The Last Samurai

Powerful, well-crafted epic set in 19th century Japan about a disillusioned American soldier who's hired to train a group of fledgling soldiers and lead them into battle against a rebellious samurai. Having been defeated and held captive by the enemy, he gradually begins to understand and develop a great respect for the man who should be his adversary. Long, but faultlessly performed and richly detailed with compelling battle scenes and vivid, breathtaking scenery. Cruise—sporting authentic Japanese tongue—is outstanding, but Watanabe steals the film in a moving and forceful performance as the fierce but honorable samurai warrior. Only letdown is the finale, which seems a bit too conventional, but it's still a remarkable tale of life, honor, and courage. ***½

"The Last Samurai" 2003 and "The Last of the Dogmen" (1995 d: Tab Murphy, with Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey in the lead) are both films with the theme of the 'last' of warrior spirits (one is Samurai, one is Cheyenne). The production of The Last Samurai is well worth seeing - the glory of a large-scale Hollywood production it is. From the research of the historical Japanese Meiji period, the mannerisms, the way different classes of people dress, the settings, the battle weapons and armory, how the Samurai train and fight, to the study and appreciation of the Art of War - where men of honor and integrity in service to the Emperor is the thing to die for. The film title in three Kanji characters means The Way of the Warrior (Samurai). The one character shown on screen at the very beginning (romanization: Sze) meant in the service of the King. Hence the definition of Watanabe's Samurai lifelong one true goal - to serve his Emperor, one and only, and to die in the service of the Emperor would be an honor.

The film, directed by Ed Zwick, is truly a combined labor of love of everyone involved. From the producer-lead actor Tom Cruise and Zwick's film-making partner Marshall Herskovitz, cinematography by John Toll and film score by Hans Zimmer, to the costuming details, diverse casting, location scouting all the way to New Zealand and training of the supporting cast - even the official Web site with extensive production notes - all provide enhanced appreciation of this remarkable film. The storyline and drama of "The Last Samurai" evoke various level of emotions, pulling the heartstrings of the audience with high emotional energy - suspense, sadness, smiles, empathy, joy.

"Kagemusha" by Akira Kurosawa, of course, is the ultimate grandeur of a historic Samurai epic. "The Last Samurai" is comparable in drama and treatment if not with equal passionate efforts all round. Both are available on DVD with special features of audio commentary and the making of 'featurette' and more.

Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe are an unlikely pair, but they are great together in this beautiful look at the Samurai's way of life. Tom Cruise performance is this film is brilliant, but for some reason the academy chose to ignore him. I think he at least deserved a nomination, but this role was not your average Tom Cruise role. It was risky and he pulled through. Ken Watanabe got the nomination instead of Tom, which I was very happy with. He was excellent and very convincing. In my opinion, he steals the show as Katsumoto. I love Samurai films, so I enjoyed it very much. Not a lot of people favor Samurai films, but it's not your average samurai movie. It's deeper and more emotional. I thought this film was great and I know that this film won't be everyone's cup of tea, but its worth a sip.

9/10

The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic war film directed and co- produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan. The film stars Tom Cruise, who also co-produced, as well as Ken Watanabe, Shin Koyamada, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Timothy Spall, and Billy Connolly. The film's plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigo Takamori, and on the westernization of Japan by colonial powers, though this is largely attributed to the United States in the film for American audiences.

Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized and trade- friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him. The sound in movies are broken into three basic categories of sound. They are dialogue, sound effects and music. As stated, dialogue, sound effects, and music require careful balancing to serve the story; because of this, each category is typically recorded separately and mixed together during the final editing process (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011).

The movie is consistent with its storytelling method. Of course, I love the reference to one of the greatest last stands in history as it foreshadows an epic, final battle. Next, Algren helps Katsumoto devise a strategy where the Samurai can get close to the soldiers so they can use their swords and neutralize the advantage of guns. The movie's title foreshadows a tragic denouement, but that in no way lessens The Last Samurai's impact. The film is in many ways about the clash between the old ways (those of the samurai) and the new (those employed by the American-trained troops). While history makes the results predictable (six decades later, a thoroughly modern Japan would attack Pearl Harbor), it's our involvement with the characters and their situations that energizes the experience of sitting through this movie. The historical context may be established, but we don't know what happens to Nathan, Katsumoto, Taka, and others.

The dialogue itself is the requirement for most movies. Without the dialogue, the story and the plot cannot come to conclusion. The dialogue helps shape the mood, the direction, the balance of any movie that the audience is watching. It is also important to note that emphasis on certain portions of the dialogue, whether it be change in tone, pitch, or sped up and slowed down, the dialogue can change the mood of any movie. If done correctly, it will make an excellent companion to the music and the sound effects of that specific film. (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). As he walks among the people, there is very little dialogue, but many scenes of the beautiful Japanese countryside. This is the perfect place to put music to help the audience appreciate the beauty that he is discovering for the first time. As stated in our text, "with the advent of sound, music became a basic element of constructing a movie, as essential an element as lights and cameras" (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011).

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-last-samurai-2003

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

This movie is filled with such excellent performances, beautiful cinematography, well choreographed action scenes, that me not understanding the movie, still liked it anyway.

I don't know much about Japanese culture or about the history of Japan during the late 1800s, so I could not fully understand what was happening in this movie. What impressed upon me is that Nathan Algren, a disallusioned, alcoholic American soldier who went to Japan to train the emperor's troops, was able to find friendship and respect the great samurai, Katsumoto. These two men, from different countries and cultures, were able to become friends because they are both warriors under their very different exteriors.

Tom Cruise is so good in this movie, but it is easy to overlook his performance and just think, wow, this man is so hot! He's even sexy as an alcoholic! This guy is so good looking that it took me awhile to see him as Nathan Algren, and not just Tom Cruise, sexy superstar actor. But once I got use to seeing him in this character, I believed him totally. But Ken Watanabe's emotionally, intense performance, totally blows away Tom Cruise's performance. One can't help but grow to respect this samurai who opposes the western influence in Japan and wants to retain the samurai way of life. This japanese actor is terrific! I hope to see him more in American movies. Even if you don't care for historical movies, you should still go just to see the performance of Ken Watanabe and Tom Cruise.

I won't go into the plot. I think everyone has a pretty good idea of what the plot is. I just have to say, I don't see anything wrong with the japanese emperor trying to modernize Japan by associating with the Western powers, and I don't understand why Katusomoto is so against that. That's the one major problem I have with this movie, is that I don't understand enough of the politics during that time in Japan. Otherwise, this is a pretty great action flick and I enjoyed it immensely.