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New Factory-Sealed LD's RAN - Japan King Lear WS DSS Rare NEW LaserDisc Kurosawa War Drama Foreign

RAN - Japan King Lear WS DSS Rare NEW LaserDisc Kurosawa War Drama Foreign

Widescreen Edition in Japanese Language with English Subtitles

RAN - Japan King Lear WS DSS Rare NEW LaserDisc Kurosawa War Drama Foreign

Widescreen Edition in Japanese Language with English Subtitles

Rare Factory-Sealed, Remastered, Dolby Surround Sound, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint Condition with Gatefold Jacket

$14.97

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RAN - Japan King Lear WS DSS Rare NEW LaserDisc Kurosawa War Drama Foreign

Widescreen Edition in Japanese Language with English Subtitles

Rare Factory-Sealed, Remastered, Dolby Surround Sound, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint Condition with Gatefold Jacket

$14.97

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$14.97

Rare Factory-Sealed, Remastered, Dolby Surround Sound, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint Condition with Gatefold Jacket

Tatsuya Nakadai and Akira Terao in... Akira Kurosawa's...

Ran

( Catalog Number 373285 )
(1.85:1) (3 Sides) (CLV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
Remastered Widescreen Edition
Japanese Language
English Subtitles out-of-picture

Ran
1985 - 160 min. - Color
Genre: War
Rated R
Country: USA

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
For his 27th film, the "sensei" of Japanese cinema, Akira Kurosawa, transposes Shakespeare's KING LEAR to feudal Japan. RAN, which translates as "chaos" or "turmoil," is the tragic tale of Lord Hidetora, a warlord who decides to divide his empire among his three sons on the eve of his 70th birthday. However, Hidetora's youngest and most compassionate son, Saburo, defiantly objects to this hasty decision and is disowned by the proud, stubborn ruler. Once the two eldest sons take control of the empire, they quickly turn on their father and begin vying for total control over the land. As Hidetora is banished from his own kingdom in a bloody battle, he must confront the consequences of his violent, ruthless past.

Ten years in the making, RAN represents the culmination of Kurosawa's career by revisiting his skill at adapting Shakespeare, as evidenced in THRONE OF BLOOD, and displaying the cinematic splendor of his other landmark films such as SEVEN SAMURAI and RASHOMON. With its magnificent costumes, breathtaking settings, and amazingly photographed battle sequences, the film is truly stunning. An epic on the grandest of scales, RAN is not only one of Kurosawa's finest films, it is a glorious masterpiece of Japanese cinema.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Ran is Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's reinterpretation of William Shakespeare's King Lear. The Lear counterpart is an elderly 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai), who announces that he's about to divide his kingdom equally among his three sons. In his dotage, he falls prey to the false flattery of his treacherous sons (Akira Terao and Jinpachi Nezu), while banishing his youngest son (Daisuke Ryu), the only member of the family who loves him enough to tell him the unvarnished truth. Thanks to his foolish pride, his domain collapses under its own weight as the sons battle each other over total control. Kurosawa's first film in five years, Ran had been in the planning stages for twice that long; Kurosawa had storyboarded the project with a series of vivid color paintings that have since been published in book form in England. The battle scenes are staged with such brutal vigor that it's hard to imagine that the director was 75 years old at the time. This 160-minute historical epic won several international awards, but it was not a hit in Japan, and it would be five more years before Kurosawa would be able to finance another picture. --- Hal Erickson

Overwhelming in scope and magnificent in visual style, Ran is less an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear than an amplification of its themes of greed, betrayal, and honor. Though set during the turbulent Muromachi period in Japan, the film achieves a surprising universality by perfectly marrying style and content. Master director Akira Kurosawa distilled the play and stripped it of its numerous lengthy speeches (Kurosawa accused Shakespeare of being too wordy). In their stead, he packed the film with images pregnant with resonance and visual poetry. Deftly employing all of the techniques associated with his long career, Kurosawa creates a powerful portrayal of a kingdom coming apart at the seams through such techniques as dynamic, painterly compositions that emphasize depth of field; striking, expressionistic color; and brilliant sound design. In one scene, Kurosawa confronts the viewer with a silent, dream-like montage of human brutality: concubines committing ritual suicide, soldiers porcupined with arrows, spilling blood, and grisly dismembered limbs. In that same scene, the ghost-like Hidetora, Kurosawa's Lear, witnesses the armies of his two sons, one bedecked in brilliant yellow, the other in equally vibrant red, clash on the black slopes of Mount Fuji. Few films have imbued battle sequences with such beauty and with such horror. Tatsuya Nakadai gives perhaps the finest performance of his long career as the former vainglorious tyrant who slowly fills with shame and regret as his world comes crashing down, while Mieko Harada is flawlessly ruthless as the revenge seeking Lady Kaede. A brilliant cinematic feast ten years in the making, Ran proved to be the last masterwork by one of the greatest filmmakers. --- Jonathan Crow

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Reviews, Articles, Newsletter and Information for Movies on LaserDisc LD Laser Disc, LazerDisc.

Cast for Ran

Tatsuya Nakadai - Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
Akira Terao - Tarotakatora Ichimonji
Jinpachi Nezu - Jiromasatora Ichimonji
Daisuke Ryu - Saburonaotora Ichimonji
Mieko Harada - Lady Kaede
Yoshiko Miyazaki - Lady Sue
Hisashi Igawa - Kurogane
Masayuki Yui - Tango
Jun Tazaki - Ayabe
Kazuo Kato - Ikoma
Toshiya Ito - Naganuma
Hitoshi Ueki - Fujimaki
Norio Matsui - Ogura
Kenji Kodama - Shirane
Daisuke Oka
Takeshi Kato - Hatakeyama
Takeshi Nomura - Tsurumaru

Crew for Ran

Akira Kurosawa - Director / Screenwriter / Editor
Masato Hara - Producer
Serge Silberman - Producer
Masato Ide - Screenwriter
Hideo Oguni - Screenwriter
William Shakespeare - Play Author
Asakazu Nakai - Cinematographer
Takao Saito - Cinematographer
Masaharu Ueda - Cinematographer
Toru Takemitsu - Composer (Music Score)
Shinobu Muraki - Production Designer
Yoshiro Muraki - Production Designer
Jiro Hirai - Set Designer
Mitsuyuki Kimura - Set Designer
Yasuyoshi Ototake - Set Designer
Tsuneo Shimura - Set Designer
Yoshiro Tonsho - Set Designer
Emi Wada - Costume Designer
Tameyuki Aimi - Makeup
Chihako Naito - Makeup
Noriko Takamizawa - Makeup
Shohichiro Ueda - Makeup

Awards for Ran

Best Art Direction (nom) Shinobu Muraki 1985 Academy
Best Art Direction (nom) Yoshiro Muraki 1985 Academy
Best Cinematography (nom) Masaharu Ueda 1985 Academy
Best Cinematography (nom) Takao Saito 1985 Academy
Best Cinematography (nom) Asakazu Nakai 1985 Academy
Best Costume Design (win) Emi Wada 1985 Academy
Best Director (nom) Akira Kurosawa 1985 Academy
Best Foreign Film (win) 1985 L.A. Film Critics Association
Best Music Score (win) Toru Takemitsu 1985 L.A. Film Critics Association
Best Foreign-Language Film (win) Akira Kurosawa 1985 New York Film Critics Circle
Best Foreign-Language Film (win) Akira Kurosawa 1985 New York Film Critics Circle
Best Film 1985 SOC
Best Adaptation (nom) 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Cinematography (nom) 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Costume Design (nom) Emi Wada 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Foreign-Language Film (win) 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Production Design (nom) 1986 British Academy Awards
Makeup Award (win) 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Adaptation (nom) Hideo Oguni 1987 British Academy Awards
Best Adaptation (nom) Masato Ide 1987 British Academy Awards
Best Cinematography (nom) Masaharu Ueda 1987 British Academy Awards
Best Production Design (nom) Shinobu Muraki 1987 British Academy Awards
Makeup Award (win) 1987 British Academy Awards
Makeup Award (win) Tameyuki Aimi 1987 British Academy Awards
Makeup Award (win) Chihako Naito 1987 British Academy Awards

Feature Details

Title: Ran
Feature Release Date: 1985
Genre: War
Rating: R
Color: Color
Runtime: 160 Minutes
Picture: Letterboxed
Ratio: 1.85:1
Playback Format: CLV

IMDB Info...

Technical Details

Catalog Number: 373285
UPC: 086162912566
Manufacturer: Kuraray
Publisher: Fox Video

Sides: 3
Cover: Gatefold Jacket
Spoken Language: Japanese
Country: USA
Video Format: NTSC

Model: 373285-N
Shipping Weight: 2 lbs
0 in Stock

Rare Factory-Sealed, Remastered, Dolby Surround Sound, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint Condition with Gatefold Jacket

Tatsuya Nakadai and Akira Terao in... Akira Kurosawa's...

Ran

( Catalog Number 373285 )
(1.85:1) (3 Sides) (CLV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
Remastered Widescreen Edition
Japanese Language
English Subtitles out-of-picture

Ran
1985 - 160 min. - Color
Genre: War
Rated R
Country: USA

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
For his 27th film, the "sensei" of Japanese cinema, Akira Kurosawa, transposes Shakespeare's KING LEAR to feudal Japan. RAN, which translates as "chaos" or "turmoil," is the tragic tale of Lord Hidetora, a warlord who decides to divide his empire among his three sons on the eve of his 70th birthday. However, Hidetora's youngest and most compassionate son, Saburo, defiantly objects to this hasty decision and is disowned by the proud, stubborn ruler. Once the two eldest sons take control of the empire, they quickly turn on their father and begin vying for total control over the land. As Hidetora is banished from his own kingdom in a bloody battle, he must confront the consequences of his violent, ruthless past.

Ten years in the making, RAN represents the culmination of Kurosawa's career by revisiting his skill at adapting Shakespeare, as evidenced in THRONE OF BLOOD, and displaying the cinematic splendor of his other landmark films such as SEVEN SAMURAI and RASHOMON. With its magnificent costumes, breathtaking settings, and amazingly photographed battle sequences, the film is truly stunning. An epic on the grandest of scales, RAN is not only one of Kurosawa's finest films, it is a glorious masterpiece of Japanese cinema.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Ran is Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's reinterpretation of William Shakespeare's King Lear. The Lear counterpart is an elderly 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai), who announces that he's about to divide his kingdom equally among his three sons. In his dotage, he falls prey to the false flattery of his treacherous sons (Akira Terao and Jinpachi Nezu), while banishing his youngest son (Daisuke Ryu), the only member of the family who loves him enough to tell him the unvarnished truth. Thanks to his foolish pride, his domain collapses under its own weight as the sons battle each other over total control. Kurosawa's first film in five years, Ran had been in the planning stages for twice that long; Kurosawa had storyboarded the project with a series of vivid color paintings that have since been published in book form in England. The battle scenes are staged with such brutal vigor that it's hard to imagine that the director was 75 years old at the time. This 160-minute historical epic won several international awards, but it was not a hit in Japan, and it would be five more years before Kurosawa would be able to finance another picture. --- Hal Erickson

Overwhelming in scope and magnificent in visual style, Ran is less an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear than an amplification of its themes of greed, betrayal, and honor. Though set during the turbulent Muromachi period in Japan, the film achieves a surprising universality by perfectly marrying style and content. Master director Akira Kurosawa distilled the play and stripped it of its numerous lengthy speeches (Kurosawa accused Shakespeare of being too wordy). In their stead, he packed the film with images pregnant with resonance and visual poetry. Deftly employing all of the techniques associated with his long career, Kurosawa creates a powerful portrayal of a kingdom coming apart at the seams through such techniques as dynamic, painterly compositions that emphasize depth of field; striking, expressionistic color; and brilliant sound design. In one scene, Kurosawa confronts the viewer with a silent, dream-like montage of human brutality: concubines committing ritual suicide, soldiers porcupined with arrows, spilling blood, and grisly dismembered limbs. In that same scene, the ghost-like Hidetora, Kurosawa's Lear, witnesses the armies of his two sons, one bedecked in brilliant yellow, the other in equally vibrant red, clash on the black slopes of Mount Fuji. Few films have imbued battle sequences with such beauty and with such horror. Tatsuya Nakadai gives perhaps the finest performance of his long career as the former vainglorious tyrant who slowly fills with shame and regret as his world comes crashing down, while Mieko Harada is flawlessly ruthless as the revenge seeking Lady Kaede. A brilliant cinematic feast ten years in the making, Ran proved to be the last masterwork by one of the greatest filmmakers. --- Jonathan Crow

Thanks for Visiting DaDon's !

Reviews, Articles, Newsletter and Information for Movies on LaserDisc LD Laser Disc, LazerDisc.

Cast for Ran

Tatsuya Nakadai - Lord Hidetora Ichimonji
Akira Terao - Tarotakatora Ichimonji
Jinpachi Nezu - Jiromasatora Ichimonji
Daisuke Ryu - Saburonaotora Ichimonji
Mieko Harada - Lady Kaede
Yoshiko Miyazaki - Lady Sue
Hisashi Igawa - Kurogane
Masayuki Yui - Tango
Jun Tazaki - Ayabe
Kazuo Kato - Ikoma
Toshiya Ito - Naganuma
Hitoshi Ueki - Fujimaki
Norio Matsui - Ogura
Kenji Kodama - Shirane
Daisuke Oka
Takeshi Kato - Hatakeyama
Takeshi Nomura - Tsurumaru

Crew for Ran

Akira Kurosawa - Director / Screenwriter / Editor
Masato Hara - Producer
Serge Silberman - Producer
Masato Ide - Screenwriter
Hideo Oguni - Screenwriter
William Shakespeare - Play Author
Asakazu Nakai - Cinematographer
Takao Saito - Cinematographer
Masaharu Ueda - Cinematographer
Toru Takemitsu - Composer (Music Score)
Shinobu Muraki - Production Designer
Yoshiro Muraki - Production Designer
Jiro Hirai - Set Designer
Mitsuyuki Kimura - Set Designer
Yasuyoshi Ototake - Set Designer
Tsuneo Shimura - Set Designer
Yoshiro Tonsho - Set Designer
Emi Wada - Costume Designer
Tameyuki Aimi - Makeup
Chihako Naito - Makeup
Noriko Takamizawa - Makeup
Shohichiro Ueda - Makeup

Awards for Ran

Best Art Direction (nom) Shinobu Muraki 1985 Academy
Best Art Direction (nom) Yoshiro Muraki 1985 Academy
Best Cinematography (nom) Masaharu Ueda 1985 Academy
Best Cinematography (nom) Takao Saito 1985 Academy
Best Cinematography (nom) Asakazu Nakai 1985 Academy
Best Costume Design (win) Emi Wada 1985 Academy
Best Director (nom) Akira Kurosawa 1985 Academy
Best Foreign Film (win) 1985 L.A. Film Critics Association
Best Music Score (win) Toru Takemitsu 1985 L.A. Film Critics Association
Best Foreign-Language Film (win) Akira Kurosawa 1985 New York Film Critics Circle
Best Foreign-Language Film (win) Akira Kurosawa 1985 New York Film Critics Circle
Best Film 1985 SOC
Best Adaptation (nom) 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Cinematography (nom) 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Costume Design (nom) Emi Wada 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Foreign-Language Film (win) 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Production Design (nom) 1986 British Academy Awards
Makeup Award (win) 1986 British Academy Awards
Best Adaptation (nom) Hideo Oguni 1987 British Academy Awards
Best Adaptation (nom) Masato Ide 1987 British Academy Awards
Best Cinematography (nom) Masaharu Ueda 1987 British Academy Awards
Best Production Design (nom) Shinobu Muraki 1987 British Academy Awards
Makeup Award (win) 1987 British Academy Awards
Makeup Award (win) Tameyuki Aimi 1987 British Academy Awards
Makeup Award (win) Chihako Naito 1987 British Academy Awards

Feature Details

Title: Ran
Feature Release Date: 1985
Genre: War
Rating: R
Color: Color
Runtime: 160 Minutes
Picture: Letterboxed
Ratio: 1.85:1
Playback Format: CLV

IMDB Info...

Technical Details

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RAN - Japan King Lear WS DSS Rare NEW LaserDisc Kurosawa War Drama Foreign

Rare Factory-Sealed, Remastered, Dolby Surround Sound, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

LaserDisc Special Features

Rare Factory-Sealed, Remastered, Dolby Surround Sound, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

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