The 47 Ronin
Our Price: $15.95
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $15.50 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
DVD: Region Code 0Audio: Japanese (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Korean (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language)
Format: Import, Subtitled
Running Time: 222 minutes
Movie Reviews of The 47 Ronin
Movie Review: Bright News From A Dark Valley
Summary: 5 Stars
Although classified as a "samurai movie", Kenji Mizoguchi's brooding take on the tale of the forty-seven warriors who choose to commit hara-kiri rather than succumb to the disgrace of losing their clan title is anything but all-action. Although instructed by the military to make an aggressive warlike film, the master director opts for an awe-inspiring display of pure cinema, replete with classy, ultra-long takes and an air of slow-burning doom probably unmatched in cinema history.
It is indeed the way the story is filmed that is most breathtaking. Never has a film so perfectly paired up its thematic concerns with the style in which these themes are presented. The scenes in the film are rarely under five minutes each, with the camera relentlessly prowling around via tracking and boom shots. Furthermore, it says so much about its director that the long spaces between cuts are not obvious because of their unobtrusive nature. Instead, we are drawn into the story of the honourable ronin, who inhabit a world totally different from out own. Japanese audiences in 1941 found the film a little too different from their own world, as reflected in the poor performance at the box office.
The film forms part of a trilogy of totalitarian films about sacrifice, along with Eisenstein's "Alenander Nevsky (1938) and the Nazi film "Kolberg" (1945): but in reality the "47 Ronin" is head and shoulders above both of these. Indeed, "47 Ronin" is one of the great masterpieces of world cinema, and awaits rediscovery.
DVD notes: Not a great transfer on this Korean DVD, but the film is in its intact (three hours forty-one minutes) form, and has full English subtitles.
Summary of The 47 Ronin
Produced over a two-year period, Kenji Mizoguchi's version of the oft-filmed Seika Mayama story The 47 Ronin was too big to be confined to a single film. Thus, it was released in two parts, each running between 105 and 115 minutes. @Imported from Korea. (Some DVDs Have Korean Description on Cover) @Some DVDs Have Several Languages & Subtitles. @High Quality as USA Products. @All DVDs are Exactly Same as Description. @Language: Japanese @Subtitle: English, Korean, None @B & WSimilar DVD Movies
Sansho the Bailiff (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $23.49
Price in other shops:
Seven Samurai (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2006-09-05; DVD
Best price: $28.39
Price in other shops:
13 AssassinsMHE; Release date: 2011-07-05; DVD
Best price: $8.70
Price in other shops:
Essential Art House: Throne Of BloodImage Entertainment; Release date: 2009-09-15; DVD
Best price: $12.48
Price in other shops:
Yojimbo & Sanjuro: Two Films By Akira Kurosawa (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-01-23; DVD
Best price: $40.80
Price in other shops:
THE FLAVOUR OF GREEN TEA OVER RICE (1952) Yasujiro Ozu (NTSC-IMPORTED FOR ALL REGIONSDVD
Best price: $29.99
The Life of Oharu (1952) (Import All Region)YDM DVDVideo; Published: 2005; DVD
Best price: $14.95
Samurai Rebellion (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2005-10-25; DVD
Best price: $21.20
Price in other shops:
The Loyal 47 RoninKoch International; Release date: 2009-04-07; DVD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
ChushinguraImage Entertainment; Release date: 2001-02-27; DVD
Best price: $11.24
Price in other shops: