The Last Samurai
by Edward Zwick
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Actor: Billy Connolly, Chad Lindberg, Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, William AthertonDirector: Edward Zwick
Producer: Edward Zwick
Writer: Edward Zwick
Producer: Charles Mulvehill
Producer: Graham Larson
Producer: Marshall Herskovitz
Writer: Marshall Herskovitz
Writer: John Logan
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: German (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); Swedish (Subtitled); Danish (Subtitled); Finnish (Subtitled); Icelandic (Subtitled); Hebrew (Subtitled); Arabic (Subtitled); Greek (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language)
Format: PAL
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 154 minutes
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
DVD Reviews of The Last Samurai
DVD Review: The Moose Hole - Cruise's 'Last' Oscar Stand
Summary: 5 Stars
Warner Brothers can?t catch a decent break, can they? For the last three years, the studio has had a mixed year based on the performance and public reaction of their films with the missteps outshining the successes. 2003 continues that trend with the poor reception of films like Gods & Generals, Dreamcatcher, Alex & Emma, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action. But what makes this year all the more hurtful was the fact that studio was expected to have had a good year riding the Matrix sequels alone. After the mixed reaction Reloaded received in May, The Matrix Revolutions couldn?t compete like it was expected too and failed to even break the $170 million mark the original film set in 1999. So with those thoughts in mind, what good can Warner Brother executives find in this year? Oscar potential. The studio?s leading Oscar contender is Clint Eastwood?s Mystic River but recently The Last Samurai has emerged to be heading for Oscar gold as well. The film?s leading man, Tom Cruise, hopes this is true in order to redeem the failure of capturing a nomination last year with his role in the critically praise Minority Report. Whether Warner Brothers pushes more for this film or Eastwood?s picture depends on Samurai?s performance but what can be said is that this film will definitely be raising eye brows.
The Last Samurai focuses on the journey of a man from the United States who is sent to Japan to help eradicate a rebellious force but learns more from his enemy then he ever imagined. Captain Woodrow Algren is no stranger to the field of battle. He has seen things that many can?t even imagine. Things that he would gladly like to forget if he could. In the time after the Civil War, Captain Algren takes to the bottle like many generals in the 1870?s America. With the Civil War now over, all that is left is the rebellious Indian tribes that have decreased in number rapidly and have been nearly suppressed. But the captain is surprised to be offered the position of training Japanese troops in destroying the last of the samurai warriors that have rebelled against the Emperor who has forced Western society on the nation of Japan. After he is captured by Katsumoto and his band of samurai warriors, Captain Algren learns that the rebel force is not as ?savage? as was once thought. Eventually he comes to find the true meaning of honor, necessity, and remembrance of where one comes from by joining Katsumoto in preserving the samurai way of life. The story of The Last Samurai has to be quite possibly one of the most thought provoking scripts of the year, even beyond the complex realm of the Matrix sequels earlier this year. The film successfully blends historical content from the post-Civil War events both in the United States and Japan with the exquisite traditions and philosophies of the ancient samurais. The Last Samurai is a positively rare sight in the modern age of big budgeted epic dramas that present dazzling special effects but fail to deliver insight into the human experience.
Though only one member of the film?s cast can be easily recognizable to American movie-goers, it doesn?t really matter all that much as the level of true acting talent goes far beyond the means of one?s star-power. Tom Cruise gives in all honesty one of the best performances of his career, even more so then his critically acclaimed role in Steven Spielberg?s 2002 sci-fi drama, Minority Report. The amount of determination and vivid emotions Cruise brings to the role go far beyond the acting he has demonstrated in the past and showcases a true sense of maturity in the roles he has chosen and will choose in the future. Captain Woodrow Algren is a perfect presentation of the concept of the will to open one?s self to new culture and way of life despite all those who claim in can not be done. Ken Watanabe, who portrays the samurai lord Katsumoto, does a superb job with the material that is given to him and though some may note that he struggles with the English language presented in the script that is the point of the character. It?s a beautiful portrayal of a talented actor learning the language and the traditions of vastly different culture along the same lines as the character he plays in the film does. Though some may have complaints about the limited appearance Koyuki has as the widow wife Yaka, one must look beyond the amount of screen time her character has and concentrate rather on the substance of her material that does exist. Yaka?s conversation with Katsumoto in which she expresses disagreement over her care of Captain Algren demonstrates the prominent theme of the film, one of a battle raging between honoring the traditions of one?s ancestors yet at the same time maintaining a willingness to break free from those traditions and progress in the world.
Overall, The Last Samurai is a rare theatrical treasure that not only successfully presents to the audience a well choreographed Bella-drama of breath taking action sequences and spectacular visuals but intellectuals statements that expresses the idea of expanding one?s mind to a world beyond their own realm. Despite containing an excessively long three hour time length, The Last Samurai does manage its time well although it is to say it does have its points where slow downs are less then warranted but these misgivings can be easily ignored. Many of the concepts that discussed within the framework of the film, namely necessity and ancestry, have already been presented in some degree in the two Matrix sequels earlier this year but Samurai manages to go beyond those films and express those same thoughts on far-less complex level. The way of the samurai is to stick to the traditions of their ancestors and not modernize the way their people have lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years but as Katsumoto soon comes to realize, modernization, in one form or another, is inevitable in any society. Modernization can be integrated into an already existing culture but not to the extent that all traditions and practices once held by that society are lost forever. The intricate demonstration of certain philosophical practices within the film must be seen to be fully understood by anyone interested by the feature?s premise. The Last Samurai is without a doubt the best, if not the most surprising, film of the year, far exceeding even the extravagantly high expectations set by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Though greatly overlooked at this year?s Academy Awards ceremony, those who witness this film?s brilliant achievements and take its message to heart will give this film a far greater honor then any Hollywood awards ceremony could ever give.
Description of The Last Samurai
While Japan undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernized society in 1876-77, The Last Samurai gives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced by a mercenary officer (Tony Goldwyn) to train the Japanese Emperor's troops in the use of modern weaponry. Opposing this "progress" is a rebellion of samurai warriors, holding fast to their traditions of honor despite strategic disadvantage. As a captive of the samurai leader (Ken Watanabe), Algren learns, appreciates, and adopts the samurai code, switching sides for a climactic battle that will put everyone's honor to the ultimate test. All of which makes director Edward Zwick's noble epic eminently worthwhile, even if its Hollywood trappings (including an all-too-conventional ending) prevent it from being the masterpiece that Zwick and screenwriter John Logan clearly wanted it to be. Instead, The Last Samurai is an elegant mainstream adventure, impressive in all aspects of its production. It may not engage the emotions as effectively as Logan's script for Gladiator, but like Cruise's character, it finds its own quality of honor. --Jeff ShannonBestsellers in DVD
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