The last samurai

[Shu-Shu]

Who made that movie ? ☝ Whoever it's dead .. I mean .. come on .. how clever is it to put the like, only non-asian actor in the movie as the last samurai ? HELLO! Atleast we can espect "the last samurai" was someone else than Tom Cruise :angryfire: I really think the last samurai atleast was/is ASIAN!

 

[RockLee]

Well..lol..it's about a GAIJIN who comes to like his enemy...and falls in love with the country...etc...haha.......you're kinda funny !

 

[Shu-Shu]

Well..lol..it's about a GAIJIN who comes to like his enemy...and falls in love with the country...etc...haha.......you're kinda funny !

Really? I haven't seen the movie And I don't think I have any plans to do it .. if not my friends forces me to .. she's seen it and she just "Loves it .." .. ☝
Me? Funny? You gotta me kidding ..

 

[RockLee]

OMG......Why do you talk negative about a movie you didn't even see???
Go watch the movie...THEN tell us what you thought of it !!! xD
*slaps himself against head*....this is one of the best movies I ever saw!!!

 

[Shu-Shu]

'Cause i think it's crap, why else do you think I haven't seen it?! O.O
Really .. hum .. well I could see it tomorrow .. If I can get my friend to understand that she'll broke every bone in her body if she tries to skate in the woods
THEN I could tell you guys what I really think, oh I'm so clever ..

 

[kirei_na_me]

I was very skeptical at first, too, but it really is a good movie. My husband, who is Japanese and who hates movies in general, loved that movie. He couldn't believe how accurate it was compared with other Japanese-ish movies we've seen.

 

[Foxtrot Uniform]

D'oh! Now I'll have to watch it to see if it's any good too. There goes 2,000 yen.

 

[Shu-Shu]

D'oh! Now I'll have to watch it to see if it's any good too. There goes 2,000 yen.

I'm so sorry, please, send the bill to me

I was very sceptical at first, too, but it really is a good movie. My husband, who is Japanese and who hates movies in general, loved that movie. He couldn't believe how accurate it was compared with other Japanese-ish movies we've seen.

He did? ☝
Then maybe I should se the movie :?

 

[senseiman]

its a good movie. Its out on video now, so it'll only cost you 350 yen to see it. I would agree that a lot of hollywood movies about Japan are crap, but I enjoyed this one a lot.

 

[Sessha]

i don't think that it's a good movie. tom cruise is just ludicrous. he's not a got actor. i think the whole movie is somewhat a copy of richard chamberlain's shogun . tom cruise looks exactly like him, especially the hair style. i read what takeshi wrote about it and he also says it's crap. it's just a wish of hollywood - samurai turned civil war "legend"

 

[senseiman]

i don't think that it's a good movie. tom cruise is just ludicrous. he's not a got actor. i think the whole movie is somewhat a copy of richard chamberlain's shogun. tom cruise looks exactly like him, especially the hair style. i read what takeshi wrote about it and he also says it's crap. it's just a wish of hollywood - samurai turned civil war "legend"

Don't even TRY to compare Last Samurai to Shogun . Shogun was crap for so many reasons. I don't understand why everyone dumps on Tom Cruise all the time, I don't think he is a bad actor at all. Richard Chamberlain--now THERE is a bad actor.

I don't understand why everyone has such a problem with the American being the main character either. Its an American movie, isn't it? Wouldn't be very interesting to many American cinema-goers if all the characters were Japanese because, of course, they would all be speaking Japanese.

In some cases I can totally see where this kind of criticism would be valid. Like with that submarine movei '571', where they took an actual historical event and made all the heroes American even though in real life they were British. That pissed me off. But in the case of the Last Samurai the story and all the characters (except the emporer) are entirely fictional. So whats the problem? If some Japanese company made a movie called the "Last Cowboy" in which a former Japanese Samurai went to the wild west and fought cattle ruslters I don't think anyone would have a problem with it.

 

[RockLee]

I think they would laugh their *** off...hehehehe *sees Samurai riding among cowboys *

 

[Shu-Shu]

If some Japanese company made a movie called the "Last Cowboy" in which a former Japanese Samurai went to the wild west and fought cattle ruslters I don't think anyone would have a problem with it.

LOL .. now .. THAT would be a movie worth checking out

 

[MHtrStevie]

If you don't mind animated films, this concept has already been explored somewhat. The film is called "Kamui no ken" (The Dagger of Kamui)... the main character is more of a ninja than a samurai, though. Jiro is chased and tormented by an influential Buddhist monk and is also on the hunt for a lost treasure... this search eventually leads him on a boat across the Pacific to mid-1800's America. He beats up some desperadoes and befriends/falls for a Native American woman, and eventually makes it back to Japan at the height of the Meiji Restoration ...

Not that it means anything to "The Last Samurai"... but there has been a fantasy explored of a Japanese hero coming to America in roughly the same time period.

 

[Onmyoji]

Tom Cruise's character isn't really the Last Samurai. It's funny because Japanese words are already plural, so "samurai" is like "fish" - it can mean one or many. I interpret the film's title to mean Katsumoto's rebels as the "Last Samurai," with Katsumoto being the "Last Samurai" if the title only applies to one. Tom Cruise is merely the onlooker in the scheme. By the end of the movie though, he takes on the IDEALS of a Samurai, which is why the subject of the title is not obvious.

 

[Sessha]

Don't even TRY to compare Last Samurai to Shogun. Shogun was crap for so many reasons. I don't understand why everyone dumps on Tom Cruise all the time, I don't think he is a bad actor at all. Richard Chamberlain--now THERE is a bad actor.

well, did i say that he is a good actor or that shogun is a good movie? nah, but he pretty much resembles chamberlain.

But in the case of the Last Samurai the story and all the characters (except the emporer) are entirely fictional.

omura isn't fictional. as well as, the americans westernizing japan. there are some connections to real history. you just need to read the film book.

 

[senseiman]

omura isn't fictional. as well as, the americans westernizing japan. there are some connections to real history. you just need to read the film book.

OK, there might have been more than one charecter who actually existed, but the fact is that all the main charecters (cruise, Watanabe, etc.) were fictional as were all of the main events (battles, etc.) depicted. The political situation, the rush to modernization and the clash between traditional and modern values were of course real, but they were merely the film's backdrop, not its central theme.

 

[Gaki]

I didnt think it was as good as alot of my friends said it was.

Although i did think it was funny when Tom Cruise was getting beaten up in the rain.

 

[Shu-Shu]

Although i did think it was funny when Tom Cruise was getting beaten up in the rain.

he get's beaten up? Why didn't anyone say that before?!
I MUST get the movie now

 

[Legato]

I saw the movie when it came out and was surprised by the quality but there some flaws both cinematographic and historical. There is that holywood feeling to it that kind of spoils the movie at times also don't expect the movie to be the most original movie, it's another epic movie, it involves a love story, a friendship and a great battle it's the context and the production that make the difference.
Yes, Tom Cruise wasn't the best actor for that movie but he still did a pretty good job.
The armours they wear were not around anymore during the Meiji era , just a detail that can be forgiven because those armours are so beautiful.
On the other side many characters were based on real ones, Watanabe did exist, in a way, there was a Samurai rebel during the Meiji who conducted the same kind a of war against the government. Even TC's character is said to have some connection with some guy (not American though). Anyway for those who want to know more there is plenty of information out there.

 

[DragonChan]

I saw it when it was in theatres and I took my Japanese exchange student with me. She loved it (though that might have been because she loves Tom Cruise) But either way, everybody who went with me thought it was good. I personally liked it because they don't really glorify the fighting. The characters will sometimes go off with a really cool move, but most of the time it's chaos...which is what a battle is more likely to be like.

 

[Apollo]

KEN WATANABE RULES IN THIS MOVIE!!!

My friend and I saw an interview with Tom Cruise regarding the film, and Cruise was asked about how difficult it was to speak Japanese in film etc...but what was very weird was that he had studied and researched about Samurai life prior to the filming of the movie, and Cruise concluded that he could really relate to Samurai life and Japanese lifestyle because he was a Scientologist....???? What...???!!! I think I missed something??!! I am not an expert on scientology, but to my understanding, these two are not easily compared and are totally different. Can anyone here understand his findings??? :?

 

[DoctorP]

Finally someone who "gets it" ....

Tom Cruise's character isn't really the Last Samurai. It's funny because Japanese words are already plural, so "samurai" is like "fish" - it can mean one or many. I interpret the film's title to mean Katsumoto's rebels as the "Last Samurai," with Katsumoto being the "Last Samurai" if the title only applies to one. Tom Cruise is merely the onlooker in the scheme. By the end of the movie though, he takes on the IDEALS of a Samurai, which is why the subject of the title is not obvious.

Brilliant observation! Thank you for sharing with everyone here!

 

[kirei_na_me]

Ummm...I got it too. I thought everybody did. I thought that was something that was just understood? :?

 

[TwistedMac]

that's what I think... but so many support the idea that Tom-san is the last samurai that you really have to go talk to the guy that wrote the whole thing to get a final answer.