Weighing in at just over 4 hours in length, Kenji Mizoguichi's 47 Ronin tells the story of 47 lordless samurai (or ronin) dead set on avenging the death of their master. They succeed about 3 hours in--sorry to spoil it for you--and by doing so restore the honor of their master, as well as their own as samurai.A fact-inspired story, Mizoguichi's epic is a black and white cinematic exploration of heroism and self-sacrifice. If you are looking for a blood soaked samurai action film, 47 Ronin is not it (try this one instead). Yes, there is a lot of harakiri, but 47 Ronin is more about the long (very long) shot and dialogic expanses. It is a tragic paean to the samurai code (bushido). And that's why Japanese censors allowed Mizoguichi to release it just weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor. OK, but why are American censors allowing Keanu Reeves to star in a remake come 2012?
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