Ronin (1998)

A freelancing former U.S. Intelligence Agent tries to track down a mysterious package that is wanted by the Irish and the Russians.

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

J.D. Zeik (story), J.D. Zeik (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Sam
Jean Reno	...	Vincent
Natascha McElhone	...	Deirdre
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Gregor
Sean Bean	...	Spence
Skipp Sudduth	...	Larry
Michael Lonsdale	...	Jean-Pierre
Jan Tríska	...	Dapper Gent
Jonathan Pryce	...	Seamus O'Rourke
Ron Perkins	...	Man with the Newspaper
Féodor Atkine	...	Mikhi
Katarina Witt	...	Natacha Kirilova
Bernard Bloch	...	Sergi
Dominic Gugliametti	...	Clown Ice Skater
Alan Beckworth	...	Clown Ice Skater

Storyline

Ronin is the Japanese word used for Samurai without a master. In this case, the Ronin are outcast specialists of every kind, whose services are available to everyone - for money. Dierdre (undoubtedly from Ireland) hires several Ronin to form a team in order to retrieve an important suitcase from a man who is about to sell it to the Russians. After the mission has been completed successfully, the suitcase immediately gets switched by a member of the team who seems to work into his own pocket. The complex net of everyone tricking everyone begins to surface slowly, and deadly...

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Plot Keywords:

ronin | case | suitcase | russian | ex kgb | 

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Taglines:

How do you catch an enemy, When's he's your best friend

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK France USA

Language:

English French Russian

Release Date:

25 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ронин

Filming Locations:

Allée François Aragon, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,697,641, 27 September 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$41,616,262

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$70,697,479

Company Credits

Production Co:

FGM Entertainment,United Artists,United Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Skipp Sudduth requested to do his own stunt driving during the car chases, and John Frankenheimer agreed. Frankenheimer told Sudduth, "I don't wanna see any brake lights."

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Goofs

In the Nice chase scene, when the two cars come to construction work on the road, in the far shots the Audi S8 is quite close to the Peugeot, yet when the Peugeot swerves to avoid a crash with the construction lorry, if you slow it down you can see the Audi has completely disappeared.

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Quotes

Gregor: So what could have been conducted in collegial atmosphere is now fucked into cocked hat.

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Connections

Referenced in Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)

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Soundtracks

Our Favorite Son
(from "The Will Rogers Follies - Original Broadway Cast")
Composed by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Performed by Keith Carradine, Cady Huffman and Ensemble
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Car Insurance in France must be expensive ...

I picked up this DVD in Asda's a few weeks ago and seeing it had Robert De Niro starring convinced me enough to buy it. Then seeing in the credits it starred Jean Reno, Sean Bean and Jonothan Pryce too made me realise I was watching a winner here.

I wasn't wrong either, this film is brilliant. The beginning is slow and tense; dark, clear colours in the picture sets the mood perfectly. From then on most of it is pretty much action.

Five mysterious men of various backgrounds (ex-CIA, KGB etc) meet in Paris, France for a job headed by a Northern Irish woman. The job is to steal a case from a group and return the case to their as yet unknown employers. Just as things seem to run smoothly, one of them is a double-crosser.

Now for some of the best bits, the car chases. These are shot magnificently as Peugeot's, BMW's and Audi's tear through the streets of Paris. These chases are the most thrilling chases I have ever seen. And when you get chases, you get crashes. Think on-coming traffic chases and you might get the picture.

This is a must see film. 8 out of 10.