I have for a long time been a big fan oriental cinema. As South Korea 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 society after the American civil war. He is sought out 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 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 the real history of Japan related to the movie especially interesting. The picture quality was excellent, very clear and very sharp. It didn't lose too much from the movie version in terms of impact.
Well worth a buy, the time spent on the extra features redeems certain flaws in the movie.
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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
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
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...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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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...
![The Last Samurai (Two Disc Edition) [2003] [DVD] [2004]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78512929.jpg "The Last Samurai (Two Disc Edition) [2003] [DVD] [2004]")
Jun 17th, 2004
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