29 MARCH 1986, Page 23

Universal boredom

Sir: I was surprised that only one person fell asleep during the performance Peter Ackroyd attended of Kurosawa's Ran (Cinema, 15 March). When I saw the film here in Tokyo last year, most of the audience went to sleep. Those who did not, walked out.

Ran was a flop in Japan because, like everywhere else, audiences were bored. So no more, please, from your normally sensi- ble film reviewer, about `Western' eyes and `alien' cultures.

Christopher Holmes

Asahi Shinkan, Sugamo 2-12-3, Toshima-ku, Tokyo