Dom Robinson reviews
Ronin Loyalty is bought.
Distributed by
MGM
Cat.no: D 057439
Cert: 15
Running time: 117 minutes
Year: 1997
Pressing: 1999
Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
Chapters: 32 plus extras
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
16:9-enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: No
Disc Format: DVD 9
Price: £19.99
Extras : Scene index, Featurette, Trailer, Alternative Ending,
Director's Commentary, Booklet
Director:
(Birdman of Alcatraz, The French Connection II, Grand Prix, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), The Manchurian Candidate, The Train )
Producers:
Screenplay:
J.D. Zeik and Richard Weisz
Music:
Cast:
Sam: Robert De Niro (Awakenings, Backdraft, Brazil, A Bronx Tail, Cape Fear, Casino, Cop Land, The Deerhunter, The Fan, The Godfather Part II,
Goodfellas, Great Expectations (1997), Guilty By Suspicion, Heat, Jackie Brown, Jacknife, The King Of Comedy, Mad Dog and Glory, Marvin's Room,
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Mean Streets, Midnight Run, The Mission, New York New York, Night and the City,
Raging Bull, Ronin, Sleepers, Taxi Driver, This Boy's Life, The Untouchables )
Vincent: Jean Reno (The Big Blue, For Roseanna, Godzilla, Leon, Les Visiteurs 1 & 2, Mission: Impossible, Nikita, Subway )
Deirdre: Natascha McElhone (Mrs Dalloway, Surviving Picasso, The Truman Show, What Rats Won't Do )
Gregor: Stellan Skarsgård (Amistad, Breaking The Waves, Deep Blue Sea, Good Will Hunting, The Hunt for Red October, Saviour, Stalingrad, The Unbearable Lightness of Being )
Spence: Sean Bean (Anna Karenina, Black Beauty, Goldeneye, Patriot Games, Stormy Monday, When Saturday Comes, TV: Bravo Two Zero, Inspector Morse, Lady Chatterley, Scarlett, Sharpe )
Seamus: Jonathan Pryce (Brazil, A Business Affair, Deadly Advice, Evita, Jumpin Jack Flash, The Ploughman's Lunch, The Rachel Papers, Regeneration, Shopping, Tomorrow Never Dies )
Natacha Kirilova: Katarina Witt
Ronin
Now the Cold War has ended, this is the age of the freelance killer. In Paris a
five-strong group, each known as 'Ronin', are assembled with one objective - to
ambush a three-car convoy and steal back a case, the contents of which are being
kept from their knowledge. This sounds like a simple plan which can be carried out
effortlessly, but once double-crossing becomes part of the plan's recipe, the mission
becomes anything but simple.
The picture quality is gorgeous. Not only is Frankenheimer's widescreen framing
esquisite with several characters filling a screen by use of placing them at
different distances from the camera as well, but there's also a perfect clarity
about the whole proceedings which is a joy to watch.
The average bitrate is a good 5.19Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 7Mb/s
and the disc is 16:9-enhanced for widescreen televisions allowing 33% extra
resolution. The film is presented in its original widescreen ratio of 2.35:1.
I dread to think how anyone makes sense of this film in pan-and-scan since it
will desecrate the perfectly-composed visuals.
The sound quality is magnificent with Elia Cmiral's score used to incredible
effect when it comes to creating tension. Before I put this DVD on, I tried
watching the opening scene on video. It's a mainly quiet scene with some dialogue
which sounded dull on video, but on DVD an atmosphere was created that instantly
drew in this viewer. If you think the quieter moments are worth commenting on,
they're nothing compared to the car chases and explosions which will have the
neighbours banging on the walls.
Dolby Digital 5.1 is the order of the day, which will effortless downmix to
Dolby ProLogic if you do not have the requisite DD5.1 equipment. As an aside,
the soundtrack includes one of my favourite sound effects which is simply of a
door opening. That may sound odd but having been used in a number of films and
TV programmes, I first heard it in the PC computer game, SiN
Extras :
Chapters :
Languages & Subtitles :
The language and subtitles are in English only, the former coming in Dolby Digital
5.1 which downmixes to Dolby Surround for those without the requisite DD5.1 setup.
Other extras : Director's commentary : This is a feature-length stereo commentary by
director Frankenheimer giving his insights on the making of the film.
Alternative ending : Not a great deal different to the main ending, but
it adds some information about the fate of a particularly character.
Featurette : A 21-minute 'making of' about the film including chat
from the principal cast and crew members, which didn't feature on the Region 1 DVD
so this is quite a coup for the UK market. It is also anamorphically-enhanced so
any widescreen clips of the film benefit from the full height of the screen on a
widescreen television.
Booklet : An 8-page booklet containing exclusive behind-the-scenes
information. It also gives an interesting mention to why widescreen is much better
than a standard pan-and-scan version, if anyone still needed convincing after
they've watched this film.
Menu :
The menu is a good mix of presenting the necessary information in a format that's
easy to navigate, as well as animating parts of it to include a clip from one of
the car-chases and a mock-up of a speedometer going into overdrive.
On inserting the disc, you see the classic MGM "lion" logo before the menu appears.
Clicking on "Play Movie" brings up the United Artists logo and the text introduction
to the film.
Every member of the cast has their memorable part to play and does it very well,
especially De Niro and Skarsgård , who plays his role as if he's
Sweden's answer to the late, great J.T. Walsh . It's just a shame that one
of the talented number bows out so early, but I shall not divulge who. The car-chases
are nothing short of breath-taking, whether it's a chase through the narrow streets
of Nice - which are basically no wider than the width of the car - or an exercise
on how to drive safely through the Paris underpass. Well, more safely than some I
could mention.
Overall, this is a must-buy for anyone who likes an interesting film with a good cast,
a picture quality that most discs would envy and a large amount of extras. However, the
film does lose a point for having a rather predictable ending - something that wouldn't
be improved by using the alternative one. The only thing missing from this release is
the online website event featuring the director answering questions posed in advance
which took place some time in March this year, following the American DVD release.
However, you can content yourself with knowing that they don't get a widescreen
trailer or the featurette.
FILM : ****½
PICTURE QUALITY : *****
SOUND QUALITY : *****
EXTRAS : **
-------------------------------
OVERALL : ****
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.
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