"Taken from the Japanese word for ‘turmoil’, Ran unfolds slowly over the best part of three hours. Its story is grand but its plot is relatively simple. It is Akira Kurosawa’s epic retelling of William Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’, interwoven with the history of Japan’s 16th century Civil Wars and the legend of Morikawa, a feudal warlord who had three sons as opposed to Lear’s three daughters. Hidetora, the Lear figure, gives up his power and divides his kingdom among his progeny. Turmoil ensues. " - OSCAR RICKETT (Little White Lies)