Ran

Tackling King Lear in his seventies with the same gusto he brought to Macbeth 25 years earlier, Kurosawa has a great warlord blindly plunging the country into civil war when he divides his kingdom between his three sons. If there are parallels with his own troubled career, it’s clear that the filmmaker saw this as a universal statement on the human condition: “Man is born crying, and when he dies, enough, he dies.”

Surprisingly Kurosawa didn’t embrace colour until 1970, but there is no denying the rhapsodic pageantry of Ran; he marshaled colour-coded armies with supreme artistry, creating some of the most vivid and nightmarish battle scenes ever filmed. Tatsuya Nakadai, who plays the warlord, first worked with Kurosawa on Seven Samurai in 1954, and is still acting to this day.

Sunday’s Pantheon screening will begin with a short 15-20 minute introductory lecture, and feature a book club-style discussion afterwards.

Jan 21: Introduced by Mike Archibald, writer, editor and filmmaker

Born and raised in Vancouver, Mike Archibald is a writer, editor and filmmaker. He studied film at Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has worked with various festivals in this city, including DOXA and VIFF.

A great, glorious achievement.

Roger Ebert

In many respects, it’s Kurosawa’s most sumptuous film, a feast of color, motion and sound: Considering that its brethren include Kagemusha, Seven Samurai and Dersu Uzala, the achievement is extraordinary.

Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian

Presented by