Ran - Studio Canal Collection
What?
William Shakespeare is recognized as the innovator of authenticity when it comes to the written word. In turn, the same can be said about legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa who, instead of a pen, used a camera as his narrative telling instrument. The commonalities between Shakespeare and Kurosawa don’t end with the exceeding level of their artistic abilities. Kurosawa literally ripped a page out of Shakespeare’s epics when he boldly undertook his very own rendition of the eternally ambitious King Lear. Like many of Kurosawa’s films, Ran is set in 15th-century feudal Japan and depicts the passing of power from a king to his eldest. In doing so, his youngest son’s admiration and devotion becomes lost as bloodshed, betrayal, and backstabbing ensues. Admittedly, Ran does feel somewhat slow moving and drawn-out when you consider the frantically truncated movies that churn out of Hollywood like a revolving door. Films aren’t made like this anymore. Kurosawa used several cameras at once, an exorbitant amount of extras, and meticulously detailed costumes, set designs, alongside multi-faceted character as well as plot developments. Known for exquisite cinematography, grandiose battle scenes, and complex storylines, Kurosawa craftily carved his name into the distinguished constitution of filmmaking.
Bringing such larger-than-life narratives to the silver screen costs quite the pretty penny—especially in 1980. So much so, Hollywood directors like Spielberg, Lucas, and Coppola stepped up to the plate on behalf of Kurosawa and convinced some American studios to help fund the project in return for releasing the film internationally. Thank goodness other auteur directors picked up the slack for the large production price tag. I dread to ponder what would have become of Ran had these individuals not been there to lend a hand.
Suffice it to say, Ran is well worthy of the Oscars for cinematography, art direction, best costume design, and—as to be expected—best director. This is a motion picture that requires strict attention along with healthy patience. Those who take the time to fully appreciate this work of art will be rewarded with having witnessed one of the greatest thespian dramas of all time.
Optics:
Truthfully, I was a bit worried about Studio Canal’s treatment of such a renowned film. However, my initial concerns were pretty much dispelled as the over flowing colors from costumes, sets, grasslands, and lively colorful battle scenes oozed off my plasma set. Framed in its correct aspect ratio of 1.85:1, Ran retains an apposite layer of grain and doesn’t noticeably suffer from any egregious DNR or EE. My only real gripe comes from the inconsistency of the transfer as well as the mucky, dark veil. I recall Ran looking a little bit cleaner on previous DVD’s, but don’t let that mislead you. Studio Canal, in my opinion, did a more than satisfactory job with the picture quality. Sure, the print debris and aforementioned occasional hazy image would have been properly handled by a company like Criterion, though this first batch of Canal titles appear quite lovely on BD.
Sonics:
Visual story telling plays a very important role in Ran. Allowing the symphonic musical score to captivate audiences as a means to let the images on screen speak volumes is evidently a skill that has fallen by the waist side in recent cinematic history. The DTS-HD Master Audio enhances the original Japanese dialogue and brings the viciousness of up-close battle straight into your home theater. With a two channel English option dubbed stupendously, viewers are presented with a serious choice to make. Personally, I prefer the 5.1 Japanese track, but I was truly impressed with the English audio effort. With no pitch problems, drop offs, or hisses to speak of, Ran sounds bloody brilliant on Blu-ray!
Extras:
There’re literally hours upon hours of supplementary features that enthusiasts and layman alike will adore. Everything from documentaries, interviews, featurettes involving all things Kurosawa is accounted for. It seems like everything in the bonus section has solemn value and is inseparable from the feature itself. French New Wave director Chris Marker has a brilliant documentary; Catherine Cadou’s presents an insightful interview; and there is another handful of featurettes, a theatrical trailer, BD-Live, and lets not forget the thick informative booklet. Even if there’s a few extras missing that were present on Criterion’s DVD, what’s here is more than enough to quench anyone’s Kurosawa thirst.
Well?
An unadulterated, traditional epic, Akira Kurosawa’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear is beyond a doubt near the top of his many successes. Ran is perhaps the crown jewel of the Samurai genre and is a distinctive staple of what honest to goodness cinema should entail. This is in no way a rainy day rental, but rather a thought provoking and highly intricate filmic narrative. Studio Canal has done justice to Kurosawa’s dramatic tour de force with a technologically stunning lossless soundtrack that coincides amicably with the solid albeit wanting picture quality. When it comes down to it, this is a tremendous presentation of an endearing classic.
Grant Iwan
William Shakespeare is recognized as the innovator of authenticity when it comes to the written word. In turn, the same can be said about legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa who, instead of a pen, used a camera as his narrative telling instrument. The commonalities between Shakespeare and Kurosawa don’t end with the exceeding level of their artistic abilities. Kurosawa literally ripped a page out of Shakespeare’s epics when he boldly undertook his very own rendition of the eternally ambitious King Lear. Like many of Kurosawa’s films, Ran is set in 15th-century feudal Japan and depicts the passing of power from a king to his eldest. In doing so, his youngest son’s admiration and devotion becomes lost as bloodshed, betrayal, and backstabbing ensues. Admittedly, Ran does feel somewhat slow moving and drawn-out when you consider the frantically truncated movies that churn out of Hollywood like a revolving door. Films aren’t made like this anymore. Kurosawa used several cameras at once, an exorbitant amount of extras, and meticulously detailed costumes, set designs, alongside multi-faceted character as well as plot developments. Known for exquisite cinematography, grandiose battle scenes, and complex storylines, Kurosawa craftily carved his name into the distinguished constitution of filmmaking.
Bringing such larger-than-life narratives to the silver screen costs quite the pretty penny—especially in 1980. So much so, Hollywood directors like Spielberg, Lucas, and Coppola stepped up to the plate on behalf of Kurosawa and convinced some American studios to help fund the project in return for releasing the film internationally. Thank goodness other auteur directors picked up the slack for the large production price tag. I dread to ponder what would have become of Ran had these individuals not been there to lend a hand.
Suffice it to say, Ran is well worthy of the Oscars for cinematography, art direction, best costume design, and—as to be expected—best director. This is a motion picture that requires strict attention along with healthy patience. Those who take the time to fully appreciate this work of art will be rewarded with having witnessed one of the greatest thespian dramas of all time.
Optics:
Truthfully, I was a bit worried about Studio Canal’s treatment of such a renowned film. However, my initial concerns were pretty much dispelled as the over flowing colors from costumes, sets, grasslands, and lively colorful battle scenes oozed off my plasma set. Framed in its correct aspect ratio of 1.85:1, Ran retains an apposite layer of grain and doesn’t noticeably suffer from any egregious DNR or EE. My only real gripe comes from the inconsistency of the transfer as well as the mucky, dark veil. I recall Ran looking a little bit cleaner on previous DVD’s, but don’t let that mislead you. Studio Canal, in my opinion, did a more than satisfactory job with the picture quality. Sure, the print debris and aforementioned occasional hazy image would have been properly handled by a company like Criterion, though this first batch of Canal titles appear quite lovely on BD.
Sonics:
Visual story telling plays a very important role in Ran. Allowing the symphonic musical score to captivate audiences as a means to let the images on screen speak volumes is evidently a skill that has fallen by the waist side in recent cinematic history. The DTS-HD Master Audio enhances the original Japanese dialogue and brings the viciousness of up-close battle straight into your home theater. With a two channel English option dubbed stupendously, viewers are presented with a serious choice to make. Personally, I prefer the 5.1 Japanese track, but I was truly impressed with the English audio effort. With no pitch problems, drop offs, or hisses to speak of, Ran sounds bloody brilliant on Blu-ray!
Extras:
There’re literally hours upon hours of supplementary features that enthusiasts and layman alike will adore. Everything from documentaries, interviews, featurettes involving all things Kurosawa is accounted for. It seems like everything in the bonus section has solemn value and is inseparable from the feature itself. French New Wave director Chris Marker has a brilliant documentary; Catherine Cadou’s presents an insightful interview; and there is another handful of featurettes, a theatrical trailer, BD-Live, and lets not forget the thick informative booklet. Even if there’s a few extras missing that were present on Criterion’s DVD, what’s here is more than enough to quench anyone’s Kurosawa thirst.
Well?
An unadulterated, traditional epic, Akira Kurosawa’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear is beyond a doubt near the top of his many successes. Ran is perhaps the crown jewel of the Samurai genre and is a distinctive staple of what honest to goodness cinema should entail. This is in no way a rainy day rental, but rather a thought provoking and highly intricate filmic narrative. Studio Canal has done justice to Kurosawa’s dramatic tour de force with a technologically stunning lossless soundtrack that coincides amicably with the solid albeit wanting picture quality. When it comes down to it, this is a tremendous presentation of an endearing classic.
Grant Iwan
Director:
Akira Kurosawa
Starring:
Tatsuya Nakadai
Akira Terao
Jinpachi Nezu
Daisuke Ryu
Yoshiko Miyazaki
Best line:
"Why stay with this mad old man? If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean."
Tagline:
"Ran!"
Description:
Optimum/Studio Canal
UK
Region free
Rated 15
2 Hr 42 Min
1.85:1
VC-1/BD50
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese
(French, English [2.0], German [2.0], Spanish [2.0], Italian [2.0])
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish
'Art of the Samurai'
'The Epic and the Intimate'
Interview with Kurosawa by Catherine Cadou
Documentary by Chris Marker
Theatrical trailer
'The Samurai'
BD-Live
Ratings: (Out of 10)
Film 10.0
Optics 8.0
Sonics 9.0
Extras 9.0
Overall 9.0
