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Ronin (1998) DVD Review
Ronin (1998) DVD Credits:
Ronin (1998) Directed by:
John Frankenheimer
Ronin (1998) Written by:
J.D. Zeik, David Mamet
Ronin (1998) Cast:
Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgard, Jonathan Pryce, Skipp Sudduth, Jan Triska, Natascha McElhone, Sean Bean, Michel Lonsdale, Ron Perkins
Ronin (1998) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Ronin (1998) DVD Release Date:
8th May 2006
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Ronin (1998) Synopsis:

When an international team of former intelligence agents and Cold War warriors meet in a warehouse, their adventure of love, friendship and betrayal has just begun. Like the honored masterless Samurai of hundreds of years ago, these modern day Ronin are embarking on their final covert mission -- to recover a mysterious briefcase for an unknown employer and to stay alive.

Ronin (1998) DVD Review:

Ronin: Collector’s Edition

Ronin was among the last wave of true action films. It was released during a time when action films could be rated R, and the stunts are real. Shortly after Ronin came computer generated graphics and suddenly action films became far less believable. Audiences still flocked to see the gun play and the car chases, but we have become numb to the ridiculousness of it all with stunts that we know are generated in a computer. All of the magic is gone and is instead replaced with technology. Ronin was specifically known for the car chases, which use low camera mounts on the hood of the cars to increase the intensity. The two-disc collector’s edition is a nice surprise, although unexpected. A film such as this is easily forgotten, but when it gets its release on DVD it is a chance for later generations to experience it all over again. The timing is perfect, with the release of Mission Impossible 3, which is the closest thing that there is to a film like this today.

In historic Japan, “ronin” were samurai who had lost or been betrayed by their masters. When this happened they became renegade swords-for-hire. All of this is learned in the opening title cards, and then we jump into an espionage thriller set in Europe. Robert DeNiro is Sam, an ex-CIA operative who takes a job to steal a briefcase with a band of thieves. They are hired by Irish terrorists who want to retrieve the case before it is sold to Russians. When the job goes wrong Sam realizes that they were tricked, and together they band together to set things right.

The Collector’s edition DVD is a two disc package that also has a very sleek cardboard slipcover. The first disc has the film, which looks great for being nearly ten years old now. There is also a commentary track with director John Frankenheimer, who has a very commanding voice to listen to for two hours. There is also an alternate ending, which is actually just a couple of shots removed that don’t change the actual outcome of the film. They are character shots that could have been left in and it wouldn’t have made a huge difference.

The second disc has a number of featurettes and a making-of documentary. The documentary is about normal with interviews and behind the scenes footage, but the featurettes go into detail where the documentary wasn’t able to explore. There is a featurette on the score, the editing process with Tony Gibbs, the actress Natasha McElhone, DP Robert Fraisse and the driving of Ronin. Each of these featurettes takes an in-depth look at the talented people that made this film work. There is also footage from an interview with the cast at the Venice Film Festival and an animated photo gallery.

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Ronin (1998) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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