[Jun 4] NORTHERN CA: 25th Anniversary of Akira Kurosawa’s RAN

RAN
25th Anniversary of Akira Kurosawa’s final epic masterpiece in new 35 mm print, opens June 4, 2010 in San Francisco
2010 Marks Kurosawa Centennial

Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema, One Embarcadero Center-promenade level (Sacramento & Battery), San Francisco (415)267-4893
Tickets are $10.50 for general admission and $8.25 for seniors, students, and children
Showtimes (valid 6/4-10): daily at 1:00, 4:00, 8:00
Tickets available at: http://tickets.landmarktheatres.com and theatre box office

Co-presented by Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) – Christine Kwon, Program Manager for CAAM, will introduce the opening night Fri, 6/4, 8:00pm show.

http://www.rialtopictures.com/ran.html

Rialto Pictures presents RAN, the 27th film by legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Hidden Fortress). 2010 is Kurosawa’s centennial year and marks the 25th anniversary of RAN’s original release.

In its epic scale, stylistic grandeur and tragic contemplation of human destiny, RAN (literally, “chaos” or “turmoil”) brings together the great themes and gorgeous images of the director’s life work. A brilliantly conceived meditation on Shakespeare’s King Lear, crossed with Japan’s 16th-century Civil Wars, it stars the great Tatsuya Nakadai (Kagemusha, High and Low, Yojimbo, Hara Kiri, etc. etc.) as Lord Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging ruler who decides to abdicate and divide his land equally among his three sons, unleashing an intense power struggle as his sons and daughters-in-law scheme for power and revenge. A spectacular adventure punctuated by epic battle scenes, RAN was at the time of its release the most expensive film ever made in Japan, with breathtaking color and a visual splendor that remains unparalleled. (Kurosawa devised the entire film in watercolors ten years before production began). Named Best Foreign Film of the Year by the New York Film Critics Circle and Best Film of the Year by the National Society of Film Critics, RAN was also Oscar-nominated for Best Director, Cinematography, and Art Direction, with Emi Wada winning for her dazzling, three-years-in-the-making costumes. (Japan, 1985)

“Spectacular! Among the most thrilling movie experiences a viewer can have!” -The New York Times

“***** [FIVE STARS – HIGHEST RATING] Critics’ pick! Kurosawa’s magisterial epic demands viewing on the big screen!” – Time Out New York

“Awe inspiring! Takes its place among the major screen versions of Shakespeare. The battle scenes are horrifying, yet extraordinarily beautiful.” -The Village Voice

“The most intimate of epics or the most epic of chamber pieces.” -The L Magazine

“Kurosawa’s late-period masterpiece, transposing King Lear to period Japan, is one of the most exquisite spectacles ever made, a color-coordinated epic tragedy of carnage and betrayal—passionate, somber, and profound.” -New York magazine

The film’s running time is 162 minutes; it is not rated. In Japanese; fully subtitled in English.