Introduction
Akira Kurosawa's Ran is based on the 16th Century play, King Lear, by William Shakespeare. The main plots behind the two works are identical. Besides Ran’s adapted parallel characters like Hidetora, there are theme similarities and differences. In both stories, a leader decides to divide his kingdom among three heirs and a child identifies their father’s undoing in both. The similarities and differences in the plots of the two works underpin major similarities and differences in themes. For example, both works capture the theme of conflict between authority and challenge within the family albeit not exactly in ...
