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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,395,454 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleRan is an Oscar-winning 1985 film written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. It is a jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) depicting the fall of Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai), an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. The story is based on legends of the daimyo Mori Motonari, as well as on the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear. Ran was Kurosawa’s last great epic. With a budget of $12 million, it was the most expensive Japanese film ever produced up to that time. Kurosawa directed three other films before he died, but none on so large a scale. The film was hailed for its powerful images and use of color – costume designer Emi Wada won an Academy Award for Costume Design for her work on Ran. The distinctive Gustav Mahler-inspired film score, written by Toru Takemitsu, plays in isolation with ambient sound muted. Kurosawa first got the idea that would become Ran in the mid-1970s, when he read a parable about Mori Motonari. Motonari was famous for having three sons, all incredibly loyal and talented in their own right. Kurosawa began imagining what would have happened had they been bad. (more…)Recently featured: Bratislava – D. B. Cooper – Oil shaleArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that Marilyn Monroe posed naked in 1948 to raise US$50 to pay the rent for her room at the Hollywood Studio Club (pictured)?… that at least 37 people have died in the ongoing caste violence in Rajasthan, India?… that French writer Honoré de Balzac’s 1831 novel La Peau de chagrin was the last book read by Sigmund Freud before he committed suicide?… that the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement would allow security officials at some international borders to randomly search travelers’ MP3 players, laptops, and cell phones for copyright-infringing music files?… that Vinh Trang Temple in southern Vietnam has been severely damaged by both French military action and extreme weather?… that Bill Flemming called over 600 events as a broadcaster for the ABC Sports’ Wide World of Sports during his career?… that the 1994 French–Romanian film An Unforgettable Summer depicts the persecution of Bulgarians by Romanian Army personnel, in a metaphor of the Yugoslav wars?… that the state of Indiana in 1972 set aside 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of Hoosier National Forest just for the purpose of reintroducing wild turkey to the Hoosier state?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsSpace Shuttle mission STS-124 launches, carrying the main module of the Japanese laboratory Kibō (pictured) for the International Space Station.Former Croatian Army general Mirko Norac is sentenced by a Croatian court to seven years in prison for his role in the 1993 Operation Medak Pocket.In Dublin, over 100 countries adopt the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning cluster bombs.Paleontologists discover Materpiscis, a 380-million-year-old placoderm fish which is the earliest known animal to bear live young.Nepal is declared a republic by its newly elected government, and King Gyanendra ends his reign as the last of a 240-year-old monarchy.In the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake, the People’s Republic of China evacuates 100,000 people from Mianyang as engineers prepare to drain the landslide dam-created Tangjiashan Lake.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…June 1: International Children’s Day; Madaraka Day in Kenya1813 – War of 1812: Mortally wounded during a single-ship action against the Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon, American naval commander James Lawrence (pictured) of the USS Chesapeake ordered his crew to “Don’t give up the ship!”, today a popular battle cry.1831 – British naval officer and explorer James Clark Ross successfully led the first expedition to reach the North Magnetic Pole.1868 – Long Walk of the Navajo: The United States signed the Treaty of Bosque Redondo allowing the Navajos to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico.1943 – Eight German Junkers Ju 88s shot down British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 777 over the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain and France, killing actor Leslie Howard and several other notable passengers.2001 – Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal killed King Birendra and several members of the Shah royal family in a shooting spree at the Narayanhity Royal Palace in Kathmandu.More events: May 31 – June 1 – June 2Archive – By email – More anniversaries…Today’s featured pictureAfter being forced to leave the Philippines after the Japanese victory in 1942, General Douglas MacArthur vowed, “I shall return.” Nineteen months later, he waded ashore at Palo Beach at the outset of the Battle of Leyte, fulfilling his pledge as the United States retook the island.Photo credit: United States ArmyRecently featured: Cusco, Peru – Greater Crested Tern – Human respiratory systemArchive – More featured pictures…