47 Ronin Ichikawa

(aka '47 Ronin' or 'Shijushichinin no shikaku')

Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Japan 1994

Being that this film bears the 47 moniker, and its Japanese title, Shijushichinin no shikaku, features no mention of Chushingura, one can discern that Kon Ichikawa was very much concerned with the real tale of the 47 Ronin. Furthermore, with his version, Ichikawa, a noted pacifist and iconoclast, sought to take the national myth down a notch or two. In his view, these 47 men were valorous with respect to carrying out their assumed duty, but were still very much flawed everyday men. It’s made no secret that Ichikawa feels Oishi may have forced his group into service, and even relied on insubstantial evidence as motive (the film shows the Edo offense only in flashes, with no concrete description of what offense actually took place). In one of the biggest departures from the regular canon, Oishi succumbs to the temptation of an extramarital affair (with a ditzy cutie pie, no less). In going about this new approach Ichikawa assumes a familiarity with the original events, leaving out a number of standard inclusions that are well enough known, but whose absence may leave those new to the tale scratching their heads. Really, if you haven’t seen another Chushingura film, you probably won’t catch these variants and subtle criticisms.

Excerpt from DreamLogic review located HERE

Theatrical Release: October 22nd, 1994 - Tokyo

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DVD Review: Animeigo - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Animeigo - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	2:08:52
Video	1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.11 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English (full and limited choices), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Animeigo Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Program Notes • Image Gallery • Trailers • Credits DVD Release Date: July 17th, 2007 Keep Case Chapters: 20

Comments:

Animeigo give us a decent, if not stellar, image on Ichikawa's 47 Ronin. It is a fairly recent release so the dual-layered transfer is clean but there is a border around the edge of the frame limiting the horizontal resolution to some degree. Colors look acceptably good and there is only minor haze in the sharpness department. It is both progressive and anamorphic.

There are two yellow subtitle options - both English; 'complete' or 'limited'. I tried the 'limited' option after I had viewed the entire film but couldn't get it to function - nothing ever showed. I don't really understand the choice - it didn't work for me. The Dolby Japanese audio is clear and consistent.

NOTE: I've been informed that the "limited subtitles" option will only provide subtitle translations for written text, not spoken words.

There are some static supplements - program notes, bios, an image gallery etc. plus trailers and DVD credits. I was keen to see this rendition of the classic tale not knowing enough to critique its authenticity but I did enjoy revisiting the plot even in its baroque modern form. Kind of interesting - a bit on the long side. I think Animeigo's price is on the high side but others may be as interested in this DVD as I was.