The Last Samurai

David Jimerson

David Jimerson

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Staff member
Why has no one brought it up?

I watched it last night and was pretty impressed. True, it's heavily borrowed from "Dances With Wolves" (John Logan doesn't appear capable of an original storyline) and Zwick repeated his "firing the musket under pressure" scene from "Glory," but I thought it was incredibly shot, and the performances of Watanabe and Cruise were excellent. And I've never, ever, said that about Cruise before.
 
Re: The Last Samurai

I thought it was pretty well done. It was gorgeously shot. But the parallels between that and DWW were a little too much for me. I thought it was a well-done pic, but I don't know it deserved all the incredible accolades it got.

Probably the best I've ever seen Tom Cruise though.
 
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I agree on both of these accounts. I thought it was great film; Cruise was great; the score; the cinematography; Wattanabe...

But the accolades were a bit much.
 
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..i will likely buy this film. i really loved it. cruise is way to underrated for all the awsome films hes done.. if i remember correctly (..yeah right.. like that'll ever happen) he's never won an oscar..ever. i think.. which is insane considering all the classics hes done.
 
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Pretty good movie. Very well shot. ENtertaining anyway and Watanabe is good. Plus every1 likes samurais(Despite the fact that the history is SO WAY OFF the mark its not even japan). However, I must disagree with the previous statements that this is the best cruise has done.
Have you seen Risky Business, the movie that started his career? Now that is classic.
 
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As LaFinDuMonde has mentioned, this was a relatively good movie, well acted and nicely shot, but the story is not even close to the actual events. It’s a good western fantasy film with lots of pretty armor and flashing swords. Let’s also not forget Hollywood’s obligatory requirement to include ninjas warriors to draw in the teenager male demographic.

What a shame. This movie had such great potential. I can see some Hollywood studio execs reviewing the script asking, “Where’s the ninja? No good samurai film is complete without ninja!”

Oh well, maybe next time.
 
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The history is atrocious, but I appreciated the fact that they didn't have a band of samurai defeating a modern army. That would have been cheesy and unbelievable.
 
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The history may be atrocious, but I think that's okay. It's not may favorite movie of all time but I enjoyed it. And it's supposed to be fictional storytelling. Writers and filmmakers always have liberty to alter history for their stories. At least there weren't any car chases. I might have taken issue with that. ;)
 
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I agree Josh, I too enjoyed the film for what is was.  However, for those not familiar with Japanese history they should check their brains at the door and simply enjoy the show - ninja warriors, car chases and all.

For those that want to separate fact from fiction, here is a link covering some of the "artistic liberties".
http://www.japan-guide.com/news/0002.html

FYI: Here is the real Last Samurai - Saigo Takamori. I took this photo last April in Ueno Park, Tokyo.
http://www.fredmiranda.com/hosting/data//500/30743Saigo-Takemori-BW.jpg

Next year, I hope to do a DVX100 documentary in Japan on the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 - Ken Burns style.  This battle, Japan's Waterloo, led to the establishment of the Tokugawa Shoganate (about 260 years later, it was the relinquishing of power from the Tokugawa's that led up to the events of the Last Samurai).  An absolutely facinating and savage battle, filled with intrigue, political power struggles, broken alliances, sworn loyalties and battlefield betrayals.  

Now that is a movie Hollywood should do (sorry no ninjas  :'().

FYI: Here is a real suit of armor from the Ii Family (clan) otherwise known as the Aka Oni (Red Devils).  It saw action at Sekigahara and is my favorite gusoku (armor) in my collection.
http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/d...sionID={9CF00470-DB19-4040-9B47-3EF7BC3CD23D}

Apologize if I rambled or bored anyone.  I love talking about this stuff.
 
Re: The Last Samurai

I agree that this film was beautifully shot. But it was so full of epic cliches. Too many similarities with DWW. The other problem I had with this movie was Cruise's acting. He's great but he seemed frustrated playing this character. I don't think he ever found the groove of who the character was. Also, Watanabe's character identified with with Custer, but as a Samurai warrior he had far more in common with the Lakota Crazy Horse! Both were being invaded by a Western army, both were trying to fend them off, both were doomed to fail, both shared similar spiritual/philosophical outlooks on life, both cherished the concept of honor, love, nature, beauty. It's clear that Watanabe's character should have been immediately drawn to Crazy Horse. In fact, Watanabe was a Japanese Crazy Horse in every aspect. But it was clear to me that the filmmakers had a very poor understanding of the Lakota people.
 
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Was there some dangling reference to Crazy Horse in the film that I’m not recalling? If not, that may be one of the most bizarre criticisms of a film I’ve ever seen. I get what you’re saying, of course, but that the filmmakers didn’t make the character identify with a specific Lakota means they’re slighting the whole Lakota people? I don’t follow.

I mean, that’s kind of like saying he should have identified with Hannibal, but because he didn’t, it shows the filmmakers have a very poor understanding of Carthaginians?
 
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Crazy Horse was the essense of the Lakota warrior society. And in the film, Custer slaughters many of them. Cruise's character helps in the killing. Samurai are a warrior society. In the Last Samurai, Watanabe flips through Cruise's notebook and finds drawings, notes, etc. on the Lakota people. But when he finally gets to talk to Cruise all he asks is who Custer was and what he did. It didn't make sense. Cruise was a soldier under Custer and now he's in Japan helping to Westernize the Japanese army and slaughter the Samurai in the same way he slaughtered the Lakota. Watanabe was a smart man. But he didn't ask any questions about the people Cruise and Custer wiped out. Why not?! It didn't make any sense that Watanabe would be interested in who Custer was. It even makes less sense that Cruise never mentions Crazy Horse who is EXACTLY like Watanabe. Crazy Horse was fearless, daring, brilliant, charasmatic, philosophical. He perpetually frustrated Custer because of his brilliant guerrilla tactics. Because Cruise fought under Custer in the film, Cruise would have known this and should have drawn countless references to Crazy Horse when he met Watanabe. But not ONE word is said about him. I know that most people have no clue who the Lakota were nor who Custer was, but those of us with the historical knowledge found the last Samurai quite laughable. It just made no sense.
 
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