Movie overview
Director: Carl Rinsch
Actors: Hiroyuki Sanada, Keanu Reeves, Kô Shibasaki
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Overview
47 Ronin 2013 American fantasy action film depicting a fictional account of the forty-seven Ronin, a real-life group of samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenge the murder of their master.
Storyline
A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.
Interesting facts
- The arrows for the film were made by Michael Reape, a famous European arrow maker. A small number of arrows were made in “museum” quality for close-ups.
- This is Carl Rinsch’s directorial debut.
- Five Japanese actors were cast alongside Keanu Reeves (Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi, Kou Shibasaki, and Jin Akanishi) to make the story more authentic instead of picking actors that would be recognizable in the United States.
- According to Keanu Reeves, filming was first done in Japanese for the sake of the supporting cast, and then filming was done in English.
- This is the seventh cinematic adaptation of the Japanese folktale of the 47 Ronin, after The 47 Ronin, Chûshingura, Chushingura, The Fall of Ako Castle, 47 Ronin, and The Last Chushingura. This is however the first Hollywood cinematic adaptation.
- According to costume designer Penny Rose, everyone had a customized costume in keeping with their background: “We based it on the culture and what the shapes should be – everyone’s in a kimono – but we’ve thrown a kind of fashion twist at it and we’ve made it full of color.”
