When their peaceful land of ako is visited by shogun tsunayoshi and the evil lord kira, asano is tricked by witchcraft into harming kira, ensuring his own death sentence and the disgrace of. This movie is more of a drama than an action movie as the action lasts a relatively short period of time compared to the long length of the movie. This movie will be appearing in the united states on. The 47 ronin is a blackandwhite twopart jidaigeki japanese film directed by kenji mizoguchi, adapted from a play by seika mayama. Lord asano resists a bribery attempt by a member of the shoguns court. Compared are the us version international version and the japanese version. It is a story that has been adapted by a number of great japanese filmmakers with its themes of loyalty, honour and sacrifice resonating with audiences through the ages. Ronin is a 1994 japanese film directed by kon ichikawa. The story, which centers on 47 samurai who are disgraced and left without their leader, lord asano min tanaka, draws upon sorcery, dragons, animal avatars and shapeshifting in. Release dates december 1, 1941 part 1 japan1 february 11, 1942. As a veteran it resonates what i felt when we finished what we had to accomplish.
Dec 23, 20 the story, which centers on 47 samurai who are disgraced and left without their leader, lord asano min tanaka, draws upon sorcery, dragons, animal avatars and shapeshifting in a way befitting a. Keanu reeves and 47 ronin cast recorded in both english. We chat with keanu reeves on the set of 47 ronin about reimagining the the original true story, revenge, action, being an outsider, and comparisons to his past work. Hiroyuki sanada talks telling a classic japanese samurai story, working with keanu reeves, the fantasy element, and more on the set of 47 ronin. A soulless, bloodless, and boring version of the classic japanese saga.
Dec 25, 20 keanu reeves is the only american in this japanese movie, which takes place in the 18th century and tells the story of a band of samurai who set out to avenge the death of their master the director of the keanu reeves samurai epic 47 ronin, carl rinsch, is no longer in control of the films editing. The 47 ronin international trailer is shorter and highlights the japanese cast more than the u. For 47 ronin, keanu reeves said his lines in english and. The sword play isnt exceptional but the acting is first rate.
Nov 04, 20 japanese epic, fantasy film, love story, and samurai action film. The many things 47 ronin gets wrong about shogunera. The story has been made into a movie at least six times in japan, and most recently it was made into an american movie, titled 47 ronin, which was released in 20. This was an actual japanese historic event that everyone in japan knows about. One advantage to the loyal 47 ronin is that it is the shortest. Based on a true story, a version of which can be read in jorge luis borgess. The 47 ronin genroku chushingura, the treasury of loyal. The tale of the 47 ronin is one of the most famous in japanese history, and it is a true story. Dec 12, 20 keanu reeves and 47 ronin cast recorded in both english and japanese. This movie is very good with a lot of understatement and sometimes it gets fanciful but does not takeaway from the story telling. The 47 ronin aka the loyal 47 ronin of the genroku era 1941 if youre at all familiar with the samurai genre, you have no doubt heard of the legend of the 47 ronin.
If you want to immerse yourself in this epic story, i would suggest you two movies. The only differences are a few alternate shots and. Japanese epic, fantasy film, love story, and samurai action film. The 47 ronin, genroku chushingura, the treasury of loyal retainers of the genroku era is a blackandwhite twopart jidaigeki japanese film directed by kenji mizoguchi, adapted from a play by seika mayama. Under him were a number of regional lords, the daimyo, each of whom employed a contingent. The upcoming film 47 ronin is in a position to release the mother of all bonus. Japans timeless tale of honor and revenge, the loyal 47 ronin is the true story of group of samurai who became ronin masterless samurai after their lord was forced to commit seppuku. For our last interview of the year, and as something a little bit more special as it is christmas and her latest movie 47 ronin is coming out, we had the chance to meet her and talk a little bit about the japanese culture found in 47 ronin, other roles she has had and her thoughts about japanese crafts. Keanu reeves stars in the 3d actionadventure epic, 47 ronin. Keanu reeves new movie has 47 problems, but the ronin ain. Rinsch does try to cough up 47 ronin as a sophisticated and contemplative spectacle but the film has all the exciting bite of a rusty samurai sword and the convincing edginess of reevess.
The film is another version of the chushingura, the story of the revenge of the fortyseven ronin of ako. Yoshihiro nakamuras the 47 ronin in debt aims to humanize. After a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind, 47 leaderless samurai vow to seek vengeance and reclaim their honor. Tokyo the four main japanese cast members have been added to universals 3d reimagining of the 47 ronin. Scripted by chris morgan and hossein amini from a story by morgan and walter hama. A look at the first trailer for 47 ronin gave fans an idea that the animated trailer only solidified. One needs to see a fair amount of japanese film to realize that so much of it is cerebral. During the tokugawa era in japan, the country was ruled by the shogun, or highest military official, in the name of the emperor. From ancient japans most enduring tale, the epic 3d fantasyadventure 47 ronin is born. Keanu reeves leads the cast as kai, an outcast who joins oishi hiroyuki sanada, the leader of 47 outcast.
Keanu reeves 47 ronin keanu reeves movies movies 2014 latest movies see movie film movie 47 ronin full movie ronin samurai ronin 2 what others are saying the 47 ronin japanese poster has premiered and it looks as it if, honestly, should be. This was reenacted in 1962 47 samurai 1994 47 ronin and just recently in 20 with keanu reeves. Produced for the japanese military government as a way to instill the public with the socalled bushido virtues for the impending war. Keanu reeves leads the cast as kai, an outcast who joins oishi hiroyuki sanada, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Spectacular goofiness should be expected of 47 ronin, an american film loosely based on the true story of 47 reallife masterless samurai who avenged their disgraced masters death. While hunting in the forest, lord asano of ako and his samurai find a young halfbreed and take him with them to live in the castle. In this version of 47 ronin, a group of samurai seeks to avenge the death of their master and free their people. In the 1941 version, after the viewer waits three hours, the revenge happens off camera. It runs for a total of four hours, and consequently was released in two parts, part i on dec. Dec 23, 20 the eagerness of the major studios to cozy up to asian markets yields awkward results in 47 ronin, a lumpy 3d epic from universal that fuses japanese historical legend with generic cgiheavy. But whether or not the differences in 47 ronin have a cultural background. Hollywood version starring keanu reeves as a fictional member of the ronin plotters.
You may also wish students to read or dramatize the play chushingura. Based on the original 1941 movie from japan, and from ancient japans most enduring tale, the epic 3d fantasyadventure 47 ronin is born. Produced over a twoyear period, kenji mizoguchis version of the oftfilmed seika mayama story the 47 ronin was too big to be confined to a single film. That 3d version is more like a fantasy film based on a true story.
Fortyseven ronin, the 47 loyal retainers of the lord of ako, whose vendetta ranks as one of the most dramatic episodes of japanese history. Id like to see the reverselanguage version of 47 ronin. The film is a loose adaptation of the traditional japanese story, retooled to bring in keanu reeves as a halfbreed addition to the clan, and enhanced with some fantasy elements. The 47 ronin became a latter day legend and their tomb a national shrine at which many japanese spend a quiet moment of contemplation each year. It is the first version in english of a story retold so often in all japanese dramatic forms that theres an entire genre, chushingura, that refers only to telling the story of the 47 ronin, and that word is the title of a great many movies on exactly the same.
Japanese movies 47 ronin 1941 original theatrical trailer. Dec 30, 20 47 ronin, an old japanese fable about a group of rogue samurai, ends in a horrible bloodbath. After the japanese boxoffice results came in, universal wrote down the initial budget costs for. The tale of the 47 ronin asia for educators columbia. The tale in 47 ronin has been recounted numerous times in japanese lore. The many things 47 ronin gets wrong about shogunera japan and the one thing it gets right. Buy these officially licensed movie swords from 47 ronin before they are sold out. Under him were a number of regional lords, the daimyo, each of whom employed a contingent of samurai warriors. On 47 ronin, samurai hair and other cultural confusions. Watch 47 ronin english actiondrama full movie hd online free 20. This is an intense and actionpacked movie, with magic, fantasy, and intense fighting scenes.
The leaderless samurai, or ronin, has been a popular character in japanese films for decades, and has also been adapted numerous times in various forms by hollywood. The 47 ronin movie posters feature four characters from the carl rinsch directed film. Interesting movie, false advertising about the guy with the pistol, the fights were good, i do not know the full story about the 47 ronin but i think this modern adoption was a good version of it, but they probably could have been more accurate to the original story and it would have been even better. Universal pictures home entertainment released 47 ronin on dvd, bluray and bluray 3d on april 1, 2014. The film depicts the legendary fortyseven ronin and their plot to avenge the death of their lord, asano naganori, by killing kira yoshinaka, a shogunate official responsible for asano being forced to commit seppuku. Keanu reeves new movie has 47 problems, but the ronin. The story of 47 ronin continues to be popular in japan to this day. The treasury of loyal retainers, which was written in 1748 for puppet theater based on the historical event. The movie 47 ronin has a halfwhite character teaching the japanese how to handle japanese beasts and the true nature of bushido.
Keanu reeves leads the cast as kai, an outcast who joins oishi hiroyuki sanada, the leader of the 47 outcast samurai. The rumbling could be felt before san diego comiccon. The many things 47 ronin gets wrong about shogunera japan. Lord asanos vassals leave the land and his samurais become ronin and. The 47 ronin also became memorialized in popular culture, and their story has been adapted over the centuries in such media as kabuki japanese dance drama, bunraku japanese puppet theatre, books, television, and films, the latest being the hollywood action film 47 ronin. Keanu reeves and 47 ronin cast recorded in both english and. Kon ichikawas 47 ronin my favorite and kunio watanabes 1958 version. Produced for the japanese military government as a way to instill the public with the socalled bushido virtues for the. Nobody was expecting the new 47 ronin movie to be good its long delays and problems have become legend but its bad in a particularly depressing way. The play is available, as translated by donald keene, from columbia university press. Interview with actress haruka abe 47 ronin and japanese. Its a fitting conclusion for a bigbudget adaptation that has left universal deeply in the.
The tomb of the forty seven is located a few minutes walk from mita station in tokyo. The 47 ronin the samurai archives japanese history page. There are so many filmed versions of the classical japanese tale of loyalty, the 47 ronin also known as. Koji ishizaka, hisaya morishige, ken takakura, ruriko asaoka, kon ichikawa. These limited edition swords are limited to only 2000 pieces worldwide. Keanu reeves and 47 ronin cast recorded in both english and japanese. The 47 ronin is a japanese film directed by kenji mizoguchi, based, as one might guess, on the story of the 47 ronin. Dec 25, 20 47 ronin is, ultimately, a harmless piece of action movie fluff married to a period epic. The first part was released on december 1, 1941 with the second part being released on february 11 of the following year. Parents need to know that 47 ronin is based on a famous japanese story about an event that took place in the 18th century and though the violence is largely bloodless, there are swordfights with mixed martial arts and two beheadings. This band of ronin must seek help from kai reevesan enslaved halfbreed they once rejectedin their ultimate fight for redemption in a savage world of mythic and wondrous terrors. There have been numerous remakes of this classic tale, set in the shogun period of japan. This following is an introduction to the tale of the 47 ronin. For 47 ronin, keanu reeves said his lines in english and japanese.
Starting in the silent days first version a filmed kabuki performance in 19 there have been well over a dozen editions of this perennial favorite over the years, including a feature length cartoon. The kind of imperialism of this version of 47 ronin isnt as bad as the 1939 gunga din which was banned in india at the time but somewhat insensitively was used later as the inspiration for many scenes in 1984 indiana jones and the temple of doom. This is a good version of the 47 ronin story which. The story of the 47 ronin is fascinating, and its actually one of my favorite japanese tales. Tokyo the four main japanese cast members have been added to universals 3d reimagining of the 47 ronin, featuring keanu. Mar 02, 2011 the classic japanese story has been made into more than 80 movies.
But we might well ask, without orientalism, would this 47 ronin exist at all. Thus, it was released in two parts, each running between 105 and 115 minutes. I believe if you go a see it you will be surprised how good it is. Japans timeless tale of honor and revenge, the loyal 47 ronin is the true story of group of samurai who became ronin masterless samurai after their. After a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind, 47 leaderless samurai vow to seek vengeance and. We re your movie poster source for new releases and vintage movie posters. The story of 47 ronin, based on the true account of a band of noble ronin who avenged the unjust death of their former master, has become a national legend in japan. The story of the 47 ronin is one of the most celebrated in the history of the samurai. This was perhaps all the more so because it occurred at a time when the samurai class was struggling to maintain a sense of itself warriors with no war, a social class without a function. Who now expects witness some new, suspenseful and action packed footage of this quite wellmade movie will be disappointed. Read or watch a recap of our visit the set of director carl rinschs first feature 47 ronin. After the death of their master over a breach in palace etiquette, the 47 samurai spent years plotting their revenge against the man responsible for his death.
The classic japanese story has been made into more than 80 movies. Also stream 47 ronin on your mobile, tablets and ipads plot. Imagine there was a new version of gallipoli made every year, as a film or tv series, and you get some idea of the importance in japan of the story of the loyal 47 ronin. Dark horse was hurrying to get out their version of the japanese loyalty saga of the 47 roninthey wanted theirs out before the release of the universal movie. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind.