In this video essay I explore the failure of 2013’s 47 Ronin, to understand how exactly it bombed, explore the messy production, and offer up some of my personal thoughts on the film.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Chapters:

Intro: 0:00

Production Hell: 0:29

Why it Failed: 6:57

Why it Sucks: 9:34

Conclusion: 12:20

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Carl Rinsch Rabbit Hole:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/business/carl-rinsch-netflix-conquest.html

https://www.jalopnik.com/netflix-gave-an-unproven-director-55-million-for-a-sci-1851049051/

https://deadline.com/2025/03/47-ronin-director-indictment-netflix-scam-1236330244/

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/carl-rinsch-indicted-netflix-white-horse-conquest-fraud-1236341650/

Reddit thread of Rinsch being evil (ALLEGEDLY):

https://www.reddit.com/r/vfx/comments/1jh4j38/anyone_worked_with_him_director_carl_rinsch/

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Letterboxd:

https://boxd.it/5NDWn

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/isenhart_productions/

Isenhart Reviews:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8kYJIHepR1AARuSiVs0p4g/featured/featured

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Music Attribution:

"Study And Relax" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Backbeat Lounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

"Smooth Loving" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

"Apero Hour" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Morning Routine by Ghostrifter http://bit.ly/ghostrifter-yt​

Creative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0

Free Download: https://hypeddit.com/track/24bkbw​

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Sources:

https://web.archive.org/web/20110526225922/http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/05/24/keanu-reeves-and-47-ronin-search-for-honor-revenge-and-impossible-love/

https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/universal-circles-rinsch-for-47-ronin-1118011491/

https://variety.com/2013/film/news/47-ronin-box-office-bomb-1201012170/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-studios-idUSTRE71K0EM20110221/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/japanese-cast-announced-keanu-reeves-163291/

https://web.archive.org/web/20131126061332/http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/universal-pulls-47-ronin-director-budget-swells-225m-exclusive-57111

https://variety.com/2013/film/news/47-ronin-poor-japanese-box-office-could-spell-doom-in-the-u-s-1200933773/

https://variety.com/2013/film/news/keanu-reeves-47-ronin-bombing-universal-prepares-for-big-loss-1201001065/

https://web.archive.org/web/20220531231718/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/budgets

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4282484225/weekend/?ref_=bo_rl_tab#tabs

https://screenrant.com/keanu-reeves-47-ronin-movie-box-office-bomb/

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2013/12/47-ronin-what-went-wrong?srsltid=AfmBOopShmSi_OEG6IDjE6KBQH0efXTmI-V_MAbYc-9OlXOF4PdioK5_