... These masterless warriors were no longer referred to as Samurai, they were known by another name: such men were called… Ronin”
Ronin sees acting legend Robert De Niro and a host of other talented and sometimes underrated actors including Jean Reno, Jonathon Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård ... Read review
Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the ... more
end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, aka "ronin". With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors w...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
In a world where loyalty is earned and betrayal is a way of life, a new and deadlier ... more
terrorist threat has emerged - the freelance killer!The Cold War may be over but at the forefront of the new world is a group of covert mercenaries whose skills in sur...
Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the ... more
end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, aka "ronin". With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job--going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable--there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business--but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds,The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centrepiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon) but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense,Roninis almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film.There isn't anything here he hasn't done before but it's sure great to see it all again.--Tom Keogh
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the ... more
end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, aka "ronin". With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job--going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable--there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business--but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds,The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centrepiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (LethalWeapon) but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense,Roninis almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film.There isn't anything here he hasn't done before but it's sure great to see it all again.--Tom Keogh
Postage & Packaging:£1.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the ... more
end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, aka "ronin". With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job--going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable--there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business--but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds,The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centrepiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon) but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense,Roninis almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film.There isn't anything here he hasn't done before but it's sure great to see it all again.--Tom Keogh
Postage & Packaging:£1.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the ... more
end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, aka "ronin". With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job--going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable--there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business--but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds,The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centrepiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon) but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense,Roninis almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film.There isn't anything here he hasn't done before but it's sure great to see it all again.--Tom Keogh
Postage & Packaging:£1.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the ... more
end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, a.k.a. "ronin." With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone, and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job--going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable--there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business--but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds,The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centerpiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon), but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense,Roninis almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film. There isn't anything here he hasn't done before, but it's sure great to see it all again.--Tom Keogh
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Usually dispatched within 1 to 4 weeks...
Action/Adventure - Director: Gore Verbinski - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Chow Yun-Fat
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Production Year: 1995 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Advantages: visually raw and gritty, good performances Disadvantages: an anti climax, slow moments
...called… Ronin”
Ronin sees acting legend Robert De Niro and a host of other talented and sometimes underrated actors including Jean Reno, Jonathon Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård and Sean Bean who are under the watchful eye of powerhouse director John Frankenheimer. The backbone of the story is simple. A group of individuals, mercenary’s wouldn’t be too far from the truth with a complicated yet specialised background; ... ...
BOTTOM LINE
Ronin is somewhat of an underrated film at times, and although it does have its flaws i.e. slow moments of script (which by the way is very good) and an anti-climatic ending, it does have some of the most exciting chases ever conceived on celluloid. It is a film that other films want to be but end up falling short. A very worthy thriller that has to be watched intensely and not be had as just background noise. Watch it ... more
“In feudal Japan, the warrior class of Samurai were sworn to protect their liege lords with their lives. Those Samurai whose liege was killed suffered a great shame, and they were forced to wander the land, looking for work as hired swords or bandits. These masterless warriors were no longer referred to as Samurai, they were known by another name: such men were called… Ronin”
Ronin sees acting legend Robert De Niro and a host of other talented and sometimes underrated actors including Jean Reno, Jonathon Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård and Sean Bean who are under the watchful eye of powerhouse director John Frankenheimer. The backbone of the story is simple. A group of individuals, mercenary’s wouldn’t be too far from the truth with a complicated yet specialised background; ex CIA, Secret Service, SAS and so on. The team: Sam (De Niro), Vincent (Reno), Gregor (Skarsgård), Larry (Skip Suddath) and Spence (Sean Bean). Their employer is the mysterious enigma, Deirdre (Natascha McElhone). They’re services and experience has been called upon to retrieve an unknown item that is housed inside a black briefcase. Their mission bounces them all over France and southern Europe.
Things begin to heat up after one seemingly betrayal after another with everyone playing cat and mouse games with each other leaving no one to trust. Sam and Vincent prove to have a solid working relationship together and they go about finding the case themselves to get their paycheque from Deirdre. Who is under the watchful eye of an even more mysterious, superior Seamus O’Rourke (Jonathon Pryce), who seems to know more about what is going on than anyone. He’ll do whatever he can to get his hands on the case and do whatever necessary for the case not to go into the hands of his Russian rivals.
As the title suggests, but doesn’t spell out: the team are Ronin, servants without a master as they don’t know who to trust and who to believe. What ensues is a raw, majestic, gritty duration with engaging conflicts and breath taking high-speed chases.
Performances are without a doubt good in all respects. De Niro, proves that he can still do it as the veteran operative, Sam. With a recent string of more ‘auto pilot’ roles that in general are more lacklustre than some of his more highly credited work (“Taxi Driver” and “Godfather Part II”) to name but a few). His method acting style really does make him convincing at pretty much everything he does. He plays Sam very professionally and without any of that typical Hollywood self indulgence. His character has great depth, but not too much depth. We know he’s the kind of guy to have dark secrets regarding some of the things he has done as an ex CIA agent.
Jean Reno (Luc Besson’s “Leon”) as Vincent, the only man Sam can ‘trust’ is equally compelling and is never overshadowed by De Niro’s great legacy and fan base. Again, Reno is an actor who has never typecast himself into a particular character or genre. His wide range of character acting has lead to him being very flexible in what he can do as a performer. Arguably his performance is equally to De Niro’s and this makes for a very professional chemistry. They are two men from different intelligence backgrounds with the same objective. Their dialogue proves to be quite engaging and absorbing at times.
Stellan Skarsgård (“Deep Blue Sea”)as the devious ‘always one step ahead, or so he thinks’ Gregor is again an engrossing part. The subtleties he exercises as computer technician Gregor can be overlooked easily but overall are appreciated. Skip Suddath plays Larry with such humanity. He’s not the kind of guy to get out of his car and fire his automatic weapon into the approaching enemy vehicle. To adds the sensitivity to the otherwise relatively cold hearted team. Natascha McElhone (“Solaris”) is somewhat bitter as enigmatic Deirdre, she never seems to have a single sexual thought process through her mind at any time. Her mission of retrieving the case is obviously far greater than that. Again Jonathon Pryce is equally enigmatic as Irishman Seamus O’Rourke. Despite being somewhat of a weedy man, he does portray a sense of menace. A key thing to pick out would be the way he treats Gregor when he captures him in a bid to find the case. There is also a merciless presence within him that makes him a slight variant of the classic bad guy. Sean Bean (“Troy”, “Goldeneye”) has a certain vulnerability as the tough yet flawed Spence. His performance is short lived however, bailing out after the first half hour or so. This works exceptionally well as in the back of your head, you begin to conduct the theory that he is the puppet master pulling the strings and thus turning him into an instant suspect. But is he a red haring? You have to watch to find out I’m afraid.
The films cleverness sometimes gets a little tangled up in its own sophistication and drags in some places. But when it does get good, it is very good. Director John Frankenheimer (19/2/1930 – 6/7/2002) has a great sense of pace and energy during the action sequences lifting them out of your usual box office clutter. You feel involved in the shootouts and feel like you are in the driving seat for the chases, which are numerous in number. The chases are what make the film special and would be a crime not to talk about them. I was not joking about being in the driver’s seat for the chases, because of Frankenheimer’s (“French Connection 2”) expertise and well timed editing, the chase portray a real sense of intensity. Of course they are not the occasionally artificial looking spectacle as seen in “The Matrix Reloaded”, it steers (no pun intended) clear of the CGI laden, glossy option it could have taken. Instead, the chases are raw, gritty and believable in every sense of the word. Cars that are not Ferrari or Lamborghini speeding down narrow European roads in small towns, the soundtrack during these sequences is minimal so that you hear the screeching of tyres, the gear changes, the occasional gunshot, the pile up of cars and of course the horses (brake-horses that is). This heightens both the tension and excitement, resulting in you being completely absorbed. The chase through the busy Paris roads and freeways is nothing short of stunning and does have a “French Connection” vibe about it. Well… it is set in France. The same effect can be said with the shootouts, minimal soundtrack and non-flashy camera angles make them a treat to watch.
Soundtrack however does exist. Music man (or woman) Elia Cmiral creates a chilling soundtrack with a great essence of mystery about it. It reflects the Irish/Samurai connections (hence the film’s title) well and never feels out of place in conjunction with the film’s setting. While on the subject of setting, the cinematography captures it wonderfully. With the raw tones, it makes the small, south French towns seem ancient and true to life, rather than glossy Euro trash. The overall effect of the film is a very competent thriller with some very entertaining chase/action sequences that set the pulses racing (bit like the cars then).
A TRIBUTE :- John Frankenheimer – born 19-2-1930; died 6-7-2002 John Frankenheimer’s career in both film and television is somewhat of a legacy and a role model for filmmakers everywhere. He started his career as an actor in the Motion Picture Squadron of the US Airforce. After his discharge, he moved into the realm of television, directing live broadcasts. He soon then ventured onto film projects but was a little reluctant. After a failed first attempt in the industry of cinema, he returned to do TV work only to have another shot at the big screen and prove successful. Random pub quiz style trivia includes him being approached by Albert Broccoli to play James Bond in “Doctor No” and he was the second person to break the sound barrier (during his airforce days, he filmed the event. The first person being the pilot).
BOTTOM LINE Ronin is somewhat of an underrated film at times, and although it does have its flaws i.e. slow moments of script (which by the way is very good) and an anti-climatic ending, it does have some of the most exciting chases ever conceived on celluloid. It is a film that other films want to be but end up falling short. A very worthy thriller that has to be watched intensely and not be had as just background noise. Watch it if you can; not a complete must see event, but it is a different way of producing the smooth action/thriller.
CERTIFICATE : 15 TIME APPROX : 117 minutes
CAUTION strong violence some bad language
IF YOU LIKE THIS TRY: The French Connection: another fantastic car chase is the main focus of the cop thriller staring Gene Hackman. (Frankenheimer directed the sequel)
Advantages: Very good action sequences Disadvantages: Unremarkable, lacklustre story and performances
...process' featurette
- 'Composing the Ronin Score' featurette
- 'The driving of Ronin' featurette
- 'Filming in the fast lane' featurette
- 'Through the lens' featurette
- 'Venice interviews' featurette
- Alternate ending
- Animated photo gallery
- Theatrical trailer
THE FILM
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''
- Cast and Principals....
````````````````````````````````
SAM.... ROBERT DE NIRO
(Goodfellas, Casino, Taxi Driver, The Deerhunter, ... ...VINCENT.... JEAN RENO
(Leon, Mission Impossible ....)
DEIRDRE.... NATASSHA McELHONE
(Feardotcom, Killing Me Softly, The Truman Show ....)
GREGOR.... STELLEN STARSGARD
(Exorcist: The Beginning, King Arthur, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)
SEAMUS O'ROURKE.... JONATHAN PRYCE
(Tomorrow Never Dies, The New World, The Brothers Grimm, ....)
DIRECTOR.... JOHN FRANKENHEIMER
(Year Of The Gun, Birdman Of Alcatraz, The Manchurian Candidate)
...
dc1971 23.06.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ronin (DVD)
Advantages: Great stunts Disadvantages: Story could be better
...In traditional Japanese society a Ronin is a samurai who has lost his master, thus forced to sell his services as a mercenary. In this film a group of modern day ‘Ronin’ are hired by a mysterious group led by the never seen Seamus and the ruthless but beautiful Deirdre. They meet for the first time in a run down café in the Montmartre region of Paris. All are experts in their particular field but none know each other or the final purpose of the task ... ...car chases worth it? YES! Ronin easily contains the best chase sequences since the famous Bullet scene, which every car chase is inevitably compared to (who am I to break that tradition). The stunts are breathtaking and no CGI in sight. This is the real thing screeching tyres, burning rubber and all. What makes the action more distinctive is the use of the European locations, narrow streets and alleys and serpentine mountain roads instead of the ...
Mauri 03.03.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ronin (DVD)
Advantages: Great acting, direction and story Disadvantages: None
...really enjoying. That movie was Ronin and since that fateful night watching the movie channels it has become one of my favourite films. It does seem to be a film people discovered more by accident than anything else but I've always thought it was a great film. When a freelancing former US government agent (De Niro) is hired to take part in a job to track down and take a mysterious package it all seems quite easy. The package is wanted by both the ... ...Irish hire a team of Ronin to try and steal the package. The Ronin is a term used for ancient Japanese Samurai Warriors without masters and the group the Irish hire are quite similar to these ancient Warriors. Of course things are never straight forward in this tale of treachery, betrayal and deceit. This is a very fast paced action movie and one of the few I really feel is crying out for a sequel, but will probably never get one. The story keeps ...
Andy.mack 18.11.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ronin (DVD)
Advantages: Raw, gritty, plenty of action and double dealing Disadvantages: Patchy and a little slow to start
Ronin is a violent Euro action thriller that takes shooting anybody who gets in the way and dangerous car chases into a different league. Starring Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Sean Bean, Jonathon Pryce and a few others and directed by John Franckenheimer, it involves ex-members and current members of the CIA/KGB/IRA and probably a few more groups with initials in them and a mysterious case, which is worth a great deal of money. Somebody has it, someone ... ...steal it; there is double dealing involved; no-one trusts anyone; ideals are misplaced, nerves are fraught as the tension builds.
De Niro and a miscellaneous group of professional criminals/operatives are cast unhealthily together by a faction of the IRA to steal a case of something valuable which no-one knows or at least, is willing to divulge. It is hard to truth someone when they have a gun and you don't know them!!
The story is a little slow ...
rvb13 04.07.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ronin (DVD)
Ronin DVD
United Artists/MGM/FGM Entertainment
Director : John Frankenheimer
Price : £19.99 RRP You might be wondering what Ronin is about, as I doubt many people actually know what the word means. Well in ancient Japan the Samurai were there to protect their masters. If something were to happen to their masters these warriors would lose their sword and then wandered the countryside available for hire. They no longer call them Samurai, they are ... ...the few that could shoot Ronin properly.
The main story is about a group of mercenaries hired by an Irish woman, known as Deirdre (played by Natascha McElhone), who have to work as a team to recover what is referred to as a ‘package’. A simple storyline to give a reason to produce many exciting car chases with everyday family vehicles, Peugeots, Mercedes, BMWs and Audis.
The group consists of ronin from different countries, with different ...
neo2k1 07.07.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Ronin (DVD)
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
Soundtrack
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Ronin (DVD)"
Advantages: Robert De Niro, Paris! Disadvantages: It's not exactly 'deep' in terms of plot.
Ronin possesses four things that I truly love in life: Robert De Niro's acting ability, beautiful French scenery, spectacular action, and my Yorkshire heritage (represented by the consistently-good Sean Bean). So, naturally I'm going to love it, right?
Right. Frankenheimer, a former amateur racing driver, is responsible for directing this action-thriller that boasts all of the above, and some of the greatest car chases to ever grace a cinema audience.
The plot is simple: a group of freelance mercenaries are planning on a stealing a briefcase from their targets. The motivations of the characters are largely based on money and survival, rather than honour and duty, hence the term "Ronin" which was used by the Japanese to describe a Samurai with no master. The crew is made up of internationals: Sam (De Niro) and Larry (Skipp Sudduth) are ...
. There is little consideration paid to anyone during the movie that might meet with a bullet accidentally or otherwise. The language is quite safe, no preponderance of bad language to offend just the odd swear word as and when required.
Is Ronin any good? Well it is, but its not one of those films that you?ll walk away going ?that?s really good?. Its one of those movies that you realise is good but cant imagine why you have not watched it more often. Today?s viewing was the first time I?d seen the film since 1999. And I remember looking at my old DVD on many occasions thinking on whether to watch it or not. Unfortunately it took the definitive edition to make me see it again.
The Definitive Edition quotes ?Experience the fast paced and furious action of Ronin like never before with this Definitive Edition that boasts the films best ever ...
Advantages: Classic De Niro, 3 classics for the price of one Disadvantages: Very different films and possibly not to everyone's taste
the temper that rages inside many boxers but is not normally so obviously destructive, except in the more recent case of Mike Tyson, to whom - maybe - some comparisons could be drawn.
Ronin is a modern day spy thriller, full of car chases, shooting, back stabbing, suspense and continual location changes - mostly thoughout France. The show is stolen for me by excellent performances from both De Niro and Jean Reno. The plot remains distinctively secret throughout the film, which still keeps you guessing to a degree at the finish, allowing the viewer to make their own assumptions / conclusions in regards to certain aspects of the film ... something I think allows a film to live on.
True confessions is probably a film not to everyone's tastes and differs from the previous two films in so much that it is a character study made up as a detective ...
A team of former intelligence agents meet in a disused warehouse in Paris where they begin one of their most deadly missions. An unknown employer tasks them with following a briefcase...
"...Bracing sequences....A welcome throwback....[De Niro] makes most recent action-movie figures look like callow jocks..." -- Rating: B+ (Entertainment Weekly, p.70, 05/03/1999)
"...An extraordinary cast of actors, all on the same formidable wavelength, match wits most impressively....Mr. De Niro shows off a brooding, hard-guy panache with its own brand of international appeal..." (New York Times, p.E15, 25/09/1998)
"...RONIN represents an exhilarating return to form for Frankenheimer....The real deal in action fireworks..." (Rolling Stone, p.133-4, 15/10/1998)
"...This throwback to director John Frankenheimer's vintage international thrillers has an attractively old-fashioned feel..." (USA Today, p.6E, 23/10/1998)
Technical information
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital Stereo English French German
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Stereo
Special Features
Alternative Ending, Making Of Featurette, Commentary By The Directory, Original Theatrical Trailer, 8 Page Booklet With Behind The Scenes Information
David Mamet wrote this screenplay under the name Richard Weisz, as a gun for hire, much like the masterless samurai of the film's title, who roamed Japan in the 19th century, loyal only to themselves. A group of men with highly developed skills are called to a meeting in a deserted warehouse in Paris. Sam (Robert De Niro), an American, may be ex-CIA. Vincent (Jean Reno), the terminally cool Frenchman, is a mystery. Russian computer whiz Gregor (Stellan Skarsgaard) is presumably ex-KGB, and Spence (Sean Bean), a British demolitions man, and Larry (Skipp Suddith), another Yank, round out the team. They've been hired by the IRA, through liaison Deirdre (Natascha McElhone), to steal a briefcase of unknown contents somewhere in Europe. As the unit races from one spectacular location on the French Riviera to another, the Tec-9 reigns, the body count mounts, some Russian gangsters get into the act, and the betrayals come fast and furious. In a rare comic moment, Sam stitches up his own bullet wound, an act of tongue-in-cheek Hemingwayism, and asks a friend to finish before he passes out. RONIN features an exceptional cast, sumptuous locations, and the kind of realistic, high-coefficient-of-adversity car chases and action scenes that one expects from a director of John Frankenheimer's skills.
Compare Ronin (DVD) to other similar Action & Adventure »
![Ronin (Two Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [1998]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78511991.jpg)
![Ronin [Definitive Edition]-DVD](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/98317159.jpg "Ronin [Definitive Edition]-DVD")
![Ronin [DVD] [1998]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78541817.jpg "Ronin [DVD] [1998]")
![Ronin - Definitive Edition Dvd [1998] Box Set | Skarsga](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/105184070.jpg "Ronin - Definitive Edition Dvd [1998] Box Set | Skarsga")
![Ronin [blu-ray] [1998] Dvd | Skarsgard Sealed](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/117897283.jpg "Ronin [blu-ray] [1998] Dvd | Skarsgard Sealed")
![Ronin [DVD] [1998] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/83369959.jpg "Ronin [DVD] [1998] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]")
![Ronin [DVD] [1998] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/70237314.jpg "Ronin [DVD] [1998] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]")
![Ronin - Definitive Edition [DVD] [1998]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78031769.jpg "Ronin - Definitive Edition [DVD] [1998]")
