Editing Ronin (film) (section)

== Post-release ==
=== Home media ===
In February 1999, [[MGM Home Entertainment]] released ''Ronin'' as a double-sided [[DVD]] that contained versions in [[widescreen]] and [[Fullscreen (aspect ratio)|full screen]] formats, and [[Dolby Digital#Dolby Digital|Dolby Digital 5.1]] sound.<ref name="allmovie">{{cite web|title=Ronin (1998): Releases|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/ronin-v173448/releases|website=[[AllMovie]]|access-date=September 28, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619204308/http://www.allmovie.com/movie/ronin-v173448/releases|archive-date=June 19, 2013}}</ref> The DVD also contains the [[alternative ending]] and an audio commentary by John Frankenheimer, who discusses the film's production history.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hunt|first1=Bill|title=Ronin – DVD review|url=https://www.thedigitalbits.com/site_archive/reviews/ronin.html|website=The Digital Bits|publisher=[[Internet Brands]]|access-date=September 28, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928150524/https://www.thedigitalbits.com/site_archive/reviews/ronin.html|archive-date=September 28, 2017}}</ref> MGM released a [[special edition]] DVD of the film in October 2004 and a two-disc collector's edition in May 2006, both of which have additional cast and crew interviews.<ref name="allmovie"/>

It was released on [[Blu-ray]] with its theatrical trailer in February 2009.<ref>{{cite web|last=Krauss|first=David|title=Ronin Blu-ray review|url=https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1089/ronin.html|website=High-Def Digest|publisher=Internet Brands|date=March 5, 2009|access-date=September 28, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928193258/http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1089/ronin.html|archive-date=September 28, 2017}}</ref> In August 2017, [[Arrow Video]] released a special edition Blu-ray with a [[4K resolution]] restoration from the [[original camera negative]] that was supervised and approved by cinematographer Robert Fraisse.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kauffman|first1=Jeffrey|title=Ronin Blu-ray|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ronin-Blu-ray/179468/#Review|website=Blu-ray.com|publisher=Internet Brand|access-date=May 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022140924/http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ronin-Blu-ray/179468/#Review|archive-date=October 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Arrow's Blu-ray also includes archival bonus features that originally appeared on the MGM special edition DVD,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hunt|first1=Bill|title=Ronin (Arrow – Blu-ray Review)|url=http://thedigitalbits.com/item/ronin-arrow-bd|website=The Digital Bits|date=August 14, 2017|publisher=Internet Brands|access-date=May 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009012543/http://www.thedigitalbits.com/item/ronin-arrow-bd|archive-date=October 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> together with Fraisse talking about his early cinematography career and his involvement with ''Ronin''.<ref name="dvdtalk">{{cite web|last1=Spurlin|first1=Thomas|title=Ronin: Arrow Video Special Edition (Blu-ray)|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72384/ronin-arrow-special-edition/|access-date=September 28, 2017|website=[[DVD Talk]]|publisher=Internet Brands|date=August 29, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918145331/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72384/ronin-arrow-special-edition/|archive-date=September 18, 2017}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|Style and inspirations}} Cinematic analysis ===
[[File:HokusaiChushingura.jpg|thumb|alt=Old drawing of warriors attacking a building|The 18th-century Japanese revenge of the forty-seven ''rōnin'' was the film's central metaphor.{{sfn|Pomerance|Palmer|2011|p=82}}]]

The film's title was derived from the Japanese legend of ''[[rōnin]]'', samurai whose [[wikt:feudal lord|leader]] was killed and left them with no one to serve, and roamed the countryside as mercenaries and bandits to regain a sense of purpose.{{sfn|Armstrong|2008|p=159}} In Frankenheimer's film, the ''rōnin'' are former intelligence operatives who are unemployed at the end of the Cold War; devoid of purpose, they become highly-paid mercenaries. [[Michael Lonsdale]]'s character elaborates on the analogy in an anecdote about the [[Forty-seven rōnin|forty-seven ''rōnin'']] told with [[miniature art|miniatures]], comparing the film's characters to the 18th-century ''rōnin'' of Japan.{{sfn|Armstrong|2008|p=158}} In his essay, "Action and Abstraction in ''Ronin''", [[Stephen Prince]] wrote that the ''rōnin'' metaphor explores themes of "service, honor, and obligation to complex ways by showing that service may entail betrayal and that honor may be measured according to disparate terms".{{sfn|Pomerance|Palmer|2011|p=83}} According to Stephen B. Armstrong, "Arguably Frankenheimer uses this story to highlight and contrast the moral and social weakness that characterize the band of ''rōnin'' in his film".{{sfn|Armstrong|2008|p=159}}

The film features a [[MacGuffin]] plot device in the form of a briefcase, the contents of which are important but unknown.{{sfn|Pomerance|Palmer|2011|p=79}}<ref name="tribune"/> ''Chicago Sun-Times'' critic [[Roger Ebert]] wrote that its content is identical to that of the equally-mysterious case in [[Quentin Tarantino]]'s ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'' (1994),<ref name="ebert"/> also a MacGuffin.<ref>{{cite news|title=Top 10 Movie MacGuffin|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/05/20/top-10-movie-macguffins|access-date=February 24, 2021|website=[[IGN]]|date=May 21, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216204647/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/05/20/top-10-movie-macguffins|archive-date=December 16, 2017}}</ref> Michael Wilmington of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' called ''Ronin'' an homage to ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'' (1971), ''[[The Parallax View]]'' (1974), and ''[[Three Days of the Condor]]'' (1975); thriller films known for their lack of visual effects.<ref name="tribune"/> [[Maitland McDonagh]] of ''[[TV Guide]]'' also compared the film to ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Day of the Jackal]]'' (1973)<ref name="tvguide"/> and noted similarities between ''Ronin''{{'}}s opening scene and that of Tarantino's ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'' (1992), in which a group of professional killers who have not met before assemble.<ref name="tribune"/> According to Armstrong, the film's plot observes the conventions of [[heist film]]s.{{sfn|Armstrong|2008|p=159}}

Frankenheimer employed a [[hyperrealism|hyperrealistic]] aesthetic in his films "to make them look realer than real, because reality by itself can be very boring", and saw them as having a tinge of [[semi-documentary]].<ref name="commentary"/> He credited [[Gillo Pontecorvo]]'s ''[[The Battle of Algiers]]'' (1966), a film he considered flawless and more influential than any other he had seen, with inspiring this style.<ref name="commentary"/> According to Prince, "Frankenheimer's success at working in this realist style, avoiding special effects trickery, places the car chase in ''Ronin'' in the same rarefied class as the celebrated chase in ''[[Bullitt]]'' (1968)".{{sfn|Pomerance|Palmer|2011|p=84}} The director credited the Russian film ''[[The Cranes Are Flying]]'' (1957) with inspiring [[invisible cut]]s in ''Ronin''. On the film's DVD audio commentary, Frankenheimer notes a [[wipe (transition)|wipe]] during the opening scenes made by two extras walking across the frame, which becomes a [[tracking shot]] of Jean Reno entering the bistro. His intention for the cut was to conceal the fact that the bistro's interior was a set; its exterior was filmed on location.<ref name="commentary"/>