FILM · 1985 · JAPAN
乱
- Directed by
- Akira Kurosawa
- Runtime
- 160 min
- Studio
- Nippon Herald Films, Greenwich Film Production, Herald Ace
142 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
142 Interesting Facts About 乱
Interesting Facts (26)
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The film used around 1,400 extras and 200 horses. 1,400 suits of armor (designed by Akira Kurosawa himself) were produced, and some of the horses had to be imported from the United States. Kurosawa used the extras and horses so efficiently that by the time the film was ready for release, newspapers in Japan reported that thousands of extras and horses had been used to stage the battles.
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Unlike many other characters in the film, the fool Kyoami (Pītā) has no basis in historical Japan. The closest equivalent in relation to a historical Japanese warlord might be a page, though the responsibilities would be quite different. Rather, Kyoami is based on the fool or jester of medieval Europe and, of course, on the Fool in William Shakespeare's "King Lear."
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Criterion was set to release the film on Blu-ray in Region 1 territories, which would have made it the first Akira Kurosawa film released on Blu-ray in America. However, Criterion lost the rights to the film at the last minute and could not release it, and all previously released DVD editions of the film went out of print. As a result, Criterion's release of Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980) became the first Kurosawa film released in the US. Ran has since been released in America as part of the Studio Canal Collection, distributed by Lionsgate.
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Production Story (66)
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Criterion was set to release the film on Blu-ray in Region 1 territories, which would have made this the first Akira Kurosawa film released on Blu-ray in America. But Criterion lost the rights to the film at the last minute and was unable to release it, and all of their earlier releases of the film on DVD were out of print. As a result, Criterion's release of Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980) became the first Kurosawa film released in the USA. However, Ran has since been released in America as a part of the Studio Canal Collection, distributed by Lionsgate.
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Despite his reputation as one of, if not, Japan's greatest directors, Akira Kurosawa struggled to get the funding he needed to complete Ran to his liking as the script was considered "too Western" by Japanese investors, prompting him to seek out American producers who revered him to get Ran funded years later.
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Despite his reputation as one of Japan's greatest directors, Akira Kurosawa struggled to find the financing he needed to complete Ran to his own satisfaction, because Japanese investors considered the script "too Western", which led him, years later, to approach American producers who respected him to finance Ran.
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The film's Oscar nominations faced great difficulty and controversy due to Kurosawa's tense relationship with the Japanese film industry at the time. It is widely believed that Ran was deliberately snubbed in the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture categories at the 58th Academy Awards. The film was completed too late to make that year's Cannes Film Festival and premiered at Japan's first Tokyo International Film Festival. Kurosawa's absence from the premiere caused a backlash in the Japanese film industry. This controversy led to the film not being submitted as Japan's entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. Producer Serge Silberman tried to nominate Ran as a French co-production but was unsuccessful because the film was entirely in Japanese and contained no French dialogue. Despite all this, American director Sidney Lumet, a fan of the film and of Kurosawa, ran an aggressive campaign for Kurosawa to be nominated in the Best Director category, and ultimately succeeded. Kurosawa lost the award to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa (1985), but at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990, he received an Honorary Oscar for his lifetime contributions to the film industry and as a consolation for his loss to Pollack.
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Criterion was preparing to release the film on Blu-ray in Region 1; this would have been the first Akira Kurosawa film released on Blu-ray in America. However, Criterion lost the rights to the film at the last moment and could not release it; its previous DVD editions also went out of print. As a result, Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980) became the first Kurosawa film released by Criterion in the US. Ran, on the other hand, was later released in America under the Studio Canal Collection with Lionsgate distribution.
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Cinematographer Asakazu Nakai, nominated for an Oscar at the age of 84, became the oldest nominee in that category. The previous record belonged to Charlie Chaplin, who was nominated for Best Music at 83 for Limelight (1952). Nakai held the title for more than a decade; he was later surpassed by Gloria Stuart, who was nominated at 87 for Titanic (1997). Nakai still holds the record for the oldest nominee in the Best Cinematography category.
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Unlike the other characters in the film, the fool Kyoami (Pîtâ) has no counterpart in historical Japan. The closest figure in the service of a Japanese warlord might be a servant, but his duties were quite different. Kyoami was inspired more by European medieval court jesters and by the Fool in Shakespeare's King Lear.
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The film's Oscar nominations were met with great difficulty and controversy due to Kurosawa's strained relationship with the Japanese film industry at the time. It is widely believed that Ran was deliberately snubbed in the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture categories at the 58th Academy Awards. The film was completed too late to make that year's Cannes Film Festival and premiered at Japan's first Tokyo International Film Festival. Kurosawa's absence from the premiere caused a backlash in the Japanese film industry. This controversy led to the film not being submitted as Japan's entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. Producer Serge Silberman tried to nominate Ran as a French co-production, but failed because the film was entirely in Japanese and contained no French dialogue. Despite all this, American director Sidney Lumet, a fan of the film and of Kurosawa, mounted an aggressive campaign to get Kurosawa nominated for Best Director, and ultimately succeeded. Kurosawa lost the award to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa (1985), but at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990 he received an Honorary Oscar for his lifetime contributions to the film industry, a consolation for his defeat by Pollack.
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Criterion was preparing to release the film on Blu-ray in Region 1; this would have been the first Akira Kurosawa film released on Blu-ray in America. However, Criterion lost the rights to the film at the last moment and could not release it; its earlier DVD editions also went out of print. As a result, Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980) became the first Kurosawa film released by Criterion in the US. Ran was later released in America under the Studio Canal Collection with Lionsgate distribution.
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Behind the Scenes (19)
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The film used approximately 1400 extras and 200 horses. 1400 suits of armor (designed by Akira Kurosawa himself) were fabricated and a number of the horses had to be imported from the United States. Kurosawa used the extras and horses so efficiently that when the film was ready for premiere, newspapers in Japan were reporting that thousands of extras and horses were used to stage the battles.
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Roughly 1,400 extras and 200 horses were used in the film. Some 1,400 suits of armor, designed by Kurosawa himself, were produced, and some of the horses were imported from the United States. Kurosawa used the extras and horses so efficiently that when the film was ready for release, Japanese newspapers reported that thousands of extras and horses had been used in the battle scenes.
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Cinematographer Asakazu Nakai became the oldest Oscar nominee in his field when he was nominated at the age of 84. The previous record belonged to Charlie Chaplin, who was nominated for Best Music at 83 for Limelight (1952). Nakai held that title for more than a decade; he was later surpassed by Gloria Stuart, who was nominated at 87 for Titanic (1997). Nakai still holds the record as the oldest nominee in the Best Cinematography category.
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Characters & Cast (11)
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It has been a source of debate among sources and critics, but Tatsuya Nakadai's performance has been criticized in the past as merely reproducing Toshiro Mifune's acting in other previous Kurosawa's films; Nakadai himself even said in an interview that he was playing Mifune playing Hidetora.
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Unlike most other characters in the film, the character of the fool, Kyoami (Pītā), has no basis in historic Japan. The most similar position in relation to a historic Japanese warlord would be a page, but would be quite different in responsibilities. Rather, Kyoami is based on the fool or jester of European medieval times and, of course, William Shakespeare's character of the Fool from "King Lear."
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Unlike the other characters in the film, the fool Kyoami (Pîtâ) has no counterpart in historical Japan. The closest figure in the service of a Japanese feudal lord might be a servant, but his duties are quite different. Kyoami is inspired more by European medieval jesters and by the Fool in Shakespeare's King Lear.
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Easter Eggs & References (1)
Deeper Meaning (5)
Career & Awards (13)
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The film faced a lot of difficulty and controversy securing its Oscar nominations due to Akira Kurosawa's difficult relationship with the Japanese film industry at that period, leading to the commonly accepted theory that Ran was intentionally snubbed for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture at the 58th Academy Awards. The film was completed too late to be entered at Cannes Film Festival that year and instead had its premiere at Japan's first Tokyo International Film Festival. Kurosawa notoriously skipped the film's premiere, angering those involved in the Japanese film industry. The controversy from this action led to the film not being submitted as Japan's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. Producer Serge Silberman instead tried to get Ran nominated as a French co-production but failed, as the film is entirely in Japanese and has no French dialogue, therefore it didn't qualify as a French selection. Despite all of this, American director Sidney Lumet, a fan of this film and Kurosawa, helped organize an aggressive campaign to have Kurosawa nominated for Best Director, which ultimately succeeded. Kurosawa lost to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa (1985), but eventually received an Honorary Oscar at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990 for his lifetime contributions to the film industry and as a consolation for his loss to Pollack.
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For this film, cinematographer Asakazu Nakai became the oldest person ever nominated for an Oscar, at age 84. The previous record holder was Sir Charles Chaplin, who was 83 when he was nominated for (and won) Best Score for Limelight (1952), 20 years late, since it was not released in the United States until 1972. Nakai held the record for oldest nominee for over a decade until surpassed by Gloria Stuart, who was 87 when she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Titanic (1997). To this day, Nakai holds the record as the oldest person nominated for Best Cinematography, surpassing Ernest Laszlo, who was nominated for Logan's Run (1976) at age 78.
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The film faced many difficulties and controversies while securing its Oscar nomination, owing to Akira Kurosawa's difficult relationship with the Japanese film industry at the time; this led to the widely held theory that Ran was deliberately snubbed in the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture categories at the 58th Academy Awards. The film was completed too late to take part in the Cannes Film Festival that year, and instead premiered at Japan's first Tokyo International Film Festival. Kurosawa's skipping of the film's premiere notoriously angered those in the Japanese film industry. The controversy resulting from this action led to the film not being submitted as Japan's entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. Producer Serge Silberman instead tried to submit Ran as a French co-production, but failed because the film was entirely in Japanese and contained no French dialogue, so it could not qualify as the French selection. Despite all this, American director Sidney Lumet, a fan of the film and of Kurosawa, helped organize an aggressive campaign for Kurosawa's nomination for Best Director, which ultimately succeeded. Kurosawa lost to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa (1985), but he eventually received an Honorary Oscar at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990 for his lifetime contributions to the film industry and as consolation for his loss to Pollack.
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Life & Family (1)
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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