Ned Ehrbar interviewed Hiroyuki Sanada about The Railway Man, which debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival for Metro. During the course of the interview he said the folowing when asked about 47 Ronin:
You’re also in Keanu Reeves’ “47 Ronin,” which is finally coming out this year.
Yes, finally. It will be released at Christmas. It’s very exciting because he took a long time for post-production. I was involved with the movie almost three years ago, and finally I can see the movie and I can show it to audiences. I’m so curious about the world’s reaction to it because it’s based on a true story, the most famous revenge story in Japan, but with a lot of fantasy and CGI action, almost like a samurai version of “The Lord of the Rings.”Why do you think samurai stories continue to be so popular?
I think people think it’s about the sword-fighting and that kind of thing, but the samurai spirit is more a mentality thing. Especially now, there’s still a lot of war and terrorism happening in the world, so we need this spirit of humbleness, respect and loyalty. I think people want to see something with that kind of mentality. The samurai is not just a fighter.
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