Last Samurai

Theatrical Release Date: 2003 12 05 (USA)

UPC: 883929106783

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, War Violence]

Summary: Edward Zwick returned to the director's chair for the first time since 1998's The Siege with this sweeping period drama set in 19th-century Japan. After centuries of relying on hired samurai for national defense, the Japanese monarchy has decided to do away with the warriors in favor of a more contemporary military. Tom Cruise stars as Nathan Algren, a veteran of the U.S. Civil War who is hired by the Emperor Meiji to train an army capable of wiping out the samurai. But when Algren is captured by the samurai and taught about their history and way of life, he finds himself conflicted over who he should be fighting alongside. Billy Connelly, Tony Goldwyn, and Ken Watanabe co-star. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Score – null Producer of the Year – Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year – Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year – Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year – Producers Guild of America Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – National Board of Review Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Picture – American Film Institute Best Supporting Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: cc
Commentary by director Edward Zwick

Last Samurai

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 02/15/2010

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 154 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Last Samurai
1. Eyes at the Tiger [1:51]
2. The Trade Show [3:46]
3. Captain For Hire [4:19]
4. Arrival in Tokyo [3:15]
5. Audience With Emperor Meiji [2:11]
6. Scalping [4:41]
7. "They Are Not Ready" [2:48]
8. Deployed to Yoshino [2:44]
9. The Tog Battle [5:33]
10. "You Cannot Escape" [5:47]
11. Village Life [4:00]
12. "What is Your Name?" [3:10]
13. Fight in the Rain [5:24]
14. "What Do you Want From Me?" [3:04]
15. New Attire [4:07]
16. "It Was Karma" [3:15]
17. "I Accept Your Apology" [3:20]
18. Fight to a Draw [3:33]
19. The Ninja Attack [4:43]
20. "The Way of the Warrior" [2:57]
21. "I Must Go Away" [4:14]
22. The Emperor's Teacher [1:05]
23. A New Contact [1:21]
24. Nobutada's Shame [2:58]
25. Emperor's Council [2:18]
26. The Ronin Fight [3:48]
27. Katsumoto's Escape [3:33]
28. A Son's Death [3:14]
29. "What I Have Come to Love" [4:29]
30. A Man's Destiny [3:09]
31. "You Will Need This" [3:10]
32. "I'll Look For You on the Field" [4:19]
33. Fighting With Fire [2:57]
34. The Battlefield [4:39]
35. "It's Not Over" [5:21]
36. The Final Charge [2:55]
37. The Gatling Guns [2:25]
38. "They Are All Perfect" [2:19]
39. "I Will Tell You How He Lived" [3:30]
40. Algren's Return [6:20]
41. End Credits [1:33]

Dana Rowader

While it certainly is not groundbreaking or original, Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai does succeed in telling a moving story in a well-crafted manner. With similarities to Dances With Wolves and Zwick's own Glory, the film also tries to capture the magic of such classic samurai films as Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai. But the skewing of the story to reflect the experience of a Western intruder/visitor unfortunately places the audience somewhat outside of the full experience of the samurais themselves. Occasional voice-overs with Tom Cruise's Algren reading out diary entries are a much too overt plot device that takes away from the film's more subtle, restrained storytelling elements. The sometimes slow pacing of the film can feel overdone at times, but it is more often very effective in creating the emotional impact of the story. Cruise acquits himself well in his role, portraying his Captain Algren passionately and showing a flare for swordplay and fighting skills in the action scenes. But off of the battlefield, Cruise never really seems to embody a character that has truly experienced what Algren has; one does not get the sense that he is a battle-worn veteran (of the Civil War and the Indian Wars in the West). This is the kind of movie that works best when its actors are able to summon the period authenticity of their characters and to disappear into their roles. Though Cruise gives the part his all and conveys emotions well, he doesn't seem to have the right presence for the part. The real stars of the film are its Japanese actors, even if it does relegate them to "supporting" roles. Ken Watanabe is stoic yet heartbreaking as the samurai leader Katsumoto, truly conjuring the essence of samurai/warrior life. Watanabe should be considered among such greats as Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. He is incredibly effective as Katsumoto, and his are the best scenes in the film. Also impressive is Hiroyuki Sanada as a fierce and highly skilled samurai and Shin Koyamada as Katsumoto's son, Nobutada, who shows great courage and heart in one of the film's most moving scenes. Koyuki, who has the only real female role in the film, does as much as she can with her part as Taka, the widow of a samurai whom Algren has killed and the sister of Katsumoto. Taka must care for Algren and nurse him back to health after a battle injury, and Koyuki expresses a lot with few words as her character goes from feeling shamed by Algren's presence in her home to harboring a subtle affection for him. Lastly, the young child that plays the older of Taka's two sons delivers a touching performance; he develops a natural rapport with Cruise's Algren, especially in a later scene in the film in which he reveals his emotional attachment to the American captain. The cinematography for The Last Samurai and its production design are excellent, expressing a poetic respect for the Japanese culture, land, and history. Algren's samurai training scenes and many fights are choreographed and shot with great skill and are rousing pieces of action. The battle scenes are also photographed and edited with flair; however, though they are stirring and beautifully shot, most are so heartbreaking that their effect is bittersweet. The battles seem authentic and are often bloody; special effects and stunts are worked in seamlessly, not taking away from the film's elegant style. Attempts at political explanations for the state of affairs are so-so. Masato Harada is adequate as the emperor's greedy advisor Omura, personifying the "selling out" of Japan to the West, but too much is left unsaid about how the country has gotten to this state of, essentially, civil war. It's the meeting between Katsumoto and the young emperor (Shichinosuke Nakamura) that elucidates the two men's plights and gives their standpoints a greater amount of emotional weight. Overall, The Last Samurai tells a fascinating and moving story despite its flaws. ~ Dana Rowader, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Togo Igawa  Actor 
Satoshi Nakamura  Actor 
Shintaro Wada  Actor 
Yusuke Myochin  Actor 
Seiji Mori  Actor 
Teishu Kohata  Actor 
Daisuke Sasagawa  Actor 
Masashi Odate  Actor 
Mitsuyuki Oishi  Actor 
Takashi Kora  Actor 
Ryoichi Noguchi  Actor 
Takashi Yamaguchi  Actor 
Hidetaro Ishibashi  Actor 
Koichi Funayama  Actor 
Ryoga Kajiwara  Actor 
Yoshitake Kato  Actor 
Brian Ho  Actor 
Mitsunori Omae  Actor 
Yuhei Kametani  Actor 
Hisataka Kitaoka  Actor 
Yuki Kawanishi  Actor 
Shusei Take  Actor 
Atsushi Ono  Actor 
Yasuhiro Koshi  Actor 
Takeyuki Hirai  Actor 
Yuki Maekawa  Actor 
Shinji Matsumoto  Actor 
Furuo Geiri  Actor 
Shogo Shirasaka  Actor 
Nagamasa Kato  Actor 
Daisuke Okano  Actor 
Yoshihiro Masujima  Actor 
Tadashi Watanabe  Actor 
Masashi Shirai  Actor 
Kazuma Ohuchi  Actor 
Tomohide Tanigawa  Actor 
Ryuji Nakamura  Actor 
Chad Lindberg  Actor 
Kosaburo Nomura IV  Actor 
Kenta Daibo  Actor 
Takeru Shimizu  Actor 
Takanobu Kaneko  Actor 
Kosuke Oda  Actor 
Misao Kurata  Actor 
Toshiaki Ogawa  Actor 
Yoshihiko Kawamoto  Actor 
Maeda Jiro  Actor 
Masayoshi Haneda  Actor 
Mitsuki Harada  Actor 
Tetsuro Yamamoto  Actor 
Mitsuki Koga  Actor 
Nobuhiro Fujita  Actor 
Keisuke Yamamoto  Actor 
Yoshihisa Asai  Actor 
Hidemitsu Nakadate  Actor 
Ray Godshall, Sr.  Actor 
Noguchi Takayuki  Actor 
Makoto Hashiba  Actor 
Hisao Takeda  Actor 
Masato Tabayashi  Actor 
Teruhito Takita  Actor 
Matt Okui  Actor 
Akira Kojima  Actor 
Kazunori Yajima  Actor 
Kiyoshi Iwata  Actor 
Koichi Ito  Actor 
Shusuke Mitsuyoshi  Actor 
Kiyonori Namikawa  Actor 
Hiroki Hoshino  Actor 
Susumu Suou  Actor 
Naruto Shigemi  Actor 
Makoto Ito  Actor 
Yuki Tanifuji  Actor 
Shane Kosugi  Actor 
Yuki Matsuzaki  Actor 
Satoshi Nikaido  Actor 
Jiro Wada  Actor 
Takeshi Maya  Actor 
Eijiro Ozaki  Actor 
Akihiro Soen  Actor 
Toru Kadowaki  Actor 
Yuya Nakashima  Actor 
Hidetomo Nishida  Actor 
Takayuki Akaike  Actor 
Ryo Tanaka  Actor 
Yuichiro Sasaki  Actor 
Hajime Unesa  Actor 
Joe Kitamura  Actor 
Masahiro Ogura  Actor 
Toshinobu Shigemura  Actor 
Nobuhiro Oshima  Actor 
Satoru Shibue  Actor 
William Atherton  Actor 
Scott Wilson  Actor 
John Koyama  Actor 
Aoi Minato  Actor 
Takashi Noguchi  Actor 
Koji Fujii  Actor 
Shinji Suzuki  Actor 
Osamu Takahashi  Actor 
Takashi Maeyama  Actor 
Ken Takagaki  Actor 
Taiga Etoh  Actor 
Yukihiro Hokke  Actor 
Akihiko Nishimura  Actor 
Masayuki Yamada  Actor 
Kota Fukuchi  Actor 
Tomoya Abe  Actor 
Masayuki Deai  Actor 
Kiichiro Ishitmoto  Actor 
Yasunari Kinbara  Actor 
Toru Ishida  Actor 
Masaki Sono  Actor 
Akira Koieyama  Actor 
Kazuya Shimizu  Actor 
Sven Toorvald  Actor 
Shimpei Horinouchi  Actor 
Ryoichiro Yonekura  Actor 
Akihito Mimatsu  Actor 
Hideki Yamaguchi  Actor 
Chris Chin  Actor 
Fred Nakanishi  Actor 
Kogi Inoue  Actor 
Giorgio Miyashita  Actor 
Hiromi Takatani  Actor 
Tadashi Oiwa  Actor 
Raymond Chan  Actor 
Fumio Matsuki  Actor 
Motokuni Nakagawa  Actor 
Hirokazu Miyata  Actor 
Motohiro Okita  Actor 
Hiroshi Watanabe  Actor 
Genji Nakamura  Actor 
Sosuke Ikematsu  Actor 
Shoji Yoshihara  Actor 
Hiroaki Amano  Actor 
Lee Murayama  Actor 
Masayuki Maekawa  Actor 
Toshihiko Ito  Actor 
Takashi Taguchi  Actor 
Naruhito Nakada  Actor 
James Okada  Actor 
Hiroshi Uenoyama  Actor 
Masaki Nishimura  Actor 
Hiroyuki Muraoka  Actor 
Kenji Motomiya  Actor 
Katsutoshi Uchibori  Actor 
Shinobu Sakurai  Actor 
Taku Shinya  Actor 
Yasunari Akita  Actor 
Yauo Hiroki  Actor 
Tom Cruise  Producer 
Ted Field  Executive Producer 
Marshall Herskovitz  Producer 
Marshall Herskovitz  Screenwriter 
Scott Kroopf  Producer 
Charles B. Mulvehill  Executive Producer 
Vincent Ward  Executive Producer 
Hans Zimmer  Composer (Music Score) 
Edward Zwick  Director 
Edward Zwick  Producer 
Edward Zwick  Screenwriter 
Richard Solomon  Executive Producer 
Tom Engelman  Producer 
Paula Wagner  Producer 
John Logan  Screenwriter 
Tom Cruise  Actor 
Timothy Spall  Actor 
Ken Watanabe  Actor 
Billy Connolly  Actor 
Tony Goldwyn  Actor 
Hiroyuki Sanada  Actor 
Koyuki  Actor 
Shichinosuke Nakamura  Actor 
Shun Sugata  Actor 
Seizo Fukomoto  Actor 
Masato Harada  Actor 
Shin Koyamada  Actor 

Country: USA