A most excellent story about the last of the samurai, and insight into their traditions, although i think much of what tom cruise did as his character would have resulted int he loss of his head in a real samurai environment. The official facebook page for the last samurai in the face of an enemy, in the heart of one man, lies the soul of a. He has a 7th degree in shotokan karate, and trained in muay thai, krav maga, kung fu, kali, tae kwon do, kick boxing and is experienced with various weapons styles. Though nathan algren tom cruise is one of the few swordsmen to survive the numerous onslaughts of japanese soldiers with guns. An american military advisor embraces the samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle. The film stars tom cruise, who also coproduced, with timothy spall, ken watanabe, billy connolly, tony goldwyn, hiroyuki sanada, koyuki, and shin koyamada in supporting. The last samurai beautifully and brutally shows this in the scene in. Jeff okun, visual effects supervisor on the last samurai, had a triple. Introduction to the last samurai edward zwick, the director of legend of the fall, coproduced this 2003 war and drama film, based on a true story depicting honor. The last samurai 2003 is set in the period of the meiji restoration, a time in which the samurai and the way of the warrior were becoming increasingly marginalised and obsolete. The last samurai ninja carnage in the village youtube. Cinematic fight choreography or staged fights in cinema include performances of archery. Edward zwick returned to the directors chair for the first time since 1998s the. Katsumoto is a part of japans crumbling cultural elite, one of the last remaining nobility who clings to the old ways even as the emperor he serves and taught embraces the new.
The blending of events persists until the last battle of the film, which is a direct correlation to the final battle of the satsuma rebellion. The greatest sword fighting movies of all time imdb. The last samurai 2003 the fog battle 12 movieclips youtube. Nathan algren tom cruise, a respected american military officer hired by the. The 1970s in hong kong saw the rise and sudden death of international superstar bruce lee, who is known for popularizing hong kong action cinema. The fight choreography is top notch and it is just fun to see hundreds of folks going at each other with swords. From the opening voiceover and title to the final scene, the last samurai is an. Easy must own bluray to have for a samurai film collection.
Last samurai, the set in the late 1800s, the last samurai chronicles the journey of captain nathan algren tom cruise, a disillusioned american war veteran recruited by the japanese emperor to repress the rebellion of a group of samurai warriors, led by katsumoto ken watanabe. The sword fight is one of the greatest traditions throughout literature, and. An analisis of the last samurai english literature essay. The last samurai 2003 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
Theatrical film with commentary by director edward zwick. By aileen adalid 39 comments not a lot of people know that real samurais no longer exist in japan the whole lifestyle and system have long disappeared ever since the late 1800s because the emperor favored a more modern westernstyle army. That was simply the product of the technology restrictions they had creating the lightsaber effect. He was succeeded in the 1980s in hong kong by jackie chan, who popularized the use of comedy and dangerous stunts in action films hong kong based fight choreographer yuen woping is famed for his work on crouching tiger, hidden dragon and the.
But an encounter with a fisherman hanbei kaoru kobayashi who had just chopped off the leg of a horse belonging to a nobleman see if you can spot anna tsuchiya from sakuran in a role without dialogue. It isnt long before a trail of blood marks the blind wolfs path to a meeting with flesher and his gang. Inspired by the plot of the seven samurai, the elevenyearold tests various men for paternal suitability after learning the identity of, and being thoroughly disappointed by, his biological father. The costumes, the cinematography, the choreography and zimmers soaring. Ending tragedy and doomed culture normal language paired scenes reflect overall film progression both exhibit east vs west conflict 1st scene disrespect for samurai is punished 2nd scene dominance of new modernized society lieutenant. Todays big filmy list looks at the best ever samurai movies. Nathan algren tom cruise, a respected american military officer hired by the emperor of japan to train the countrys first army in the art of modern warfare. Great,fast paced, brutal fight scenes,great music,costumes, sets, and mostly well acted. The empire strikes back and more generally the original trilogy has the weakest fight choreography of the star wars films. Dewitts the last samurai cultivates ambition in its readers. The last samurai rescuing katsumoto full version duration. The director and other publicity materials for the movie made great claims. The last samurai 2003 is set in the period of the meiji restoration, a time in which the samurai and the way of the warrior were becoming increasingly marginalised and. The last samurai is about the relationship between a young boy, ludo, and his mother, sibylla.
The term samurai was originally used to denote the aristocratic warriors, but it came to apply to all the members of the warrior class that rose to power in the 12th century and dominated the japanese government until the meiji restoration in 1868. Swordfighting scenes from samurai xrurouni kenshin. Village ambush the last samurai 34 movie clip 2003 hd. To keep the battle scenes safe, okun added muzzle blasts and shooting.
They begin with the knife, and then end up in a noholdsbarred cqc. The fog battle scene the last samurai 2003 movie info. Last samurai, the dvd ws tom cruise stars in this sweeping epic set in japan during the 1870s as captain nathan algren, a respected american military officer hired by the emperor of japan to train the countrys first army in the art of modern warfare. Village ambush the last samurai 34 movie clip 2003 hd duration. Themes of western superiority in the last samurai sam kyunggun lim writing 20 spring 2007. The last samurai blends several rebellions that occurred over many years into one. Seven samurai has some truly outstanding action sequences with some great cinematography and brilliant stunt choreography. And the music score was very well played in the background bringing just the right tone to every scene. Finden sie last samurai bluray in unserem vielfaltigen dvd. The last samurai is just about as close to perfect as a movie can get. Rewriting orientalisms professor rebecca walsh i n edward zwicks the last samurai 2003, an american finds himself thrust into the strange world of the samurai and ends up falling in love with.
When the last samurai begins, he is a brilliant fiveyearold brat, shouting out the names of hypothetical manyfooted cephalopods in greek. He has a 7th degree in shotokan karate, and trained in muay thai, krav maga, kung fu, kali, tae kwon. Set in japan during the 1870s, the last samurai tells the story of capt. These range from the classic easterns of akira kurosawa, to the modern day epics that pay such homage to his work. The casting is excellent and every member of the cast delivers an outstanding performance, never once throwing the viewer out of the story. Most exciting hollywood sword fights and battle sequences. The last samurai 3 disorder for his actions during the american containment of the american indian tribes of the midwest, as well as alcoholism. In the film commando, starring arnold schwarzenegger, there is a knife fight at the end of the movie between john matrix arnold schwarzenegger and bennett played by vernon wells. The story tells of a village suffering attacks by bandits, in an effort to save thier lives and property, they hire samurai to fight the bandits. This movie has a great balance between cowboy samurai great character development, great story telling, very good actors some were over the top but in a good way, and some of the best choreography that i have seen in a very long time.
The blind wolf received its north american premiere as an official selection at the 2009 cinequest film festival. The casting is excellent and every member of the cast. The last samurai is a 2003 american period action drama film directed and coproduced by edward zwick, who also cowrote the screenplay with john logan and marshall herskovitz. How true to history is tom cruises the last samurai. Sibylla, a single mother, brings ludo up somewhat unusually. But as the movie progresses, you begin to fall in love with the characters that are developed in depth and with great detail, and the story they tell is one. Here you will find unforgettable moments, scenes and lines from all your. When american civil war veteran captain nathan algren agrees to train the newfangled imperial army, he is a physical wreck and tormented by the nightmares of his past. All in all, a good epic, and a good introduction to. As the emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient imperial samurai warriors in preparation. Surprisingly entertaining for a directtovideo type film.
During the first attack on the samurai, allgren is captured by the samurai and begins a spiritual, physical and philosophical journey which will bring him a level of selfrespect his own culture could never supply. It was astonishing to see such a film finally shown in english that was not poorly dubbed. Only the movies i have seen are on this list, so if there are more you think i need to add, speak. The dramatic arc of saigo takamoris life, from his humble origins as a lowly samurai, to national leadership, to his death as a rebel leader, has captivated generations of japanese readers and now americans as well his life is the inspiration for a major hollywood film, the last samurai, starring tom cruise and ken watanabe. The fictional leader katsumoto was based on the influential and honorable saigo takamori, leader of the final rebellion. Ripoff star wars voices and blatant copying from russell crowes gladiator aside, this is an entertaining watch with the blu ray edition providing great picture and sound quality. Actor the last samurai shin koyamada is an actor known for bringing more than physical action skills to the set.
The last samurai is set in japans meiji era, a time of rapid industrialization and. By means of a kind of narratorial judo a martial art ludo studies which you dont often get to see in fiction, he. What can appear to be a series of impressive stunts or choreography can. What we saw in the last jedi wasnt something entirely new. Although certain critics have maligned tom cruise for his role as both star and producer of the last samurai, not to mention that the film was conspicuously passed over in oscar nominations for the big four best picture, best director, best actoractress, and best screenplay, in my estimation, the last samurai outshines them all.