EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
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Film round up
BENJAMIN POTHIER suggests that Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain point to the ceremonial use of hallucinogenic flora
The bard confirms that the right has a humour bypass, and replays the English Revolution on period instruments
MARIA DUARTE and ANDY HEDGECOCK review Sunny Dancer, Tony, Songs of Forgotten Trees, and The End of Oak Street
JOHN GREEN relishes a powerful and moving drama that explores the lived realities of west London’s Punjabi community
MARTIN HALL welcomes a plea for greater compassion between believer and non-believer via the framework of philosophical enquiry
Ran (12A)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
5/5
LONG dead, out of copyright and with no manager to exploit the brand, Shakespeare has been a fabulous free source of inspiration for film-makers.
The Bard’s King John was filmed as long ago as 1899 and the advent of the talkies confirmed him as a crucial cinema source for everyone from Laurence Olivier, Max Reinhardt and Orson Welles to Charlton Heston and Howard Keel.
But for my money — and even as a critic I would happily pay to see it — Akira Kurosawa’s Ran is arguably the finest and most memorable Shakespearian film adaptation.
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