but are expected to obey and support their elder brother. Saburo defies the pledge of obedience and is banished. Visually resplendent, Ran is a profound examination of the folly of war, and of a family’s collapse under the weight of betrayal, greed, and an insatiable thirst for power.

Notes by David O’Mahony.