Ran: 40 Years On

Akira Kurosawa’s King Lear-inspired masterpiece remains a staggering achievement four decades later

Credit: Toho

Warning: Contains spoilers

Like many film buffs, I’ve had formative cinematic experiences that often proved akin to a profound spiritual encounter. Films that opened my eyes to the big screen’s boundless possibilities and, in turn, seemed to alter my perception of reality. Akira Kurosawa’s latter-day epic Ran (1985) is one such film. To say I was blown away when I first laid eyes on this as a teenager is redundant. It’s a masterpiece of the highest order and one of the greatest films of all time.