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Ran (1985)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Shot by Takao Saito, Asakazu Nakai · Cut by Akira Kurosawa · Music by Tōru Takemitsu · Ratio 1.85:1 · 157 min
How it was made
- Costume designer Emi Wada and Kurosawa designed 1,400 uniforms and suits of armour for the production, handmade by master tailors over three years, to outfit a cast that included around 200 horses and 1,400 extras.
- Kurosawa built Hidetora's third castle as a full-scale structure on the slopes of Mount Fuji rather than using miniatures; actor Tatsuya Nakadai performed the scene of Hidetora fleeing the burning castle in a single take.
- Kurosawa often shot with three cameras simultaneously, each fitted with different lenses and angles, favouring long shots and static setups where the action was brought into frame rather than tracked by the camera.
- Kurosawa wrote the script in 1975, then let it sit for seven years while he painted a complete set of storyboards for every shot and searched for financing, eventually securing backing from French producer Serge Silberman after making Kagemusha.
- Kurosawa halted filming for one day when his wife of 39 years, Yōko Yaguchi, died during production.
Elsewhere
More by Akira Kurosawa
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