Fiction
Blu-ray
Availability
Details
PUBLISHED
©1985
EDITION
DESCRIPTION
1 videodisc (approximately 162 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet (189 pages : color illustrations ; 15 cm)
ISBN/ISSN
LANGUAGE
SERIES
NOTES
Blu-ray DVD ; 1080P High Definition
Akira Kurosawa's conceived re-telling of Shakespeare's King Lear mixes Japanese history, Shakespeare's plot and Kurasawa's own feelings about loyalty in the epic masterpiece, RAN. Set in the 16th century Japan, an aging ruler, Lord Hidetora, announces his intention to divide his land equally among three sons. This decision to step down unleashes a power struggle between the three, when Hidetora falls prey to the false flattery bestowed upon him by the two older sons and banishes the youngest when he speaks the truth. The ruthless betrayal ultimately drives the Hidetora insane, destroying his entire family and kingdom
Title from disc
Liner notes by David Jenkins
Originally released as a motion picture in 1985 ; released as a Blu-ray in 2000
Requires a Blu-ray player
Special features include: Art of the samurai: interview with a Japanese art-of-war expert ; Akira Jurosawa: the epic and the intimate, a documentary on the director ; A.K.: feature length documentary from director Chris Marker ; The samurai: documentary on samurai art
Director of photography, Takao Saito ; production designer, Yoshiro Muraki ; executive producer, Katsumi Furukawa ; produced by Serge Silberman and Masato Hara
Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Dyu, Mieko Harada, Oshiko Myazaki Peter
DVD ; 16 x 9 ; 1.85:1 ; Japanese and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio ; Japanese, English, and Spanish 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
In Japanese, French, English, and Spanish; subtitles in French and Spanish; closed captioned