The Last Samurai ::SPOiLERS!::

[Rusty Red Robot]

You need to see this movie. No ifs, ands, or buts. I was very skeptical about the movie when I saw the trailer; in fact, I was certain that it would be stupid and that I would hate it. Now, I think this is the best movie I have ever seen.

[Skank]

dammit, you took my post!! :bash: ;)

and i totally agree...this movie..blew me away
i LOVED every minute of it.
the direction, story, and the actors all did amazing jobs.
tom cruise is good, but i think the actor who stole the movie was "Katsimura" (i think thats how you spell his name)
i dont know the actors name, but he was very impressive!

GO SEE THIS DAMN MOVIE!!!!


cheers! :beer: :chug:

[Sinix]

Haha, I almost made this same post earlier.

It seriously is a 10/10 movie. Great stuff.

[N D Hill]

I promised myself that the only conditions on which I'd see this movie would be if gets an R-rating for violence and it has. Off I go.

[F3nix]

just from watching the trailer i was in awe from its cinemaphotography. the scenes look absolutely beautiful, the fight scenes (from what ive seen so far) look like great technical pulloffs. but this movie is beauifully shot, honestly I think any aspiring artist or admirer of the aesthetics should see this. I've heard alot about the character Kitsumura(sp?) although i still believe that Tom Cruise seems a bit miscastted, i still go see it. Always have been a fan of Japanese Culture, military and warfare.

i'll go see it later on tonight, hopefully then i'll be able to give some insight on the movie's story, etc.

-Ant

[Rusty Red Robot]

I actually thought Tom Cruise was really good for this movie. Other noteworthy points: The fight and battle scenes were AMAZING; the kind of stuff that would make any action fan giddy. But the wonderful thing is that the movie had an excellent plost. It was just fantastic. Maybe I don't watch enough movies, but this is probably the best movie I have ever seen.

A note on the fighting, too: I checked out a Kendo forum, and the members there who had seen the movie, though few (since it just came out) said that the fighting was portrayed fairly accurately, and that they liked the fights and the movie as a whole. It was nice to hear, because a lot of their previous posts expressed skepticism.

[shadow]

It turns out Cruise didn't want to get payed for this movie, he did it for free, so the money could be put into production, cant wait to see it.:)

[DragonGX]

Originally posted by shadow
It turns out Cruise didn't want to get payed for this movie, he did it for free, so the money could be put into production, cant wait to see it.:)

Are you serious?

[jrr]

"well, i'm just glad the great white man was here to save us this time, but what about next time?!"

[Rusty Red Robot]

That's what I was thinking too, jrr, when I saw the poster and trailer. But I don't think that was what the movie was about (I mean, no movie is ever officially about that, but you know what I mean). I took the last Samurai to be Kitsamura, not Cruise. The thing wasn't "save us, white man" it was more like white man learning and embracing a new way of life.

[Mr. Teatime]

dang it, my dad wont let me go see it cause its R. But if its just R for violence I'll try to see it on video at someone else's house, such as people_are_stupids house, otherwise known as the pit of depravity. :D

[cartoonfox]

can anyone provide a link to the trailer? i live in the uk. i dont think it comes out here for a while.

thanks

[DragonGX]

Originally posted by Charming Louse
That's what I was thinking too, jrr, when I saw the poster and trailer. But I don't think that was what the movie was about (I mean, no movie is ever officially about that, but you know what I mean). I took the last Samurai to be Kitsamura, not Cruise. The thing wasn't "save us, white man" it was more like white man learning and embracing a new way of life.


Exactly. I've seen too many people criticizing the movie without even seeing it or knowing what it is about. I've even heard people say "It's so stupid, Tom Cruise is white!" :rolleyes: Maybe if they knew he story, they would understand why a white guy is in living in an old Japan village..

[Rusty Red Robot]

cartoonfox, here's a link to the trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/the_last_samurai/

[F3nix]

Ok, saw it. AWESOME. Kitsomaru is so cool. Tom Cruise did a good job, don't know what those critics were talking about. Those fights scenes were awesome. The audience was clapping after every fight because it was so cool.

[cartoonfox]

Originally posted by Charming Louse
cartoonfox, here's a link to the trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/the_last_samurai/

hey, thanks for the link.

looks cool. cant wait to see it!

[davi]

if this doesn't win best cinemaphotography i'll sue the world.

[Sinix]

Yea, people actually clapped at the end.. that was the first time I'd seen people do that. Heh... but yea, there are some great action scenes.. actually the violence didn't seem too bad tho, in terms of gore... there were acouple quick flashes of things, during one fight, you might miss it, he slashes down and the blade goes straight through a persons head and down into their chest.

[cybercyst]

my boyfriend is boycotting this movie because he doesn't like how a white guy is upstaging all the samurai in their own country, and how a movie with the word "samurai" in it has a white guy as the lead...or something like that. :rolleyes:

...but he doesn't understand; isn't he a Civil War officer trying to understand their culture or something? I haven't seen this movie yet, but I really want to see it...it's next on my list after 'Love Actually' (heh).

[Sinix]

Originally posted by cybercyst
my boyfriend is boycotting this movie because he doesn't like how a white guy is upstaging all the samurai in their own country, and how a movie with the word "samurai" in it has a white guy as the lead...or something like that. :rolleyes:

...but he doesn't understand; isn't he a Civil War officer trying to understand their culture or something? I haven't seen this movie yet, but I really want to see it...it's next on my list after 'Love Actually' (heh).

Yea, no offense, but your boyfriend is a moron. Tom Cruise plays a drunken war hero who is brought to Japan to help train their army in western warfare. Things happen, etc, etc... It's a brilliant story, try not to miss out on it.

[Rusty Red Robot]

cybercyst, to clarify without ruining the plot, Cruise's character in the movie is hired to train the Emperor's army in Western battle tactics and Western weaponry (in other words, guns). The Emperor is trying to quell a rebellion by the Samurai, who oppose Westernization. Cruise's character is an alcoholic haunted by things he did in the American-Indian wars. Things happen, and he ends up being captured by the opposing side (the Samurai), and that's when he starts to learn about them and a new way of life. He ends up helping them (duh, see all posters and the trailer), but I would NOT say that he upstages them.

Like I said before, I had an opinion similar to that of your boyfriend at first. I saw the movie "just because," you know? But after seeing it, I have to say it's my favorite movie of all time. Do everything you can to make your boyfriend go see it. It is amazing.

Davi: I agree on the cinematography. I'll also be mad if it doesn't win Best Picture.

[davi]

man the ost for the movie is beyond amazing

my smelly room now feels like i'm in an epic and emotional landscape

[Rusty Red Robot]

You got it, too, eh? I picked it up yesterday. Much like the Pirates of the Caribbean made driving my car an adventure on the high seas, the soundtrack for The Last Samurai is making my living room the scene of battles for honor of epic proportions.

[davi]

a pirate walks into a bar with a ship's whell in his pants. the bartender says 'hey you got a ship's whell in your pants', and the pirate says 'arrghhhh it's driving me nuts'

[Rusty Red Robot]

Did you hear about that new pirate movie? It's rated Arrrrrr!

[Main Loop]

saw it last night.. the fight scenes are awesome, and its great entertainment value, but to me I couldnt help it was one big ego-massage for the Cruiser... The ending was a bit over-the-top also.. i dont wanna spoil it, so i'll wait a while before i go further with it.. yeah, the cinematography was ill.. I personally liked 13th Warrior more, if there's something else to compare it too.. its hard to get past the whole "white guy saves the day" feeling i got from it, but i sorta expected that going into the movie..

[tyboogie]

yea i loved how tome cruise was literally THE LAST SAMURAI to survive the battle...pffftt

he shoulda committed sepuku

and his hair looked really baeutiful too BTW

oh i also loved how he became a master swordsman in a matter of months..with the skills to kill a bunch of other seasoned ninja and other samurai

the force was strong in that cracker

loop---clever signature...see YOU ARE SMART!

[mos667]

Tyboogie - He was a tiger, remember? Natural killer. Just give him a weapon and some time and bam! pain for the enemy.

Something that ruined the movie for me though was those stupid guns at the end. I hated them. The gattling guns. They sucked. I wanted to see the last 20 or so ravage through the line to that fat asian guy.

Another thing that ruined the movie for me was the emperor. What was up with his voice? I mean, puberty man. Try it sometime.

Also, there were these jerks behind me that took their shoes off and put them on my arm rest :( Dicks...

[Rusty Red Robot]

*SPOILERS*

As much as I would have liked to see the Samurai win, I knew they couldn't. That movie had tragic ending written all over it.

As for the Emperor: He was young and inexperienced, as he inherited the throne at an early age. I believe that is true to life.

[lavhoes]

What follows are some spoilers from the movie:












Originally posted by tyboogie
yea i loved how tome cruise was literally THE LAST SAMURAI to survive the battle...pffftt

Well, if he was alive, and the movie says that there are no samurai left, how could he be the last samurai?

Samurai in the title is plural, referring to the band of men under Katsumoto, and not Cruise.

he shoulda committed sepuku

He couldn't. He didn't have to, nor did he want to, as he wasn't samurai.

oh i also loved how he became a master swordsman in a matter of months..with the skills to kill a bunch of other seasoned ninja and other samurai

the force was strong in that cracker

Being a captain he'd have a shitload of training in the saber, plus, as it's been mentioned, he's a natural fighter.

[tyboogie]

yes im aware teh title refers to teh entire band of samurai. however tom cruise was still teh sole survivor of th ebattle which was just wack

sepuku--1.)--he wasnt a samurai..ok? but he told the emporor that he would commit sepuku. that secene made alot of sense btw

2.) if he had committed sepuku on the battlefield at teh tend of the fight i think it would have been a much cooler ending...he should have died in the battle in some way, shape or form.

or what would have been wrong with him getting mowed down with the gattling gun? industry overruns tradition...THE END.


yea hes a natural fighter i get it. not unlike bruce willis killing a shitload of terrorists...cus hes ...well...bruce willis.
that was a part of the tproblem with the film.. teh environments costumes etcetc were all super realistic...but the concept of cruise ascending teh ladder in that short of a time was just too much like a super hero. also--when htey departed the town for the last battle, tom cruise was actually a liitle ahead of katsumoto on his horse, so i guess he was leading them to battle. i would have told him to get his ass to the back of the line

it was like a super realistic, badaass cinematography, with tom cruise as a superhero swordfighter, with alot of close ups of his hair blowing int he breeze

actually i dont mind the close up hair blowing stuff...but its tom cruise....and although hes a good actor, hes also a superstar, which was hard to forget sometimes in this film. i think that film could have benefitted from some new talent in the lead role


i didnt hate the film...it just was sorta cold and sterile. but teh swordfights were hot.


*rant over*

[RONIN]

I thought that this movie, costumes, cinematography, set designs and acting was fantastic. I normally do NOT like Tom Cruise but I think overall he showed tremendous acting skill in this film. The rest of the Actors (Samurai) were phenomenal, especially Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe).

I agree with you Ty on the sword fighting skill - to a point. Calvary in those days were taught to fight with a sword on horseback. And, since he was fighting against the Indians and learned with them, The American Indian fighting styles have been compared to Asian martial arts in hand to hand and knife fighting. Does this translate that he could become a master in 6 months, absolutely NOT. But his learning curve would be significantly lower than someone else.

Katsumoto does tell Algren that he has regained his honor so he wants to keep his by performing seppuku. I think I may have been upset if Algren did the same, he was respected but NOT a true Samurai. Better he just die in the field by his wounds and the Fat English guy hands the emperor Katsumoto's sword with a note than the way it ended.

Just my opinion ... but I could be wrong.

[Rusty Red Robot]

*STHPOILERTH*


The reason Alrgen didn't commit seppuku on the battlefield was that, like Ronin said, he had regained his honor (Katsumoto said so) and therefore he was not required to commit suicide. And he WAS shot by the Gatling guns, several times, he just survived (though he was so badly injured that some said he died, like the end voiceover said).

He said he would perform seppuku if the Emperor asked him to because he would have been bound by honor to fulfill the Emperor's wish. Granted, that's only required by the Samurai, but Alrgen, though not necessarily a real Samurai, had adopted their code of honor.

As for the swordfighting, that was a little off, but not as bad as some of you say. He WAS a natural fighter, and had a background with swords. I'd also like to point out that he only ever managed to become as good as some of the samurai, not better. He fought that one guy to a stalemate. Also, him beating ninjas isn't that surprising; ninjas rely on stealth for a reason. Their strength does NOT lie in close combat, though they certainly are formidable.

[/rant]

[Travis_Bourbeau]

I was totally impressed! The fact they used tom cruz at first was a turn off becuase In the us it seems we tend to put actors like tom cruz in a role for his looks etc, but in this movie there were times i was like damn dood shave your neck! or brush your hair etc to keep him rough was fitting and finaly good story telling !

I think anyone who actually sees the movie would realize that tom cruz or the white man is not at all the star of the film or the guy that saves the day in fact if anything the leader of the sameuri saved him from himself and was defently the star i was actaully disapointed there wasnt more honorble loyal people like that in the world after seeing the movie again very good story telling !

[JoshuaTheJames]

This movie personally hit me in a very emotional way. From the amazing natural environments of Japan, to the beautiful costumes, the story! and the historical events of Westernization and when the action is damn good, but not the most entertaining thing about the movie..Then I think its safe to say it was a damn good movie.


What's the point of complaining about Tom..the movie was great, end of story.

uh..heh...btw I wouldn't have minded if he died at the end...perhaps it would have been more powerful.


-Joshua

[JoshuaTheJames]

Originally posted by tyboogie
...it just was sorta cold and sterile.

Whhaaaa? Does.......not........com-pute...

Hmm. I'd like to think that's all in opinion. Then I'd be able to sleep better.

-Joshua

[davi]

i like how everyone is getting fussy about the ending of the movie...the title is the last samurai...what did you expect to happen :\

[JoshuaTheJames]

DAVI shoosh! :D

I love the movie the way it is!

-Joshua

[davi]

i do too
all the men die in the village and then tom cruise returns to rip his pants off

[JoshuaTheJames]

lol

[mos667]

SPOILER, sort of...

Something that I thought was really cool was how I thought it ended. Tom Cruise stabs the "Last Samurai", and I thought the samurai stabbed Tom Cruise too. Now that would have been a good ending.

It was a good movie, and what movie about samurai is not complete without NINJAS.

[Sinix]

obviously, spoilers, but they're already everywhere in here...

Yea, I wouldn't accuse the director/writer of being "hollywood" or anything, I mean he did bring us the movie Glory, which had the ending I guess alot of you wanted for this movie. But, alot of the point was about the difference between old and new views... one of the whole points of Tom Cruises character was the whole never give up attitude, it would have been completely off for him to kill himself after being defeated. I don't think he survived to "make people happy", I think it was more just symbolic of the modern era.

At any rate, I expected them all to die, so it was at the least, a suprise.

[tyboogie]

i think im too obssessed with samurai--and no one can touch KUROSAWAS samurai films


joshua--the sterile thing--i dont know--for me the film felt like it was trying to achieve the classic epic quality of dances with wolves and braveheart, and it fell short, and felt like it was self conscious about it

there were a few scenes where they got into the culture, but they felt like counterbalances to the all the scenes where tom is showing how much of a pure warrior he is --i felt like the movie was more about algren then the samurai--that is my main complaint i guess---and add onto theat that algren is played by cruz and i get alittle starstruck

dances with wolves is more about costner than the indians--but for some reason it doesnt bother me

i dont know--im just being nitpicky--HOWEVER i am still waiting for hiollywood to grow some balls and make some cultural films without whitey

BTW=in the sequel tom becomes the emporer ..that should be fun!!

:p

[fletchgirl]

dude, Ken Watanabe was AWESOME. TOTALLY took the film. woo! he's like the new toshiro mifune or something (which is, I'm sure, what they were looking for) as far as Japanese bad a** who likes flowers! :D

if you guys liked that you should read about Saigo Takamori... the real Samurai who I'm sure Katsumoto was based of of. good story. no white tiger, but they think their may have been a white missionary....

not that i didn't like the movie. i did! good crazy awesome ninja vs. samurai action.

MORE KEN WATANABE!!!!

[Travis_Bourbeau]

I have to say that the samuria coming through the fog on there horses in the first fight was a unbelivable shot /absolutley amazing GO SEE THE MOVIE again so they make more like it !




Just so im clear as well i wanst puting down tom bieng in the movie more praise for how he played the role but i do belive that ken was the real star !

[Rusty Red Robot]

I think it's difficult to deny that Watanabe stole the screen (in a very good way).

Yeah, the Samurai coming through the woods gave me chills. The fight scenes made me giddy; they were so insanely cool. The plot moved me. Yeah.

tyboogie: It's okay to be nitpicky :D

[jermainevl]

the movie sounds cool. i haven't read the whole thread, because of spoilers, so i don't know if anyone said yet. but does anybody know when it is released here in europe?

[Skank]

if anyones interested heres the actual event the movie was based on

this is ken watanabe's character:
http://www.jsf.or.jp/sln/acid_e/saigou01.html


and the actual event:
http://www.taisho.com/satsuma.html

http://sun.menloschool.org/~sportman/westernstudies/second/24/2003/eblock/danaj/

[Deth Jester]

I agree with Josh... thats all I have to say about that..

:)

peace
-mike

[Bathgate66]

Big disappointment for me.

The story itself is nothing new. Morose white guy encounters alien culture, meets a really attractive widow, ends up a hero of some sorts, and yada yada yada.

The costumes were great though. The samurai gear was fantastic. Ken Watanabe is such an effective actor. I totally believed that he was lord of the samurai clan. Tom cruise was very effective as Tom Cruise.

Anyway, besides the costumes and Ken, I'd have to say that the movie was predictable and tiresome.

[mos667]

Originally posted by cerreto_
I have to say that the samuria coming through the fog on there horses in the first fight was a unbelivable shot /absolutley amazing GO SEE THE MOVIE again so they make more like it !


Oh my gosh. I soiled myself. That was the greatest scene in the whole movie. Everyone is look at Tom Cruise like "Okay, asshole, when do we shoot?" and then they see the samurai. Holy krap. That was an AWESOME shot of them riding in slow motion towards them, and then ravaging the ranks. Very well done part. Then seeing Tom Cruise just taking out guys left and right was pretty cool.

[Mr. Personality]

I loved the film. Like everyone has mentioned, the cinematography was outstanding. So here are a couple of observations I had:

The Good:
-cinematography
-plot loosely based on Japans economic and military history
-authentic costuming, etc

The Bad:
-Representing Japan's Emperor as a weakling. The Meiji are generally highly regarded for having unified Japan and brought them out of the dark ages.

-Treason on Algren's part. (I'm an Air Force Officer, so I'm sensitive to that stuff)

The Ugly:
-After killing his commanding officer, fighting for "the enemy", and generally resigning his commission, he puts his uniform back on. Bad form.

-Offering to commit suicide on the Meiji's request while wearing his US Uniform. Punk.

Anyway, I loved the movie despite my gripes. I'd gladly see it again and will certainly buy the DVD.

My favorite scenes were:
-the first engagement with the Samurai in the forest/fog
-the whole ninja fight
-the old samurai "Bob" taking the bullet for the one he was honor bound to protect

[mos667]

Bob had to have been the best character in the whole damn movie. And he was killed, in the cheesiest most predictable way possible. I wish he had died the cool way like the character that hated Cruise during the movie, the guy who taught the sword thing, died.
Bob will always reign in my heart.

[Mr. Personality]

I liked the way Bob went out. It seems cheesy at first, but then when you think about his Bushido code and the fact that in the very beginning he was charged with protecting/watching Algren, his sacrifice makes sense. He was just doing his duty.

Bob whupping ninja ass and then making Robin Hood look like an archery sissy in the "Escape from Tokyo" scene was priceless.

Ujio was a great character too.

If you guys haven't, you should go to www.thelastsamurai.com and read the bios of the Japanese actors. These guys are phenomenal with a huge list of accomplishments in both film and on the stage. Ujio (real name escapes me) is actually the first Japanese actor to tour with the Royal Shakespear Theater Group (I may have butchered the name here) and was awarded a special honor by the Queen. Not too shabby!

[Skank]

Originally posted by mos667
Bob had to have been the best character in the whole damn movie. And he was killed, in the cheesiest most predictable way possible. I wish he had died the cool way like the character that hated Cruise during the movie, the guy who taught the sword thing, died.
Bob will always reign in my heart.

bob had a great death scene, he protected his charge..AND killed the guy that shot him...a very honorable death and i think very fitting for his character.

and ya, Ujio was a BADass....homeboy took a bullet thru the gut and shrugged it off...(monty python comes to mind: "its only a flesh wound!")

[mos667]

Oh, I guess the fact that he killed the guy escapes me, so I guess it was okay, the way he died and all.

OH yeah! Now I remember, There was no cheesy looking down at the body "I love you Bob," says Algren "I'll never forget you!"

[Gunbu]

OK so I saw the movie last night and like some of you, I was a bit disappointed. Great costumes, good acting, great shots. But WHY WHY WHY another damn "Big Battle" movie? Come on, you know the ones. Braveheart, Glory, Gladiator, Hero (ok, this one was done well), Troy, even LoTR to a certain extent. It seems like the highlight of these movie are savvy battle tactics or how many CG guys they can get on screen at once. Also, what's up with the forced tearjerking ending. This movie is by no means the only one to ever do it, but it had the feeling that they spent many an hour trying to achieve "Maximum Tearage" for the ending. Damn, I didn't even like the movie that much and I was teary eyed! You bastards.
I did like the relationships between the different culture's warriors though. It wasn't overly pushed, but the connections of the warriors of Japan, America, and the American Indians was a neat concept.
Seriously, to anyone who enjoyed this movie, please read Shogun by James Clavell. If you are at all into Japanese history or culture, this book, although fiction, is extremely historically accurate (1600) and an AWESOME read. Forget about that crappy 70's TV show based on it, the book is totally different. Hell, they should have made Shogun a three part movie like LoTR...

[LiL QoH]

OMG I balled at the end of the movie! I just flooded the theater! Seeeeriously! And Tom Cruise can sure speak japanese A LOT BETTER than Uma Thurman. :]

[mos667]

You say arigato like WE say arigato.

Tom Cruise owned teh Jap.

[Lono]

i just saw that horrably predictable pile of hollywood cliches, weak ass plot devices,, shitty dialogue,, and idiotic character modivation.... and the score was annoying aswell..
id rather eat the rotting ass off a dead mule than have to sit through that movie again.

im also a huge samurai fanboy, so i was offended in more ways than one by this putrid steamer of a flick..

and yes,, the white guy DID in fact swoop in and save the day.. it was obnoxious as shit.. if youll notice he was depicted as the smartest, the best fighter,, and the strongest willed of ALL the characters in the movie..

it was TOTALLY dances with wolves,, but shitter even..
the thing about whitey mastering japanese fencing in a year was an insult to the artform.. sure sure he played with calvery swords fighting the indians,, but thats not fencing! he didnt sword fight with them.. he more likely stabbed people from atop a horse..

all the inconsistancies and lack of realism asside,, i thought the direction in general was poor.. bad storytelling mixed with bad characters equals,,, BAD.

i wanted to like this movie so bad,, but i just couldnt enjoy it..

go watch some akira kurosawa movies if you want to see good samurai cinema..

just my boisterous opinion.. :)

flame on..


-Lono

[Gunbu]

Hey Lono, I enjoyed your opinion of the movie :D
So let me ask you... Have you read Shogun? I think if you have the "white dude in Japan" scenerio, Shogun is very far superior. It's written by an Englishman, but I think he gives a more fair view of the different cultures in the book. English, Dutch, Japanese, Portugese, Spanish.
Oh and also, the ninjas in the book KICK ASS.

[Lono]

Gunbu: no i havnt read that actually.. id like to.
ive seen the shogun tv series, with toshiro mifune. :)

you know,, there actually was a white guy who was stationed in japan after ww2 who took up kendo and became one of the better fencers in japan.. but this guy studied for years and he was tall as shit which gave him an extreme reach advantage over most of his five foot four japanese opponents..
but im sure he still couldnt beat six well trained samurai at once.. :p

-Lono

[bRyaN]

Saw it....loved every min...

nuff said..

[cotron]

shogun, and a good majority of the clavell books are my faves...

the movie was pretty awesome too.