On DVD: Kon Ichikawa’s 47 Ronin

Directed by Kon Ichikawa

Starring Ken Takakura, Kichi Nakai, Misa Shimizu, Rie Miyazawa

The story of the 47 Ronin has had several adaptations for the silver screen. Probably the most famous of these are Chushingura (1962) directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune. Even the famous Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi has given the story of the 47 Ronin his thumbprint. So, how did Kon Ichikawa, director of The Burmese Harp and many other great Japanese films, do with this classic story? The good people at Animeigo recently released this film on DVD.

The Movie

While the plot of the 47 Ronin is fairly complicated, I will try to simplify it for the sake of this review. Sir Kira of the Uesegi clan is attacked by Lord Asano of the Ako Clan. What was the reason for this surprise attack? The reason is known only by these two men.

Waiting in the wings is Irobe (Kichi Nakai). Irobe has had his eye on capturing the power of these two men for quite awhile. Irobe convinces Asano to commit ritual suicide and his kingdom is destroyed. Chamberlain Oishi is royally enraged and feels that he has been treated unfairly, so he gathers 47 loyal men of Asano to get their revenge on Kira. Somehow, the manipulative Irobe convinces Kira to lock himself inside a massive mansion. Soon, Oishi and his 47 Ronin are knocking on the doors and ready to rumble.

If you are looking for a film with a lot of bloody fights and battles, you are not going to find much of that within the frames of this version of this classic Japanese story. While there is a pretty cool battle in the film, it doesn’t take place until the last 30 minutes of the film.

Kon Ichikawa’s 47 Ronin concerns itself mostly with revealing the convoluted happenings and connections between the several characters. It might be handy to keep a pen or pencil nearby just to keep up with character names, plot points and character motivations.

The performance by Ken Takakura as Oishi is remarkable. He has an electrifying screen presence that might bring him comparisons to famed actors Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai. He is one of the characters that you care about the most and is sorely missed when the movie’s plot takes the focus away from him.

In closing, any chambara fan will want to own this film classic, despite its few flaws. Now, whether you will prefer this telling of the famed 47 Ronin over Mizoguchi’s version or Inagaki’s version, that is up to you to decide.

7/10

The Video

Kon Ichikawa’s 47 Ronin is presented in anamorphic widescreen. The overall picture quality is decent. The color palette is well represented and the black levels are respectable. The overall resolution could be stronger.

6.5/10

The Audio

Kon Ichikawa’s 47 Ronin is presented in its original 1.0 Mono mix. Animeigo again provides the excellent option of “Limited” and “Full” translations. The difference is “limited” will only translate the spoken dialogue.  “Full” will not only translate the spoken dialogue but also will also give translations of signs and explain Japanese terminology and cultural differences. This is a great feature for the film fan that I wish more companies would emulate.Animeigo also will change the color of the font of the subtitles when several characters are speaking at once.  An option for a dubbed English language track would be nice for those that prefer that, but overall Animeigo has another success in this department.

7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

Kon Ichikawa’s 47 Ronin is presented in a standard amaray case with artwork appropriate for the film presented.

There are several bonus features to explore on this release. First up, About the Film provides the viewer with a full history of the famed 47 Ronin story.

Secondly, there is Program Notes. Basically, this is all of the explanatory subtitles gathered in one place for reading.

Finally, there is a gallery of film stills and posters and the trailer for the film, as well as a few other trailers for other Animeigo releases.

All and all, Animeigo has done a nice job presenting this film.

7/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

The Review

The Movie 7/10

The Video 6.5/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 7/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10

-Stephen Lackey