47 Ronin (2013)

A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.

Director:

Carl Rinsch

Writers:

Chris Morgan (screenplay), Hossein Amini (screenplay)

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	Kai
Hiroyuki Sanada	...	Ôishi
Ko Shibasaki	...	Mika (as Kô Shibasaki)
Tadanobu Asano	...	Lord Kira
Min Tanaka	...	Lord Asano
Jin Akanishi	...	Chikara
Masayoshi Haneda	...	Yasuno
Hiroshi Sogabe	...	Hazama
Takato Yonemoto	...	Basho
Hiroshi Yamada	...	Hara
Shû Nakajima	...	Horibe
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Shogun Tsunayoshi
Neil Fingleton	...	Lovecraftian Samurai
Rinko Kikuchi	...	Witch
Natsuki Kunimoto	...	Riku

Storyline

While hunting in the forest, Lord Asano of Ako and his samurai find a young half-breed and take him with them to live in the castle. Several years later, Lord Asano holds a tournament to welcome the Shogun to Ako. The night after the tournament, Lord Asano is bewitched into hurting Lord Kira of Nagato, and is punished into committing seppuku by the Shogun. Realizing that it was a Lord Kira's evil plot, the samurais and the half-breed sets out for revenge against the Shogun's order.

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Plot Keywords:

ronin | samurai | shogun | japan | seppuku | 

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Taglines:

There is a legend of 47 warriors who seized eternity.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, and thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA UK Japan Hungary

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

25 December 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

47 Ronin

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Studios Budapest- Felsokert utca 9, Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$175,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,910,310, 29 December 2013

Gross USA:

$38,362,475

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$151,783,839

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bluegrass Films, H2F Entertainment, Mid Atlantic Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min (International Cut) 128 min (Extended Edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's budget ballooned to 175 million dollars, because of complex re-shoots and a lengthy post-production period. While not a success in theaters, it did well on VOD, DVD, and Blu-ray.

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Goofs

In several of the scenes, it is highly noticeable that the flags and banners and tents used throughout the movie are machine stitched with modern double needle stitching. Also that the loops used to attached to poles are stitched in the "X in a box" style not used till very recently in history. For a clear example see (time-stamp)21m0s when the Samurai challenger in the silver mask and suit emerges from the tent and look at the banner in the background. The mechanical sewing machine will not have been invented for at least another 50 years after this historic incident had happened. and the sewing machine still would not reach Japan for many more decades.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Ancient feudal Japan, a land shrouded in mystery, forbidden to foreigners. A group of magical islands home to witches and demons. A nation of rival provinces whose lords were ruled by a shogun whose will is absolute. Peace in the realm is kept by the samurai, master swordsmen tasked with protecting their lord and their province at all costs. Should a samurai ever lose of fail his master, he suffers the greatest shame in all Japanese society. He becomes a ronin. And yet, to know ...

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Crazy Credits

The Universal spinning Earth begins normally, but after the camera backs away to show the full globe and logo it then slowly zooms back in with the Earth still spinning to Japan and the movies title is drawn over the Pacific Ocean. Clouds then obscure everything then clear as the view zooms in to Japan and the narration begins.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Biggest Fantasy Movie Box Office Flops (2018)

User Reviews

Surprisingly enjoyable. Recommended.

47 Ronin was much better than I thought it would be. I really enjoyed it, and I don't understand all the very negative reviews. The movie was entertaining and had a good mix of story, action, and beautiful scenery & costumes. The movie runs about 2 hours that seemed to go by quickly. Sure, there were some things that could have been done better, such as Keanu Reeves acting, and several characters that would have benefited by additional development. One of the frustrating things is that the movie had the potential to be great had they hit the mark. But overall it was worth my investment of time and money, and I would definitely recommend this movie.