Ran Reviews
Rereleased by StudioCanal to celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary, his breathtaking adaptation of King Lear proves, so far at least, to be as immune to the effects of time as the original
| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 4, 2024
“Ran” stands as a cross-cultural testament to timeless storytelling, where Kurosawa's indomitable spirit shapes a profound meditation on power, chaos, and the enduring resonance of Shakespearean influence.
| Original Score: 9 | Mar 3, 2024
Kurosawa is not merely true to Shakespeare’s story, he brings scenes alive with a cultural twist and a visual mastery...
| Aug 19, 2023
Ran makes miraculous use of color, and has a feel to it that only Kurosawa could accomplish.
| Jun 27, 2023
Over-long, dull in the middle, and unnecessarily tragic...
| Mar 29, 2021
Just in time for its 30th anniversary - and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death - comes a beautiful 4K restoration...
| Dec 7, 2020
An arresting amalgamation of unforgettable imagery.
| Original Score: 9/10 | Sep 7, 2020
One can hardly watch Ran without feeling a sense of prophecy fulfilled. The tragic results displayed in this film suggest we all need to discern more deeply exactly who we can trust to lead us.
| Apr 10, 2020
Ran takes film spectacle to new heights. Kurosawa continues not only to extend his own powers but to exploit new technical advances.
| Jan 29, 2020
There is not a wasted second. [Here] is proof of what we seldom doubted: Kurosawa is a director who becomes godlike rather than gaga in old age.
| Jan 29, 2020
The great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, who has made a career of creating movie masterpieces, has at the age of 75 given the world a monumental work.
| Nov 6, 2019
This film is the visual epic of the year, and one of the few really great movies of the 80s.
| Jan 30, 2019
Kurosawa's greatness lies in his capacity to reveal historical similarity and variance; to find a Shakespearean sense of doom in the other, remote, and apparently alien historical place.
| Aug 12, 2018
Ran isn't the first film many think of when they consider Kurosawa's extensive filmography, but I would posit that it is among his best.
| May 1, 2018
Kurosawa may not be Shakespeare, but with images like these, he gets at something about the horror -- and hopelessness -- of being a man that is peculiarly his own.
| Jan 3, 2018
One can never be short of things to look at while Kurasawa's Ran is in the world.
| Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 8, 2016
Ran is high classical tragedy several times over.
| Original Score: 5/5 | May 20, 2016
It's the intimacy of even the most gargantuan conflict that hits home in Kurosawa's masterful hands.
| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 7, 2016
Akira Kurosawa's Ran is virtually in a class of its own.
| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 5, 2016
An irresistible attraction that should be viewed on the biggest screen you can find.
| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 3, 2016