Akira Kurosawa's famous interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear as a jidaigeki epic was at the time of its release the most expensive Japanese film ever produced and remains an undoubted masterpiece of world cinema.

‘Ran’ stands for chaos, turmoil or fury in Japanese; all befitting Shakespeare's vision of a nihilistic world turned upside down and revolting against its natural order; dramatising the pain and rage of ageing and its inevitable loss of control. Borrowing narrative elements from the legend of Mōri Motonari (a 16th century Japanese warlord) as well as the Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, it stars Tatsuya Nakadai as the vain, arrogant Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji, who at the age of seventy decides to abdicate and divide his domain amongst his three sons, with catastrophic results.

Spectacularly beautiful – its gorgeous, colour-saturated frames the product of an astonishing artistic vision - Ran works on many levels; as an historical period epic and Shakespearean adaptation, as well as a bloody, action-packed war film with a silent central battle scene that must be seen to be believed. Three decades after its initial release, Kurosawa’s feudal warlord story remains bleak, brutal and breathtaking.

• Before the screening enjoy a live performance from the young performers involved in the Cheltenham Youth Theatre as part of Bristol Shakespeare Festival.

Explore Shakespeare in Bristol this summer with us and Bristol Shakespeare Festival - how many famous Bristol locations can you spot in this video?

Part of BFI presents Shakespeare on Film programme.

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