The story of the 47 Ronin begins when lord Asano attempts to kill his leader, Kira (Ko Nishimura). Unluckily for him, he fails and is subsequently pressured into committing suicide for the attempt. Asano’s subordinate, Oishi (Ken Kakakura), and all of the other men who had served under Asano went into relative hiding in fear of what might be done to them. The attack and subsequent suicide of Asano, Oishi and his men believed, was all a plot from Kira. Word soon comes from Kira that all the men who had served Asano were no longer Samurai but traitors for following Asano. The men, with this disgrace added to their burning desire of revenge for their leader’s death, begin planning a way to slaughter Kira and his men. They first set Kira up, sending him a large amount of money and making it appear to be a bribe. When rumors begin to circulation, Kira resigns from his position. Much worry, preparation, and development of characters and love occur before Oishi and his men finally leave the comfort of their new homes, their wives and children, in order to take on Kira. They stay in Edo (ancient Tokyo), finalizing plans and preparing weapons. They work only at night and plan an unexpected day for their slaughter. When the day comes, snow falls and coats the ground in a beautiful white to contrast Oishi and his men’s dark battle gear and the bright red blood that flows relentlessly from their victims. In traditional Samurai epic style, the final scene is as brutal as the rest of the film is slow and deliberate.

The talent and experience of Kon Ichikawa, a veteran of over 85 films, is definitely not wasted on the latest 47 Ronin. His mix of standard slow Samurai style and his own visual approach allows for a visual feast. Moving shots in a massive bamboo forest stand out in my mind, as well as some astounding photography of sunsets and cherry blossoms. Not to mention the brutal beauty applied in the films final moments. It is in this film’s visuals that it shines the most, and the atmosphere created by these visuals and the haunting score by Kensaku Tanigawa make the film’s few faults forgivable.

The performances are all stylized in the way that one predicts from a Samurai film. But within these stylized shells, most of the performers find some areas to show true depth. As the often brooding Oishi, Ken Takakura’s character shines through the hard mold that he is forced to show as a Samurai. Ko Nishimura likewise shows his character mostly as an old man simply trying to survive through the harsh political chaos ensuing from Asano’s assassination attempt on him. The entire cast portrays their characters well, finding a nice balance between depth and the hard-shelled, stylistic characters that define the genre. However, the huge cast and lack of development and distinction on the part of most of the characters, its hard to remember who is who and even harder to discern what face a given name belongs to during the many recounts of events. This problem is likely unique to foreign viewers who have not had the story etched into our memory, much as a story over the Alamo would likely assume the viewers already know much of the mythology surrounding Davy Crockett.

In America, we are beginning to see a stampede of remakes flooding the multiplexes. And, as “Mr. Deeds” and “Planet of the Apes” so wonderfully illustrated, we seem to show little or no respect for the source and succeed in creating painfully bad remakes of great classics. It is then refreshing to see that somewhere a familiar story can be told time and time again, seeming to only progress artistically and in terms of quality. This 47 Ronin is the latest portrayal, and it honors its predecessors while improving on their weaknesses. Don’t miss it, though it would be helpful to read a thorough account of the events before watching it.