"...If You Don't Mind...I'm Gonna Pass Out Now..."
Added 7/23/2009
*** BLU RAY REVIEW ***
For the first 20 minutes of John Frankenheimer's 1998 brilliant chase movie, you look at the BLU RAY box and wonder where the hell is the improvement? At the time they made it, they weren't of course thinking about future formats and their picture quality exposing limitations - they were just thinking about getting the mood right and setting up the plot. Filmed in a dark alley and then a dim French cafe at night, and staying there for quite a while - the opening clarity isn't great and I find that the BLU RAY format only accentuates this - the deficiencies of indoor lighting. But once you get to the daytime scenes that follow, then the fabulous city locations after that and especially to the close-up shots of the actor's faces, things improve dramatically.
And like that other genius caper movie of the Nineties "The Usual Suspects", not only could you not pay for such a stunning and diverse cast now - "Ronin" has admirably stood the test of time. It bears repeated viewing which of course makes it ideal BLU RAY replacement-fodder.
For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the picture improvements - Nastasha McElhone's gorgeously huge eyes - De Niro's mole - Jean Reno's stubble - Sean Bean's sweaty brow - it's all there and amplified. And those fantastic car-chases that "Bourne" surely aped... There's even an unintentionally funny moment when Stellan Skarsgard is in his car with a gun and silencer about to trade the silver case to some dodgy type - you can see the lipstick accentuating his lips - its looks comical. And then that famous De Niro scene where he instructs Michael Lonsdale and Jean Reno to surgically remove a Teflon-laced bullet from his stomach without anaesthetic so he can remain conscious throughout and direct them properly - is just priceless (the title of this review is the dialogue De Niro speaks after the operation is over).
But as other reviewers have noted, the big let down is the lack of extras - and especially the absence of the startling brutal alternative ending where Natasha McElhone's Belfast character 'Deirdre' is involved - it's missing - and many thought it a better ending than the one used in cinema's.
And worse than that - there's no insights? I mean if ever a film deserved commentaries and a more than a few making-of features - then it's "Ronin".
Still - a great film - now visually improved - and as wicked a movie as you remember it.
Despite its bare-bones presentation - it's recommended.
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Action Adventure in France
Added 6/3/2009
In feudal Japan warriors who did not have a lord but were free-lancers were called "Ronin", or mercenaries. This film begins in Paris. A man watches from the shadows. A woman enters a bar. Another man watches. [We know something will happen.] They are summoned to a meeting. "Labor or management?" They are to ambush a vehicle to hijack a container. The guards are well-armed, more information will be available. Sam asks questions. There is a meeting to buy the guns from strangers. Is there trust? Will something go wrong? Will there be a chase? "Who are our employers?" The details about the hijack are given. Is one of them unreliable?
The team arrives in Nice to scout the location. They photograph the target. [Nobody notices this!] There is surveillance at night. Can traffic lights be remotely controlled? The ambush occurs on a city street. How many inconvenient bystanders? Next is the car chase through the country and narrow streets. There is a shoot-out between the groups. Something goes very wrong. A meeting is arranged, the disagreement is resolved. What next? "I know those men." Cell phones provide instant communication. There is a chase through the Colosseum of Arles, more shooting, then an escape. Were they sold out? There is an operation to remove a bullet. No anesthetic for a tough guy. Will they get the keys? We see a part of town avoided by tourists. "Why?" There is a car chase through a tunnel and then through traffic. Are they going the wrong way? They come to the end of their road. "Where does he go?" "Why ice skates?" Why go to an ice show? To find more bodies? Will there be another violent shoot-out? Can there be a happy ending after all the action? "Keep in touch."
The many foreign scenes remind me of those "James Bond" films of the 1960s. The search for something of value that proves illusory was done in "The Maltese Falcon". Assembling a team for a crime was done in "The Asphalt Jungle". They spent too much money on car chases and not enough on a good story for this exercise in futility.
1 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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Best version of this movie on HD disc to date...
Added 5/15/2009
The blu-ray of Ronin has been amply reviewed online (blu-ray .com and AVS blu-ray tier forum, etc). Although there is practically no 3D eye-candy to speak of, there is definitely more detail throughout the movie, and the HD audio is better than the DVD.
However, this reviewed blu-ray does not have the two alternate endings from the extended DVD set, nor the other extras. :(
So if you really like Ronin and own a blu-ray player, i'd recommend waiting for this disc to go on sale for under $20, or get it used.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Great movie, poor Blu-Ray
Added 4/21/2009
I actually saw Ronin in the theater when I was in high school. I had no idea what to expect, but I ended up loving it. It had such a great sense of style, it didn't spoon feed the plot to you, and featured fantastic action scenes. To this day it has my favorite car chase scenes.
So when I heard it was coming out on Blu-Ray, I was excited. I love the high definition picture and high quality sound that Blu-Ray offers, as well as the ability to fit those and a slew of extras on a single disc.
Unfortunately, MGM/Fox decided to treat this great movie poorly for its Blu-Ray debut. The picture quality is improved, but not up to par with the more impressive Blu-Ray catalog releases we've seen so far. It is a single-layered release (using only 25GB of the 50GB available on a dual-layered disc), and uses a compression codec (MPEG-2) that has largely been abandoned in favor of better ones.
Worse, all the great extras from both DVDs are absent from the Blu-Ray. Even the original DVD from 1999(!) had a commentary and alternate ending. The 2006 DVD had those, a documentary, and a bunch of featurettes.
All in all, this Blu-Ray takes one baby-step forward, and several big steps backward. This disc is behind the DVD that is 10 years its senior. Sadly I'll be waiting to purchase this until MGM treats this movie with the respect it deserves (the respect they gave it 3 years ago).
10 out of 11 people found this helpful.
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What does the Blu-Ray cost so much?
Added 4/19/2009
Love the movie. Can someone please tell me why this is so expensive on Blu-ray? Does it come in a gold plated box or something? Thanks!
1 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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"...If You Don't Mind...I'm Gonna Pass Out Now..."
Added 7/23/2009
*** BLU RAY REVIEW ***
For the first 20 minutes of John Frankenheimer's 1998 brilliant chase movie, you look at the BLU RAY box and wonder where the hell is the improvement? At the time they made it, they weren't of course thinking about future formats and their picture quality exposing limitations - they were just thinking about getting the mood right and setting up the plot. Filmed in a dark alley and then a dim French cafe at night, and staying there for quite a while - the opening clarity isn't great and I find that the BLU RAY format only accentuates this - the deficiencies of indoor lighting. But once you get to the daytime scenes that follow, then the fabulous city locations after that and especially to the close-up shots of the actor's faces, things improve dramatically.
And like that other genius caper movie of the Nineties "The Usual Suspects", not only could you not pay for such a stunning and diverse cast now - "Ronin" has admirably stood the test of time. It bears repeated viewing which of course makes it ideal BLU RAY replacement-fodder.
For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the picture improvements - Nastasha McElhone's gorgeously huge eyes - De Niro's mole - Jean Reno's stubble - Sean Bean's sweaty brow - it's all there and amplified. And those fantastic car-chases that "Bourne" surely aped... There's even an unintentionally funny moment when Stellan Skarsgard is in his car with a gun and silencer about to trade the silver case to some dodgy type - you can see the lipstick accentuating his lips - its looks comical. And then that famous De Niro scene where he instructs Michael Lonsdale and Jean Reno to surgically remove a Teflon-laced bullet from his stomach without anaesthetic so he can remain conscious throughout and direct them properly - is just priceless (the title of this review is the dialogue De Niro speaks after the operation is over).
But as other reviewers have noted, the big let down is the lack of extras - and especially the absence of the startling brutal alternative ending where Natasha McElhone's Belfast character 'Deirdre' is involved - it's missing - and many thought it a better ending than the one used in cinema's.
And worse than that - there's no insights? I mean if ever a film deserved commentaries and a more than a few making-of features - then it's "Ronin".
Still - a great film - now visually improved - and as wicked a movie as you remember it.
Despite its bare-bones presentation - it's recommended.
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
Action Adventure in France
Added 6/3/2009
In feudal Japan warriors who did not have a lord but were free-lancers were called "Ronin", or mercenaries. This film begins in Paris. A man watches from the shadows. A woman enters a bar. Another man watches. [We know something will happen.] They are summoned to a meeting. "Labor or management?" They are to ambush a vehicle to hijack a container. The guards are well-armed, more information will be available. Sam asks questions. There is a meeting to buy the guns from strangers. Is there trust? Will something go wrong? Will there be a chase? "Who are our employers?" The details about the hijack are given. Is one of them unreliable?
The team arrives in Nice to scout the location. They photograph the target. [Nobody notices this!] There is surveillance at night. Can traffic lights be remotely controlled? The ambush occurs on a city street. How many inconvenient bystanders? Next is the car chase through the country and narrow streets. There is a shoot-out between the groups. Something goes very wrong. A meeting is arranged, the disagreement is resolved. What next? "I know those men." Cell phones provide instant communication. There is a chase through the Colosseum of Arles, more shooting, then an escape. Were they sold out? There is an operation to remove a bullet. No anesthetic for a tough guy. Will they get the keys? We see a part of town avoided by tourists. "Why?" There is a car chase through a tunnel and then through traffic. Are they going the wrong way? They come to the end of their road. "Where does he go?" "Why ice skates?" Why go to an ice show? To find more bodies? Will there be another violent shoot-out? Can there be a happy ending after all the action? "Keep in touch."
The many foreign scenes remind me of those "James Bond" films of the 1960s. The search for something of value that proves illusory was done in "The Maltese Falcon". Assembling a team for a crime was done in "The Asphalt Jungle". They spent too much money on car chases and not enough on a good story for this exercise in futility.
1 out of 6 people found this helpful.
|
Best version of this movie on HD disc to date...
Added 5/15/2009
The blu-ray of Ronin has been amply reviewed online (blu-ray .com and AVS blu-ray tier forum, etc). Although there is practically no 3D eye-candy to speak of, there is definitely more detail throughout the movie, and the HD audio is better than the DVD.
However, this reviewed blu-ray does not have the two alternate endings from the extended DVD set, nor the other extras. :(
So if you really like Ronin and own a blu-ray player, i'd recommend waiting for this disc to go on sale for under $20, or get it used.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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