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88 of 105 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing Mizoguchi, September 27, 2000
This review is from: The 47 Ronin: Parts 1 & 2 (DVD)
It is unfortunate that the only film by the incomparable Kenji Mizoguchi available on DVD should be the 47 RONIN. While not terrible, and in some ways interesting, it is nowhere near the quality of such masterworks as UGETSU or SANSHO THE BAILIFF. Painfully slow, stylized to the point of abstract, far too long, THE 47 RONIN feels more like a rough draft than a finished film. Despite its subject, it is unlikely to please anyone wanting an action-packed samurai film. It will also disappoint Mizoguchi enthusiasts. Mizoguchi is best known for his combination of the "one-shot, one scene" shooting method (in which most scenes are staged in a single, uncut shot) with a ravenously beautiful sense of composition. Some of this visual flair appears in 47 RONIN. When Lord Asano commits hari-kiri, for example, the camera moves to a high angle looking down on the enclosed space, while one of his loyal vassals weeps outside the closed gate. Or when the wife of Chamberlain Oishi, the leader of the ronin, leaves him with their two youngest children, the camera sits in a typically understated Mizoguchi long shot, Oishi standing helplessly alone and motionless in mid-ground, his wife and children disappearing into a forest in the background, his eldest son running laterally across the frame. It is a heart rending image of loss. But unlike the director's best work, in which you're carried from one exquisite image to the next on a tide of volcanic, nearly unbearable feeling, these moments are isolated, emotional islands in a sea of stiff, almost inert scenes. In top form, Mizoguchi moves you beyond tears. Your throat goes dry and you can barely breathe for the intensity of feeling. Here, there's no release and barely any build up. As just one example the most important moment, when the ronin finally get their revenge on Lord Kira, occurs off-camera. It's almost as if Mizoguchi were *trying* to keep us removed. If you have never seen a Mizoguchi film and would like to, you might want to rent one of his other titles on VHS. If you're thinking of buying the disc for the sake of having the 47 RONIN in your collection, I still don't recommend it, since the transfer is mediocre, made from damaged, sometimes soft visual elements and a wobbly, variable soundtrack. If you just want to have a Mizoguchi DVD, I suggest you wait until Criterion (hopefully) releases UGETSU and SANSHO THE BAILIFF.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Window on another World, January 14, 2003
This review is from: The 47 Ronin: Parts 1 & 2 (DVD)
First, if it's Samurai action you're after - give this masterpiece a miss! What you get instead is an absorbingly quiet, thoughtful contemplation on the conflicting demands of the rules of law, society and human nature. Violence is distanced, stylised - and largely absent (amazing in a wartime propaganda work!) In pure cinematic terms "47 Ronin" is incredibly beautiful to watch, shot in immensely long takes that establish a natural, breathing rhythm over the whole of its huge length. It is also wonderfully well acted by Mizoguchi's huge cast. The spartan design is very satisfying, presenting us Westerners with a fascinating 'other' world secure and perfect in its own clear hierarchies and customs. The conflict between personal loyalty and the law is rendered with beautiful clarity. In some ways, although this is not the first Mizoguchi film I'd recommend to newcomers to his art, it may be the purest, most pared-down of all his works - surprising considering its extraordinary length! Although the print is not great, this DVD still represents good value at the price and is recommended.
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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Real Shogun, January 15, 2000
This review is from: The 47 Ronin: Parts 1 & 2 (DVD)
This movie, made at the beginning of World War II, recalls the famous historical story of the revenge of the Ako ronin for their Lord's maltreatment at the hands of both the Shogunate and the wicked daimyo,Lord Kira, who continued to insult him and lie about him to the Shogun. Lord Asano's seppuku had been ordered by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the shogun, for drawing steel inside the palace, which Lord Asano did only after the most dire of insults by Lord Kira, including suggesting that Lord Asano ask his wife to sleep with the Imperial envoys in order to win an appointment that Tsunayoshi wanted for his mother. The insult was not only that Kira had driven Asano to this point, but that Kira was not also ordered to commit seppuku. The continued scheming by that scoundrel, Yanigasawa rounds out the plot. This stirring call to remember the greatness of shogunate Japan, particularly during a period (17th C)in which Japan was closed to the outside world was a clear message to the Japanese people during WWII--a message that was clear to them. There is a later (1962) version of the story which is somewhat more accessible to non-Japanese. There is a current (1999) 48-episode serial by Japanaese TV, NHK, which has many top Japanese stars including the top Kabuki actor in the main role of Oishi Kuranosuke. Whichever version you see, the story is incredibly stirring in it's attention to the loyalty of the 47 faithful ronin who endured incredible hardship--including risking the deaths of their families--to avenge Lord Asano's unjust death. Knowing a bit of Japanese history of the period is a good background to understanding the nuances.
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