Ronin

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Dom Robinson reviews

RoninLoyalty is bought.
Betrayal is a way of life…Distributed by

MGM

      Cover

    • Cat.no: D 057439
    • Cert: 15
    • Running time: 117 minutes
    • Year: 1997
    • Pressing: 1999
    • Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
    • Chapters: 32 plus extras
    • Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
    • Languages: English
    • Subtitles: English
    • Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
    • 16:9-enhanced: Yes
    • Macrovision: No
    • Disc Format: DVD 9
    • Price: £19.99
    • Extras : Scene index, Featurette, Trailer, Alternative Ending,Director’s Commentary, Booklet

    Director:

      John Frankenheimer

    (Birdman of Alcatraz, The French Connection II, Grand Prix, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), The Manchurian Candidate, The Train)

Producers:

    Frank Mancuso, Jr.

Screenplay:

    J.D. Zeik and Richard Weisz

Music:

    Elia Cmiral

Cast:

    Sam: Robert De Niro (Awakenings, Backdraft, Brazil, A Bronx Tail, Cape Fear, Casino, Cop Land, The Deerhunter, The Fan, The Godfather Part II,Goodfellas, Great Expectations (1997), Guilty By Suspicion, Heat, Jackie Brown, Jacknife, The King Of Comedy, Mad Dog and Glory, Marvin’s Room,Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Mean Streets, Midnight Run, The Mission, New York New York, Night and the City,Raging Bull, Ronin, Sleepers, Taxi Driver, This Boy’s Life, The Untouchables)
    Vincent: Jean Reno (The Big Blue, For Roseanna, Godzilla, Leon, Les Visiteurs 1 & 2, Mission: Impossible, Nikita, Subway)
    Deirdre: Natascha McElhone (Mrs Dalloway, Surviving Picasso, The Truman Show, What Rats Won’t Do)
    Gregor: Stellan Skarsgård (Amistad, Breaking The Waves, Deep Blue Sea, Good Will Hunting, The Hunt for Red October, Saviour, Stalingrad, The Unbearable Lightness of Being)
    Spence: Sean Bean (Anna Karenina, Black Beauty, Goldeneye, Patriot Games, Stormy Monday, When Saturday Comes, TV: Bravo Two Zero, Inspector Morse, Lady Chatterley, Scarlett, Sharpe)
    Seamus: Jonathan Pryce (Brazil, A Business Affair, Deadly Advice, Evita, Jumpin Jack Flash, The Ploughman’s Lunch, The Rachel Papers, Regeneration, Shopping, Tomorrow Never Dies)
    Natacha Kirilova: Katarina Witt

Roninis the name given to Japanese Samurai swordsmen sworn to protect their liege afterthey had failed in their duty, forcing them to wander the land looking for work ashired swords and bandits.

Now the Cold War has ended, this is the age of the freelance killer. In Paris afive-strong group, each known as ‘Ronin’, are assembled with one objective – toambush a three-car convoy and steal back a case, the contents of which are beingkept from their knowledge. This sounds like a simple plan which can be carried outeffortlessly, but once double-crossing becomes part of the plan’s recipe, the missionbecomes anything but simple.

The picture quality is gorgeous. Not only is Frankenheimer’s widescreen framingesquisite with several characters filling a screen by use of placing them atdifferent distances from the camera as well, but there’s also a perfect clarityabout the whole proceedings which is a joy to watch.

The average bitrate is a good 5.19Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 7Mb/sand the disc is 16:9-enhanced for widescreen televisions allowing 33% extraresolution. The film is presented in its original widescreen ratio of 2.35:1.I dread to think how anyone makes sense of this film in pan-and-scan since itwill desecrate the perfectly-composed visuals.

The sound quality is magnificent with Elia Cmiral’s score used to incredibleeffect when it comes to creating tension. Before I put this DVD on, I triedwatching the opening scene on video. It’s a mainly quiet scene with some dialoguewhich sounded dull on video, but on DVD an atmosphere was created that instantlydrew in this viewer. If you think the quieter moments are worth commenting on,they’re nothing compared to the car chases and explosions which will have theneighbours banging on the walls.

Dolby Digital 5.1 is the order of the day, which will effortless downmix toDolby ProLogic if you do not have the requisite DD5.1 equipment. As an aside,the soundtrack includes one of my favourite sound effects which is simply of adoor opening. That may sound odd but having been used in a number of films andTV programmes, I first heard it in the PC computer game, SiN, which placedyou in the role of an SAS-type soldier and it seems fitting that the espionagetheme continues with this film.

Extras : Chapters :There are 32 chapters to choose from during the 117 minutes of the film whichcover each of the major scenes in the film. A theatrical trailer is also includedand it’s in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen, not 4:3 pan-and-scan like the trailer onthe NTSC LD. Languages & Subtitles :

The language and subtitles are in English only, the former coming in Dolby Digital5.1 which downmixes to Dolby Surround for those without the requisite DD5.1 setup.

Other extras :

  • Director’s commentary: This is a feature-length stereo commentary bydirector Frankenheimer giving his insights on the making of the film.
  • Alternative ending: Not a great deal different to the main ending, butit adds some information about the fate of a particularly character.
  • Featurette: A 21-minute ‘making of’ about the film including chatfrom the principal cast and crew members, which didn’t feature on the Region 1 DVDso this is quite a coup for the UK market. It is also anamorphically-enhanced soany widescreen clips of the film benefit from the full height of the screen on awidescreen television.
  • Booklet: An 8-page booklet containing exclusive behind-the-scenesinformation. It also gives an interesting mention to why widescreen is much betterthan a standard pan-and-scan version, if anyone still needed convincing afterthey’ve watched this film. Menu :

    The menu is a good mix of presenting the necessary information in a format that’seasy to navigate, as well as animating parts of it to include a clip from one ofthe car-chases and a mock-up of a speedometer going into overdrive.

    On inserting the disc, you see the classic MGM “lion” logo before the menu appears.Clicking on “Play Movie” brings up the United Artists logo and the text introductionto the film.

    Every member of the cast has their memorable part to play and does it very well,especially De Niro and Skarsgård, who plays his role as if he’sSweden’s answer to the late, great J.T. Walsh. It’s just a shame that oneof the talented number bows out so early, but I shall not divulge who. The car-chasesare nothing short of breath-taking, whether it’s a chase through the narrow streetsof Nice – which are basically no wider than the width of the car – or an exerciseon how to drive safely through the Paris underpass. Well, more safely than some Icould mention.

    Overall, this is a must-buy for anyone who likes an interesting film with a good cast,a picture quality that most discs would envy and a large amount of extras. However, thefilm does lose a point for having a rather predictable ending – something that wouldn’tbe improved by using the alternative one. The only thing missing from this release isthe online website event featuring the director answering questions posed in advancewhich took place some time in March this year, following the American DVD release.However, you can content yourself with knowing that they don’t get a widescreentrailer or the featurette.FILM : ****½PICTURE QUALITY : *****SOUND QUALITY: *****EXTRAS: **——————————-OVERALL: ****

    Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.

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