The Loyal 47 Ronin (1932) Review: Crackly, Slow, and Oddly Charming

Look, if you want fast-paced sword fights and cool special effects, you need to skip this entirely. The Loyal 47 Ronin from 1932 is strictly for people who love dusty old movies and don't mind squinting through thick layers of film grain. 🍿

It is the very first sound version of this famous Japanese story. And boy, you can really tell they were still figuring out how microphones worked.

The plot is what you expect if you know the legend. A nice lord gets bullied into killing himself, and his samurai retainers spend a long time planning to get even. But because this was made in 1932, everything feels incredibly theatrical and slow.

I swear, some scenes are just men sitting on tatami mats staring at each other for minutes. No music, just this constant shhhhh sound from the old audio track. It almost puts you in a trance.

Speaking of the sound, there is a moment where a door slides open and it sounds like a screeching cat. I laughed out loud because it was so loud and sudden. You can tell they only had one or two mics on the whole set.

But there is something so cool about seeing these legendary actors like Tsumasaburō Bandō when they were young. They have this intense, wide-eyed way of acting that we just don't see anymore.

It reminded me a bit of watching other early talkies from that transition period, like Daybreak, where everyone is still trying to figure out how loud they need to speak. Nobody quite knows if they should whisper or shout at the camera.

The Strange Little Details

There is a scene where one of the ronin is crying, and the camera just... stays on him. For like, a whole minute. His face is totally still, and you just see one giant fake tear roll down his cheek. It is beautiful but also kind of hilarious because of how long it takes.

And the villain? Lord Kira is played with such cartoonish evilness. He does this sneering thing with his mouth that makes him look like he just smelled something really bad. You almost expect him to twirl a mustache.

• The Good: Very cool historical piece, amazing costume details, and some genuinely spooky shadows.
• The Bad: The pacing is like molasses in winter, and the action at the end is very chaotic.
• The Weird: A dog barks in the background of a serious dramatic scene and nobody acknowledges it. 🐕

When the final attack finally happens, it does not look like modern movie choreography. It is just a bunch of guys in heavy winter coats falling over wooden fences. It feels much more like a real, messy backyard brawl than a cinematic masterpiece.

But that is exactly why I kind of liked it. It feels real. Or at least, it feels like a real theater play that someone managed to capture on a heavy, noisy camera.

If you have the patience for it, this movie have a weirdly cozy vibe. Just turn the volume down a bit so the static doesn't give you a headache. Otherwise, you might want to skip to a version made in the fifties.