Robert Deniro Movie:

		List Price: $59.99		Label: BMG/Arista Salesrank: 103319 Released: September 29, 2008
		Our Price: $32.95
		Used Price: $24.99
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
Japanese Blu-ray/Region A pressing. Directed by John Frankenheimer 'Ronin' stars Robert De Niro and Jean Reno in this action packed film full of strategy, weapons, surveillance and dangerous secret missions that carries out in Paris. 20th Century Fox.

Description of Ronin [Blu-ray]:
Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the end of the Cold War--much like a masterless samurai, a.k.a. "ronin." With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone, and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job--going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable--there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business--but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds, The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centerpiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon), but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense, Ronin is almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film. There isn't anything here he hasn't done before, but it's sure great to see it all again. --Tom Keogh

Ronin [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Don't care about extras
2009-12-19 - When I saw this movie on bluray I snapped it up. It's not the type of movie I would replace a DVD version with, but I misplaced or lost my DVD of the film so I had an excellent excuse. It's brilliant. The scene with the Russian ice skater doing her routine to Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini alone is priceless. The chase scenes are some of the epic, if a tad redundant and somewhat long. A solid and thoughtful spy/action movie.

Briefly on extras: Unlike some other writers, I simply don't care about them. I was really into extras when DVD's first came out about 10 years ago, but I have long since lost interest and rarely do I view extras of any kind. The commentaries, especially, I avoid like the plague. Just the movie as it played in theaters is good enough for me. The trailer perhaps. I'll ignore everything else with rare exceptions.

Don't Let the Cover Full You (Not One Extra)
2009-12-07 - The 1st Official BR Release of Ronin
Sound like a Great Must have BR Disc

Just on it's own the BR is Very Good The PQ is Stunning, Crisp & Clean!
The Audio is also very good DTS 5.1 Close 2 Perfect @ Times Though dialog is a bit Low
Great Transfer
But, If u are looking to get all The Great Extras from the second Version of the Standard dvd brought over to the HD Format
Don't hold your Breathe The BR Disc is Naked w/ NO Extras
Which is Dreadful
MGM Tends 2 do this with some of there Fully Loaded Films when doing the Special Editions to the BR Format
Example 2 Great MGM Films also have been Transfered to BR with Nothing!
(Robocop & Usual Suspects)

The Film is so good it deserves the Special Edition BR Version

Movie/HD Transfer 8.5/10
Extras 0/10

"...If You Don't Mind...I'm Gonna Pass Out Now..."
2009-07-23 - *** BLU RAY REVIEW ***

For the first 20 minutes of John Frankenheimer's 1998 brilliant chase movie, you look at the BLU RAY box and wonder where the hell is the improvement? At the time they made it, they weren't of course thinking about future formats and their picture quality exposing limitations - they were just thinking about getting the mood right and setting up the plot. Filmed in a dark alley and then a dim French cafe at night, and staying there for quite a while - the opening clarity isn't great and I find that the BLU RAY format only accentuates this - the deficiencies of indoor lighting. But once you get to the daytime scenes that follow, then the fabulous city locations after that and especially to the close-up shots of the actor's faces, things improve dramatically.

And like that other genius caper movie of the Nineties "The Usual Suspects", not only could you not pay for such a stunning and diverse cast now - "Ronin" has admirably stood the test of time. It bears repeated viewing which of course makes it ideal BLU RAY replacement-fodder.

For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the picture improvements - Nastasha McElhone's gorgeously huge eyes - De Niro's mole - Jean Reno's stubble - Sean Bean's sweaty brow - it's all there and amplified. And those fantastic car-chases that "Bourne" surely aped... There's even an unintentionally funny moment when Stellan Skarsgard is in his car with a gun and silencer about to trade the silver case to some dodgy type - you can see the lipstick accentuating his lips - its looks comical. And then that famous De Niro scene where he instructs Michael Lonsdale and Jean Reno to surgically remove a Teflon-laced bullet from his stomach without anaesthetic so he can remain conscious throughout and direct them properly - is just priceless (the title of this review is the dialogue De Niro speaks after the operation is over).

But as other reviewers have noted, the big let down is the lack of extras - and especially the absence of the startling brutal alternative ending where Natasha McElhone's Belfast character 'Deirdre' is involved - it's missing - and many thought it a better ending than the one used in cinema's.

And worse than that - there's no insights? I mean if ever a film deserved commentaries and a more than a few making-of features - then it's "Ronin".

Still - a great film - now visually improved - and as wicked a movie as you remember it.

Despite its bare-bones presentation - it's recommended.

Action Adventure in France
2009-06-03 - In feudal Japan warriors who did not have a lord but were free-lancers were called "Ronin", or mercenaries. This film begins in Paris. A man watches from the shadows. A woman enters a bar. Another man watches. [We know something will happen.] They are summoned to a meeting. "Labor or management?" They are to ambush a vehicle to hijack a container. The guards are well-armed, more information will be available. Sam asks questions. There is a meeting to buy the guns from strangers. Is there trust? Will something go wrong? Will there be a chase? "Who are our employers?" The details about the hijack are given. Is one of them unreliable?

The team arrives in Nice to scout the location. They photograph the target. [Nobody notices this!] There is surveillance at night. Can traffic lights be remotely controlled? The ambush occurs on a city street. How many inconvenient bystanders? Next is the car chase through the country and narrow streets. There is a shoot-out between the groups. Something goes very wrong. A meeting is arranged, the disagreement is resolved. What next? "I know those men." Cell phones provide instant communication. There is a chase through the Colosseum of Arles, more shooting, then an escape. Were they sold out? There is an operation to remove a bullet. No anesthetic for a tough guy. Will they get the keys? We see a part of town avoided by tourists. "Why?" There is a car chase through a tunnel and then through traffic. Are they going the wrong way? They come to the end of their road. "Where does he go?" "Why ice skates?" Why go to an ice show? To find more bodies? Will there be another violent shoot-out? Can there be a happy ending after all the action? "Keep in touch."

The many foreign scenes remind me of those "James Bond" films of the 1960s. The search for something of value that proves illusory was done in "The Maltese Falcon". Assembling a team for a crime was done in "The Asphalt Jungle". They spent too much money on car chases and not enough on a good story for this exercise in futility.

Best version of this movie on HD disc to date...
2009-05-15 - The blu-ray of Ronin has been amply reviewed online (blu-ray .com and AVS blu-ray tier forum, etc). Although there is practically no 3D eye-candy to speak of, there is definitely more detail throughout the movie, and the HD audio is better than the DVD.

However, this reviewed blu-ray does not have the two alternate endings from the extended DVD set, nor the other extras. :(

So if you really like Ronin and own a blu-ray player, i'd recommend waiting for this disc to go on sale for under $20, or get it used.