Genroku chushingura original title 4h 1min action, drama, history march 1979 usa in 1701, lord takuminokami asano has a feud with lord kira and he tries to kill kira in the corridors of the shoguns palace. The film itself is full of action and fantasy, and shows the true nature of bushido, the code of the samurai, and what it meant to lose that status and become ronin, a samurai who has no shogun to protect. However, jealous lord kira tadanobu asano fears that the shogun favors asano over him and hatches a plot that ends with asanos ritual suicide. Ronin is a 20 american 3d fantasy action film directed by carl rinsch. Scripted by chris morgan and hossein amini from a story by morgan and walter. The movie strays fairly far away not just from the actual historical 18thcentury event but. Dec 30, 20 47 ronin looked like a dog from the moment universal pushed its release from the fall of 2012 to early 20, then again to this christmas, with additional reshoots suggesting that, shockingly, a. Dec 28, 20 if ever a film was in need of an honourable death and a respectful burial it would be 47 ronin, a cursed samurai epic that features a somnambulistic performance from a shellshocked keanu reeves. Keanu reeves new movie has 47 problems, but the ronin aint one. And they, with the purpose of their lives fulfilled, surrendered. Its a fitting conclusion for a bigbudget adaptation that has left universal deeply in the. After finishing the interviews, we were back in the castle and watching the production film the closeups. Sep 20, 2012 troubling news has emerged from those close to the production of 47 ronin. 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.
Sources have told that universal pictures has seized control of the film and director carl rinsch has been. Its an ambitious film that utilizes grand cg effects and backdrops, along with elaborate sets, to create a tangible authenticity to the film s time period. The result ends up pitting the forces of uptight righteousness against a bunch of almostattractive baddies, an uneven fight that says a lot about this confused. As with most films of the genre, 47 ronin is not an action film, most of the films. Here are 10 of the biggest movie flops of the 2010s insider.
During the tokugawa era in japan, the country was ruled by the shogun, or highest military official, in the name of the emperor. The 47 ronin is a blackandwhite twopart jidaigeki japanese film directed by kenji mizoguchi, adapted from a play by seika mayama. Universal removes director of keanu reeves film 47 ronin film. It has magic, a typical unneeded romantic subplot and an american jammed into a film about masterless japanese samurai in feudal japan, all very out of place. A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun. The movie s release date didnt help, competing in a december box office already packed with the wolf of wall street, the hobbit sequel, american hustle, her, saving mr. The 47 ronin media group is a cohort of creative retainers, loyal to art, expression, and originality.
Troubling rash of reshoots strikes hollywood hollywood reporter. Scripted by chris morgan and hossein amini from a story by morgan and walter hamada, the film is a work of chushingura the treasury of loyal retainers serving as a fictionalized account of the fortyseven ronin, a reallife group of masterless samurai under daimyo asano naganori in 18thcentury japan who avenged. The movies release date didnt help, competing in a december box office already packed with the wolf of wall street, the hobbit sequel, american hustle, her, saving mr. The 47 ronin is an epic film about this legendary japanese story about how 47 masterless samurai plot to avenge their lords death. The film was also panned by the majority of critics, who thought it was dull. Three provincial daimyo were appointed to receive them, including asano naganori from ako now in hyogo prefecture. Oishi is by far the more compelling character as well as the legends legitimate protagonist, and sanada gives the film s most nuanced performance. Keanu reeves is reinventing himself again, this time as an slightly angry and intermittently unkempt samurai in. The shogun sentences lord asano to commit suppuku and deprives. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl. In 1965, the berkeley cinema guild acquired the distribution rights to the film and showed the full version in two parts, under the title 47 ronin, at the cinema theatre in berkeley, california for 41 weeks before distributing the film in new york. That this film is not for everyone is an understatement.
Toiling in the dark, the mission is to unleash a brainstorm of original intellectual property, creating media for the world to enjoy. Ronin premiered at the 1998 venice film festival before its general release on september 25. Jul 25, 20 keanu reeves makes an explosive return to actionadventure in 47 ronin. The film is another version of the chushingura, the story of the revenge of the fortyseven ronin of ako against lord kira. Samurai fantasyadventure 47 ronin followed a string of misses for the star, such as constantine 2005 and the day the earth stood still 2008. After completing the above essay in early 1990, i forgot about chushingura for. Genroku chushingura the 47 ronin 1941 rotten tomatoes. In feudal japan, lord asano rules his province with fairness. However, jealous lord kira tadanobu asano fears that the shogun favors asano over him and hatches a plot that ends. Compare the 47 ronin, a fourhour epic adaptation of the 47 ronin story made in imperial japan in 1941 and 1942, or chushingura, a similarly epic 1962 japanese version in color. On the same day the ronin took kiras head to asanos tomb and offered it to him. Kai keanu reeves takes on the kirina mythical horned beastwith just a sword. Well this film stars keanu reeves who plays a halfbreed japanese man who leads the 47 ronin in their quest for vengeance.
After asanos death, his samurai, led by oishi hiroyuki sanada, are forced to live as outcasts. It runs for a total of four hours, and consequently was released in two parts, part i on dec. Keanu reeves stars in the 3d actionadventure epic 47 ronin. Action, adventure, drama, fantasy, regardez le film gratuit. Oishi wanders for several years but realizes that he must turn to kai keanu reeves, a. The film historian misono kyohei has counted a total of sixty chushingura.
That only means that 47 ronin isnt the worst film it could be, not that it isnt still awfully bad, nor even that it doesnt make a mockery of japanese culture. Based on the japanese legend in which a group of early 18th. 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. After a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind, 47 leaderless samurai vow to seek vengeance and. 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. A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a. Dec 23, 20 that said, while 47 ronin may have cost a fortune, at least the money found its way up on the screen. Additional production days on films like brad pitt zombiefest world war z and keanu reeves samurai epic 47 ronin leave studios jittery. Carl rinsch pulled from 47 ronin and other troubling news.
The finishing touches are now being padded by studio cochair donna langley. Upon completion of the vengeance, one of the 47 ronin, terasaka kichiemon, was sent as a messenger to ako to report that the mission had been successful. 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. Keanu reeves stars as an enslaved halfbreed who is enlisted by the warriors to help carry out their plan of vengeance. The very first thing that happens in the film is a grave narrator invoking ancient feudal japan, a land of magic, which manages to be vile on three separate levels. The tale of the 47 ronin is one of the most famous in japanese history, and it is a true story. Dec 25, 20 the goodloopy generic stuff is supposed to establish the film s serious, parablelike themes, but 47 ronin s creators seem to take the film s selfdenying message too much to heart. While it is based on the legend and true events, its a 300esque retelling done in samurai fashion. Keanu reeves stars in the 3d actionadventure epic, 47 ronin. The spartan attitude and spirit becomes the samurai code of honor, each shot and the overall look of the. Though 47 ronin is director carl rinschs first feature film, he handles much of these sequences well, generally managing the use of cgi beasts, complicated fight choreography, and fiftyplus.
Though the film teeters on the verge of badmovie damnation its confusing without. 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. With keanu reeves, hiroyuki sanada, ko shibasaki, tadanobu asano. The chance to rethink the story of the 47 ronin came in autumn 1989, when i had the. The film was a box office disaster, losing around 150 million dollars for the studio. The incident began in april 1701, when imperial envoys from kyoto arrived in edo now tokyo, the capital of the shogunate. The story of the 47 ronin is part of the culture of japan, thousands visit the shrine dedicated to them, as told in the end of the film. The story tells of a group of samurai who were left. The 20 movie 47 ronin is a hollywood fantasy epic distributed by universal. After a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind, 47 leaderless samurai vow to seek vengeance and reclaim their honor. The 47 ronin is a japanese film directed by kenji mizoguchi, based, as one might guess, on the story of the 47 ronin. Conceived as a propaganda picture that would rally a japan on the brink of world war ii, it doesnt push the same ideological buttons of western.
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