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Ronin

FILM · 1998 · UK

Ronin

24 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

  • Ronin — production image

24 Interesting Facts About Ronin

Interesting Facts (20)

  1. #001

    Right-hand-drive cars were used during the car chase so that Robert De Niro and Natascha McElhone could be shown actually driving, with the passenger side rigged to reflect the real controls. Cast members then mimicked the movements of the stunt drivers.

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  2. #002

    Skipp Sudduth asked to perform his own stunt driving during the car chases, and John Frankenheimer agreed. Frankenheimer told Sudduth, "I don't wanna see any brake lights."

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  3. #003

    To create the palette desired for the film, the art department was instructed to buy props in soft colors. In crowd scenes, no extras were allowed to wear brightly colored clothing.

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  4. #004

    Nearly all scenes were shot on location except for two. A set was used for the opening scene as a matching shot between location and set as the couple walks past the camera. The other was what happens in the car immediately after Sam and Vincent are injured, which was shot in front of a green screen.

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  5. #005

    In the Paris chase scene, no music plays for the first three minutes to give the scene more realism. Music only appears from about 1 hour 30 minutes to about 1 hour 35 minutes.

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  6. #006

    Sam "tests" two associates while drinking a cup of coffee, with contrasting results. By pretending to knock over a glass, Sam gets Gregor to reveal his perfect reflexes when he catches it, showing that the relaxed Gregor is more dangerous than he appears. Later, while arguing with Spence, Sam makes Spence bump into a cup of hot coffee, which distracts him and allows Sam to overpower him.

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  7. #007

    In one of the car chase scenes in which Gregor (Stellan Skarsgård) dictates instructions to Sam (Robert De Niro) from a computer terminal, the Avid film editing software used to edit films is visible on the screen.

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  8. #008

    The contents of the silver briefcase are never revealed, making the briefcase a good example of a "MacGuffin," a plot device Alfred Hitchcock often used. A MacGuffin is an object that serves to move the plot forward even though it has no importance in itself. For this reason, the object or its purpose often cannot be identified.

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  9. #009

    In Japan, "ronin" does not only mean "masterless Samurai"; it also refers to students who have not been accepted into a particular university. Instead, they spend a year studying to retake the entrance exam.

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  10. #010

    John Frankenheimer owned a similar brown Mercedes to the one used in the second car chase scene. Although the script did not specify which car Vincent and Sam would use to follow the convoy, Frankenheimer suggested that the Mercedes be used in the film.

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  11. #011

    In the scene where Sam (Robert De Niro) is shot and the bullet is removed, he says the bullet was Teflon-coated, which is why it went through the vest. Such bullets were sold in the US until they earned the reputation of "cop killers," after which they were taken off the market.

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  12. #012

    Vincent (Jean Reno) is the only mercenary in the film who uses a single weapon: a Beretta 92FS Inox.

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  13. #013

    When Seamus finally shoots the two Russians, they drop the briefcase containing the sought-after contents and the case full of money. Seamus takes the first case, but no one picks up the one thought to hold the money, and we never learn what happened to it.

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  14. #014

    The melancholic Ronin theme is played on an Armenian duduk.

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  15. #015

    In the scenes where Vincent and Jean try to remove the bullet from Sam, only Vincent is seen holding the forceps the way a surgeon would. Untrained people generally use the thumb and index finger. Surgeons and others trained in the use of forceps and scissors use their thumbs and ring fingers. This allows for better control of the instrument and a wider opening.

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  16. #016

    While Sam (actor Robert De Niro) stands by the window, Jean-Pierre (actor Michael Lonsdale) tells him the epic true story of the 47 Ronin. They were samurai left masterless (ronin) after their lord, Asano Naganori, was forced to commit ritual suicide for wounding Kira Yoshinaka. Kira was alleged to have provoked Asano, who attacked him in the Shogun's court. The ronin, led by Oishi Yoshio, avenged their lord's death by assassinating Kira on 30 January 1703. They then surrendered themselves to the authorities. The Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, acknowledged their loyalty but, bound by the law, ordered them to commit ritual suicide, which they did on 20 March 1703. This act of loyalty and revenge made the 47 Ronin national heroes in Japan.

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  17. #017

    Robert De Niro opens the film by concealing the Sig P228 9mm he will later carry, as well as the Colt 1911 he will later use in the ambush on the bridge. To disable the car in front he uses an HK69A1 Granatpistole 40mm grenade launcher, then fires bursts from a Sig 551 at the remaining bodyguards, then destroys another car with a rocket launcher similar to an M72 66mm LAW, and then switches to an FN M249 PARA Mk2 belt-fed machine gun during the briefcase attack to kill the leader and hold off the pursuit group.

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  18. #018

    The announcer stated that Natacha Kirilova was a 'two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion,' just as the skater she performs with, Katarina Witt (1984, 1988), was, but Witt had four World Championships (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988) rather than three.

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  19. #019

    The car chase scene in which Natascha McElhone drives against traffic resembles the same scene in William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). In that film, William Petersen similarly drives against traffic to escape a gang attack.

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  20. #020

    The "scalpel" Vincent works on Sam with is only an X-acto blade.

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Behind the Scenes (2)

  1. #021

    The script initially called for Sam to chase Gregor in the arena so that Sam would stand on the railing. While shooting the scene, however, the stuntmen accidentally toppled over the railing and fell hard onto the stone surface below. Director John Frankenheimer decided to leave the accident in the film.

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  2. #022

    300 stunt drivers were employed to give the final chase scene the required amount of realistic crunching metal.

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Easter Eggs & References (1)

  1. #023

    As the team gathers in the warehouse, Vincent (actor Jean Reno) says to Sam (actor Robert De Niro), "Seven fat years, and seven lean years." This is a reference to the passage in Chapter 41 of the biblical Book of Genesis, in which Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream about the coming famine in Egypt.

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Deeper Meaning (1)

  1. #024

    The distinctive thick yellow cigarettes Vincent smokes are Gitanes Mais. The yellow color comes from these cigarettes being made with corn paper. These cigarettes have been discontinued since this film was released.

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

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