... The story which can be compared with "Dances With Wolves" is more about a man who is at war with himself, as he hates his past and what he has become, but under the guidance of the Samurai he discovers his real self and what is important in life. The dialogue in this film is also extremely ... Read review
The Last Samuraigives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads as Japan ... more
undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernised society in 1876-77. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced b...
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The Last Samuraigives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads as Japan ... more
undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernised society in 1876-77. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced b...
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Decorated Civil War veteran Nathan Algren (Cruise) is sent to Japan to train and lead the ... more
Emperor's troops in modern Western gunpowder intensive warfare to eliminate the country's remaining rebelling samurai. Captured and imprisoned by the outlawed ...
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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 desti...
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
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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.
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.
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.
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
...past and seeks solitude from the bottle. Offered a vast amount of money he agrees to go to Japan to train up their army to fight and defeat the remaining rebel Samurai. Unfortunately he is injured and captured in action by the Samurai, and instead of being killed he is taken back to their village hide away. Although he is the enemy, he is not treated like a prisoner, and soon he comes to understand and respect the Samurai. With this his loyalty changes ... ...friends. Soon the Japanese army up their search for the remaining rebel Samurai, this time they are prepared for them and are ready to go to war which could determine the fate of the Samurai once and for all.
This is a very powerful film which holds your attention through the story, the dialogue, the action and the scenery. The story which can be compared with "Dances With Wolves" is more about a man who is at war ... more
Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is an American War Captain and hero, who now despises his past and seeks solitude from the bottle. Offered a vast amount of money he agrees to go to Japan to train up their army to fight and defeat the remaining rebel Samurai. Unfortunately he is injured and captured in action by the Samurai, and instead of being killed he is taken back to their village hide away. Although he is the enemy, he is not treated like a prisoner, and soon he comes to understand and respect the Samurai. With this his loyalty changes and trains to become a Samurai like his new found friends. Soon the Japanese army up their search for the remaining rebel Samurai, this time they are prepared for them and are ready to go to war which could determine the fate of the Samurai once and for all.
This is a very powerful film which holds your attention through the story, the dialogue, the action and the scenery. The story which can be compared with "Dances With Wolves" is more about a man who is at war with himself, as he hates his past and what he has become, but under the guidance of the Samurai he discovers his real self and what is important in life. The dialogue in this film is also extremely good, I honestly expected it to be a bit cliché ridden but it was very enjoyable and has real meaning, such as:
Katsumoto: Many of our customs seem strange to you. And the same is true of yours. For example, not to introduce yourself is considered extremely rude, even among enemies.
There are several action sequences within the film but instead of being over the top pieces, they look very real. The fight sequences between the Samurai and the army are really well shot and you feel that you are in the midst of the battle. At the other end of the action scale, is the training Algren receives in sword fighting, it is extremely well choreographed but not to the extent that it looks staged. Finally the scenery in the film is magnificent; not only the beautiful mountain village but the buildings at the port really do provide a breath taking backdrop to the film. All in all, a very good film.
In the lead role of Captain Nathan Algren is Tom Cruise (The Color of Money). Usually I find Cruise's performances to be quite cheesy, but in this case he puts in a very classy performance which shows his true acting capability. Not only does he display good skills in the action sequences he also displays the range of emotions of a man who detests himself but then the happiness when he finds inner peace. Opposite Cruise is Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto (Batman Begins) the leader of the Samurai. Watanabe plays the part brilliantly as he guides Algren and disperses pearls of wisdom. This character could have come over quite cheesily in a sort of Mr. Miyagi (Karate Kid) sense, but Watanabe has a very powerful presence on the screen which makes his character very believable. In some minor roles, but still important, are Billy Connolly as Zebulan Gant, Algren's second in command, and Timothy Spall as Simon Graham, a historian and interpreter who is Algren's guide. Of course there is a huge supporting cast and really can't be faulted for there performances.
The film is directed by Edward Zwick (Courage Under Fire) who has done a marvellous job of creating what I would class a modern epic. He has stayed focus through out the film on telling the story rather than 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======= 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, but he also gives praise to the actors and set designers as he discusses the scenes.
'History Vs Hollywood: The Last Samurai' this is from the History channel and shows what the film got historically right and what it got very wrong.
'Tom Cruise: A Warriors Journey' this is a feature all about the character of Algren with interviews with Cruise and other cast and crew members. It gives an insight into how Cruise went about playing the part.
'Edward Zwick: Directors Video Journal' although this is quite long and Zwick's voice gets a bit annoying after a while, it is a good feature showing loads of background information on how Zwcik directed the film.
'Making An Epic: A Conversation With Edward Zwick And Tom Cruise' this feature is very good as the star and director discuss what they are trying to achieve with the film.
'A World Of Detail: Production Design With Lilly Kilvert' is a short feature which discusses aspects of the film, such as getting the right locations and the use of CGI which is a real eye opener.
'Silk And Armour: Costume Design With Ngila Dickson' is another short feature which unsurprisingly discusses the costumes used in the film.
'Imperial Army Basic Training' is another short feature which shows the basic training the actors went through in the use of weaponry for the film.
'From Soldier To Samurai: The Weapons' is a feature on all the different weapons used in the fill and how accurate they were.
'Deleted Scenes'-There are 2 deleted scenes on the disc, but what is surprising is that they come with a commentary explaining why they were cut but also explaining how they were filmed.
'Japanese Premieres' - this is the cast talking about their characters whilst at the films premier.
'Theatrical Trailer' is the original film trailer.
'Bushido: Way Of The Samurai' is a few pages of text describing Bushido; the Samurai code of honour.
The film also comes with a selection of DVDRom extras.========== Conclusion & Rating ================This is definitely a modern epic, which although maybe historically flawed it is still highly entertaining and very watch able. The story is engrossing and the performances tell it very well. This will appeal to fans of films such as 'Gladiator' and 'Troy'. Not only is the film very good but the extras packaged with the DVD are brilliant which makes this a very good purchase, which can currently be bought on Amazon for £9.97.
= Trivia
=Tom Cruise narrowly escaped potentially fatal injuries after a sword was swung within one inch of his neck while filming. He and his co-star Hiroyuki Sanada was acting out a sword fight scene when the incident happened. Sanada swung a sword at Cruise who was on an off-camera mechanical horse at the time. But the machine reportedly malfunctioned and failed to duck at the right moment. Sanada stopped the blade just one inch from his neck. - courtesy of IMDB.
christianfilmcritic 22.02.2006 (13.04.2006)
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Review of The Last Samurai (Special Edition) (DVD)
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 Japan produce some of the best movies (action and horror in particular) in the world. Being a big fan of these types of movies I was slightly skeptical about seeing the last samurai. I found the movie to be highly enjoyable, and respectful to the samurai culture but it didn't manage to avoid certain pitfalls, letting the movie down. The plot
Tom cruise stars as Capt. Nathan Algren a hero of the civil war who has failed to settle back into normal ... ...to help fight the samurai in Japan, by training the army and leading them. When taking the new Japanese army into battle he is captured by Katsumoto, played by Ken Watanabe, the leader of the samurai. During his capture he learns the manner of the samurai 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 ...
beveling8 17.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Last Samurai (Special Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: Great detail about history of samurai way of life, Outstanding performance from Cruise Disadvantages: Bit unbelievable in places
...gone to see it at the cinema!
When i first saw this movie advertised, I assumed it was going to be one of those movies where tom cruise goes around killing absolutley everyone in other words lame, but how very wrong I was. The movie tells the story of an american war captain who is sent to Japan to fight against those who are rebelling i.e the samurai however he is captured by these samurai warriors and is eventually welcomed into the samurai community ... ...with. The movie has some great fighting scenes and really brings out a lot of history about the ancient samurai ways of life, in particular their resentment to use firearms even though they know they will get killed, as well as providing its audience with a good insight into typical 19th century Japanese life. In my opinion this is the best role Cruise has ever played. It's one of those movies that really involves the audience emotionally, I for ...
Dj_fiki 04.04.2005 (05.04.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Last Samurai (Special Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: Great detail into samurai's, great performance by cast Disadvantages: not really beleivable in some parts
the double disc editon of this epic japanese action film is a certain buy. Starring Tom Cruise at his best and Ken Watanabe in his first fighting film, it really is great. Nathan Algren(tom cruise) is hired to train the new japanese army to get rid of the samurai's. Ever haunted by past wars against the Red Indians, he has trouble keeping off the whiskey. He gets ordered to take the unready "new" Japanese army out to destroy Katsumoto(Ken Watanabe). ... ...with the samurai army led by Katsumoto they lose many men and fail to make a scratch. During this battle Nathan gets captured and taken back to the samurai camp in the mountains where he is prisoner. Over the next 6 months his thoughts change and he Finnaly starts to agree with the "bushido"(samurai) way. When released Nathan is ordered to go into battle again with a bigger force to wipe out the samurais for good, But will he do it...........
This ...
the_stickman 21.02.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Last Samurai (Special Edition) (DVD)
...little room for surprises among the inevitable clichéd trappings of The Last Samurai, an epic cinematic scenario about a battle-worn war hero who has lost his soul but finds redemption in an ancient Japanese society he once perceived as the enemy.
Story A decorated soldier, Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) fought bravely during the Civil War, but in the years thereafter, pragmatism and self-interest embittered him. He now drinks heavily to drown ... ...proud Native Americans in the name of progress during the Indian Wars of the 1870s. As a mercenary for hire, Algren heads to Japan to train the newly formed Imperial Army and usher it into the burgeoning age of modern Western culture--a shift that will put Japan's ancient customs and values in jeopardy, including the tradition of the fierce and highly respected samurai warriors who once protected Japan with their fabled swords and still live by a ...
boycie4 22.02.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: not helpful Review of The Last Samurai (Special Edition) (DVD)
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Advantages: well acted Disadvantages: too similar to dances with wolves
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 ...
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.
Edward Zwick Audio Commentary, History Channel Documentary History Vs Hollywood The Last Samurai, Tom Cruise A Warriors Journey, Edward Zwick Directors Video Journal, Making An Epic A Conversation With Edward Zwick And Tom Cruise, A World Of Detail Production Design With Lilly Kilvert, Silk And Armour Costume Design With Ngila Dickson, Imperial Army Basic Training, From Soldier To Samurai The Weapons, Deleted Scenes With Optional Director Commentary, Japan Premieres, Trailer
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Truly stunning..." (Daily Star, )
"...THE LAST SAMURAI is enthralling, moving and hugely entertaining... (Mail on Sunday, )
"...It's and epic, it's awesome... Intensely satisfying..." (News of the World, )
"...Blessed with stunning costumes, powerful effects and a beautiful backdrop..." (Sunday Mirror, )
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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