Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Koch International
EAN: 0737187011887
Format: Full Screen
Item Dimensions: Array
Label: ANIMEIGO
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: ANIMEIGO
MPN: KCHDANM1188D
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: ANIMEIGO
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2007-07-17
Running Time: 129
Studio: ANIMEIGO
Theatrical Release Date: 1994

When a beloved feudal lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a rude court official, 47 of his loyal retainers vow to avenge his death for the sake of honor. After patiently waiting and planning for over a year, they launch an epic assault that culminates in a final act of vengeance and, inevitably, their own inescapable demise.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A Modern Retelling of the 47
Comment: Chushingura, the story of the Loyal 47 Ronin, has been put to film over 80 times. What can Ichikawa Kon's (Burmese Harp) 1994 version add to the many others? This version is well acted and focuses more on the planning of their revenge on Lord Kira than Toho's 1962 Classic: Chushingura.
Both of these films were produced by Toho, both were filmed in color, and both are available in the United States. Where they differ is that this version lacks the epic scope (and the epic running time of 207 minutes) of Chushingura. 47 Ronin fictionalizes (as all versions do) the behind the scenes planning and back stories of the people involved in this true historical event. We begin to see beyond the surface of the characters to their motivations and feelings; this is very much a modern reading of this story.
47 Ronin is beautifully filmed, capturing the many seasons of Japan, but this production at times looks like a television series. In some scenes a background open doorway is so overexposed that it almost engulfs the characters in the foreground. This would never happen in a first rate movie production. This is a minor quibble, because the acting and story is strong.
This can be a hard film to follow because a Japanese audience would know the characters so well because it is such a famous historical folk story. Reading accounts of the true events would help the western viewer enjoy the film more (AnimEigo provides an overview in the special features).
One other production note: AnimEigo has done a terrible job with the subtitles here. In some scenes dialogue is color coded is three colors which is very distancing and at other times a definition of a Japanese term appears in white text at the top of the screen! This is very distracting and takes away from what's on the screen (it's hard to read two sets of subtitles and watch the action at the same time!)

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