Production Year: 2003 - Action/Adventure - Director: Edward Zwick - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Timothy Spall, Tony Goldwyn, Billy Connolly, William Atherton more
Edward Zwick directs this sumptuously designed, action-packed period epic that stars Tom Cruise as Captain Nathan Algren. Algren, a former Civil War hero, is adrift in 1870s San... more
The Last Samurai -
Whether Tom Cruise's portrayal of a 19th century American soldier cum samurai warrior will ... more
be remembered with the same pangs of pop-cultural bemusement that befell John Wayne playing Genghis Khan remains to be seen. But its musical soundtrack does mark an auspicious occasion: pop musician-turned-composer Hans Zimmer's 100th score since beginning his film career in 1988. A pioneer of fusing both the electronic and orchestral and the Westernized with the indigenous, Zimmer does both here with skill, drawing heavily on samples of the traditional Taiko (a massive Japanese drum) for its rhythmic action sequences, while constructing a melodic Western motif for Cruise's character that's both centrepiece and counterpoint for the score's transcultural intent. Aside from the brief, ominous thunder of the expected action/suspense boilerplate, Zimmer has constructed passages of gentle, Asian-inflected pastoralism that have parallels with much of his evocative work on The Thin Red Line. Those cues are the score's very soul, a canvas against which his more traditional themes reverberate all the stronger. --Jerry McCulley
The Last Samurai
Tom Cruise plays Civil War hero Capt. Nathan Algren, who comes to Japan to fight the ... more
Samurai and ends up pledging himself to their cause. Ken Watanabe (Golden Globe and Academy Award nominee) plays Katsumoto, a Samurai leader facing a vanishing way of life, whose destiny becomes intertwined with that of the American captain. Edward Zwick (winner of the National Board of Review's Best Director Award) directs this sweeping and emotional epic tale of the birth of modern Japan.
The Last Samurai
Tom Cruise plays Civil War hero Capt. Nathan Algren, who comes to Japan to fight the ... more
Samurai and ends up pledging himself to their cause. Ken Watanabe (Academy Award nominee) plays Katsumoto, a Samurai leader facing a vanishing way of life, whose destiny becomes intertwined with that of the American captain. Edward Zwick (winner of the National Board of Review's Best Director Award) directs this sweeping and emotional epic tale of the birth of modern Japan.
The Last Samurai
Tom Cruise plays Civil War hero Capt. Nathan Algren, who comes to Japan to fight the ... more
Samurai and ends up pledging himself to their cause. Ken Watanabe (Academy Award nominee) plays Katsumoto, a Samurai leader facing a vanishing way of life, whose destiny becomes intertwined with that of the American captain. Edward Zwick (winner of the National Board of Review's Best Director Award) directs this sweeping and emotional epic tale of the birth of modern Japan.
The Last Samurai
Tom Cruise plays Civil War hero Capt. Nathan Algren, who comes to Japan to fight the ... more
Samuria and ends up pledging himself to their cause. Ken Watanbe (Golden Globe and Academy Award nominee) plays Katsumoto, a Sumurai leader facing a vanishing way of life, whose destiny becomes intertwined with that of the American captain. Edward Zwick (winner of the National Board of Review's Best Director Award) directs this sweeping and emotional epic tale of the birth of modern Japan.
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
A review by bruffyboy on The Last Samurai (Special Edition) (DVD) April 6th, 2009
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Indifferent to it
Story
Satisfactory
Characters / Performances
Satisfactory
Special Effects
Standard
Soundtrack
Average
Advantages:
well acted
Disadvantages:
too similar to dances with wolves
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
WHAT IS IT ABOUT: Tom Cruise stars as Captain Nathan Algren, an alcoholic war vet in 1870s Japan, who is hired to train the Japanese army as they attempt to overcome the samurai. Overwhelmed in battle, Algren's bravery impresses the ancient samurai people, who take him in as one of their own and teach him their ways.
IS IT ANY GOOD: I have mixed feelings about this film, and still don't really know what to say about it. On the one hand, it's just 'Dances With Wolves' all over again, but this time in Japan. The plot is so similar, it's a wonder they didn't sue for plagiarism. Because of the similarities, you can't help but guess a lot of what is going to happen, which makes it predictable, despite the alien culture the film aims to embody.
The way of life in the samurai culture is, perhaps, the film's saving grace; they do a very good job of respectfully presenting a way of life that many of us will know nothing about.
Acting wise, Cruise does a good job, but his character lacks any real depth. The film is full of high emotional scenes that are over the top in that way that Hollywood often goes, and Cruise therefore fails to give any subtlety to his performance. A wildly mis-cast Billy Connelly shows up for a bit, and I can't take that guy seriously (I'm sorry).
If you liked it, Dances With Wolves is very similar. I would also recommend reading 'Memoirs of a Geisha', which tells the story of the Geisha with a calmness that many who admire the serene lifestyle of the samurai will enjoy.
All in all, this is an adequate film that goes over the top on emotion, but will be enjoyed by those who haven't seen Dances With Wolves.
...demonstrating great action sequences or huge special effects. The sound track is provided by Hans Zimmer who provides a good range of pieces which complement each scene, whether it is an emotional piece or a more upbeat action piece.
=
The Cast
=
Ken Watanabe .... Katsumoto
Tom Cruise .... Nathan Algren
Billy Connolly .... Zebulon Gant
Tony Goldwyn .... Colonel Bagley
Masato Harada .... Omura
Timothy Spall .... Simon Graham
Togo Igawa .... General Hasegawa
=
Technical Details
=
Certificate: 15
Length: 148 mins
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Bonus Material
=
The DVD extras are extremely good and mainly feature on the second disc.
The Audio Commentary is provided by Edward Zwick who passionately takes you through the film where he describes what he was trying to convey...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: great cinematography, good action, good special features, well acted by tom cruise. Disadvantages: story line a bit wobbly, surely he should of died!
...and subsequently becomes one. Ending up challenging the people he was brought in by. It is solid story centering on the Japan’s battle to modernize and the struggles it had with trying to keep its identity.
The fighting and special effects all look superb. The acting is of a high quality; tom cruise performs well as the disillusioned captain. It is also well directed by Edward Zwick. The movie is let down in certain areas, the story line is strong but fails to avoid typical Hollywood flaws. It is almost laughable at the end when tom cruise is still alive despite being shot by a machine gun numerous times!
I enjoyed the movie but found the DVD to be even better. The special features are outstanding, talking at length about the history of the samurai and why certain decisions were made in the movie. I found the feature on the how...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great detail about history of samurai way of life, Outstanding performance from Cruise Disadvantages: Bit unbelievable in places
...between Cruise and Zwick - Here Zwick interviews Cruise about how he felt about playing the role and they talk about old times.
History vs Hollywood - This is a very educational piece on how the film compares to that of real historical documents.It takes a look at old scriptures as well as interviews with experts in such fields.
Production design, Costume Design, Army Training and Weapons - This part of the dvd, gives the viewer a very detailed insight into the making of the film. It shows exactly how the weapons and costumers were made using traditional Japanese techniques and allows you to realise how much effort went into the making of this movie.
Bushido - This is a set of written pieces which show what is basically the Samurai's bible. It describes exactly how a samurai should live his life.
Deleted scenes - There are two...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Plot: Captain Nathan Algren served in the American Civil War where he risked his life for his country. He served out his career in the West where the battle was with Indians and it was here that he became disillusioned and lost. In a far-off land a celebrated Samurai warrior, Katsumoto, is learning about change. A life of service to the Emperor and the country is being replaced with survival in a time of modernisation. Fate has it that both men will face each other and make a stand against those that would threaten honour and values. Captain Nathan Algren is employed to train a group of Japanese conscripts who will replace the Samurai warrior. But he is captured by the Samurai, an enemy he comes to respect and for whom he is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.
DVD Description
Edward Zwick directs this sumptuously designed, action-packed period epic that stars Tom Cruise as Captain Nathan Algren. Algren, a former Civil War hero, is adrift in 1870s San Francisco after the war, a lost soul struggling to stay afloat in a booze-soaked stupor. When he is recruited by the Japanese government to train the Emperor's army, he departs for the unknown shores of Japan and begins training the soldiers in American military tactics. But these skills are useless against a band of samurai rebels led by the proud warrior Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), and Algren is easily defeated. He is taken to a remote samurai village where he learns samurai warrior codes and ways of life, developing a deep bond with Katsumoto and sharing philosophical conversations with him. Caught between the feudal culture of the ancient samurai warriors and the encroachment of modern society, Algren is forced to choose between his own culture or Katsumoto's. THE LAST SAMURAI is lavish in its dramatic period costumes and intense performances, and will thrill fans of both historical drama and action films.
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