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The Last Samurai (2003) 7.7
Ratings:
7.7/10 from 206,928 users
Metascore: 55/100
Reviews: 903 user | 182 critic | 44 from Metacritic.com An American military advisor embraces the Samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle. Director:Edward Zwick |
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Title: The Last Samurai (2003)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Ken Watanabe | ... | ||
| Tom Cruise | ... | ||
| William Atherton | ... | ||
| Chad Lindberg | ... | ||
 |
Ray Godshall Sr. | ... | |
| Billy Connolly | ... | ||
| Tony Goldwyn | ... | ||
| Masato Harada | ... | ||
| Masashi Odate | ... | ||
| John Koyama | ... | ||
| Timothy Spall | ... | ||
|
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Shichinosuke Nakamura | ... | |
| Togo Igawa | ... | ||
|
|
Satoshi Nikaido | ... | |
|
|
Shintaro Wada | ... | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
In the 1870s, Captain Nathan Algren, a cynical veteran of the American Civil war who will work for anyone, is hired by Americans who want lucrative contracts with the Emperor of Japan to train the peasant conscripts for the first standing imperial army in modern warfare using firearms. The imperial Omura cabinet's first priority is to repress a rebellion of traditionalist Samurai -hereditary warriors- who remain devoted to the sacred dynasty but reject the Westernizing policy and even refuse firearms. Yet when his ill-prepared superior force sets out too soon, their panic allows the sword-wielding samurai to crush them. Badly wounded Algren's courageous stand makes the samurai leader Katsumoto spare his life; once nursed to health he learns to know and respect the old Japanese way, and participates as advisor in Katsumoto's failed attempt to save the Bushido tradition, but Omura gets repressive laws enacted- he must now choose to honor his loyalty to one of the embittered sides when ... Written by KGF Vissers
Taglines:
In the face of an enemy, in the Heart of One Man, Lies the Soul of a Warrior.Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for strong violence and battle sequences | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
5 December 2003 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Samurai See more »Box Office
Budget:
$140,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
$136,898 (Finland) (30 January 2004)Gross:
$111,110,575 (USA) (2 April 2004)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Simon Graham: [narrating] They say Japan was made by a sword. They say the old gods dipped a coral blade into the ocean, and when they pulled it out four perfect drops fell back into the sea, and those drops became the islands of Japan. I say, Japan was made by a handful of brave men. Warriors, willing to give their lives for what seems to have become a forgotten word: honor.
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Performed by Tokyo Gakuso
Courtesy of Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The Japanese character that the Taka's younger son paints and gives to Algren is the character for "samurai". See more »Goofs
In the beginning, when Algren is doing the performance for the Winchester company, he fires a bullet at a bell. Before shooting the bell, he blows three whistles off of a calliope in the back of the room. When the camera does a close-up after he shoots the bell, only two of the whistles are missing. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Simon Graham: [narrating] They say Japan was made by a sword. They say the old gods dipped a coral blade into the ocean, and when they pulled it out four perfect drops fell back into the sea, and those drops became the islands of Japan. I say, Japan was made by a handful of brave men. Warriors, willing to give their lives for what seems to have become a forgotten word: honor.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The opening Warner Bros. logo is light blue on a solid black background. See more »Soundtracks
"Kagura-No-Netori"Performed by Tokyo Gakuso
Courtesy of Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc.
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The Last Samurai is a strictly by-the-numbers samurai epic set in 1876-1877 Japan. All the necessary ingredients are here - beautiful Japanese landscapes and costumes, larger than life battlefield sequences, and eastern philosophy.Although the pageantry is not as beautiful as such samurai epics as "Heaven and Earth", it is more than adequate.
Do not, however go into this film expecting "Kill Bill", grindhouse type swordplay nor the poignancy of a Kurosawa piece. Instead, "The Last Samurai" occupies the middle ground; a human story of one Westerner learning to embrace another culture kind of a mixture of "Dances With Wolves" and "Shogun", films from which it derives almost directly. And this is the films greatest flaw. It is utterly predictable. No spoilers here, we all know what happens to the samurai. If not, the title ought to give you a clue. Every scene is one that you were expecting to see. And the ending is the ending you expect.
But Zwick and co. still manage to weave an engaging story with panache, and a climactic (despite it's predictability) ending, and that is why "The Last Samurai" is such a great film. As the Zen saying goes, "Success is a journey, not a destination". It is equally applicable to the samurai in the film, and the film itself. A success. 8/10.