Akira Kurosawa’s Ran Is Returning to Theaters for Its 40th Anniversary

Back in 2016, Akira Kurosawa’s Shakespearean epic Ran received a 4K restoration from the original materials. And now, to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary, Studio Canal is releasing the remastered Ran into theaters this summer followed by an extensive collector’s edition that will only be available in Europe.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear as well as 16th century Japanese history, Ran tells the story of an aging warlord (the great Tatsuya Nakadai) who decides to split his kingdom among his three sons, a decision that ultimately leads to chaos and civil war. Ran contains some of Kurosawa’s most striking and indelible images — he spent ten years storyboarding the entire film as paintings — and serves as a powerful story about war, power, and corruption.

The remastered Ran will be playing throughout North America until the end of July. Sadly (for me, anyway), it doesn’t look like the movie’s coming anywhere close to Lincoln, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that The Ross will somehow schedule it like they did for the 70th anniversary of Seven Samurai.