Editing Ronin (film) (section)

=== {{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"/>