Review – The 47 Ronin

This is actually a two-part movie, but as there isn’t much point in watching one without the other (Lord Asano commits suicide in the first one, but his retainers don’t exact their revenge until the second) I’m going to review them as a single work. This movie is very much a creature of its time, a highly conservative picture extolling the virtues of devotion to duty to Japanese audiences in the early days of World War Two. Though the source legend has tremendous cinematic potential, virtually none of it ends up onscreen here. Indeed, the entire picture is almost nothing but talking about events that occur off camera. None of the suicides are shown, nor is the epic battle scene that would have been such a natural part of the second installment. In all fairness, I admit that the print I saw was bad (spotty, choppy, etc.). As was the translation: when a subtitle says something like “I am vexed at it,” I have to wonder what nuance was robbed from the line. Technical problems aside, however, this production features none of the fantastic gift for plot, character, humor and humanity that would become so prominent in the work of Japanese filmmakers after the war. Thus this is one of the dullest movies I’ve ever seen. See if desperate