Oba: The Last Samurai (2011)
"Taiheiyou no kiseki: Fokkusu to yobareta otoko" (original title)

During the end of World War 2, a group of Japanese soldiers fight on after US forces capture most of the island. They refuse to surrender and continue to resist after the Emperor surrenders.

Director:

Hideyuki Hirayama

Writers:

Don Jones (based on the book by), Takuya Nishioka (screenplay),

Stars:

Yutaka Takenouchi, Sean McGowan, Mao Inoue

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yutaka Takenouchi	...	Captain Oba
Sean McGowan	...	Captain Lewis
Mao Inoue	...	Chieko Aono
Daniel Baldwin	...	Colonel Pollard
Treat Williams	...	Colonel Wessinger
Toshiaki Karasawa	...	Horiuchi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matthew R. Anderson	...	Captain Grabbias
Russell Geoffrey Banks	...	US Soldier
Bengaru
Ian Brown	...	Flamethrower Marine
Lloyd Buckley	...	Cpl. Marks
Mike Dunn	...	Breezy / Radioman
Adrian Fagerlund	...	St. MeatBall
Harlan Glenn	...	Sgt. Munroe
James Judd	...	Lt. Lang

Storyline

July 1944, The Imperial Japanese Army Garrison on Saipan mounted its final suicidal Banzai charge against the American Marines in the Battle for Saipan. Out of the 4000 Japanese who waged the charge there are almost no survivors but among them left alive is Captain Oba Sakae (Yutaka Takenouchi). Playing dead, he initially avoids capture and then is joined by a small band of survivors who retreat deep into the jungle. There, he as the highest ranking officer still alive will take command of the surviving 46 soldiers and 200 plus Japanese civilians now in his care who will evade the Marines and conduct a hit and run Guerrilla War long after the Americans declare the island secured in American hands. Enraged by Oba's resistance, the temperamental USMC Commander Colonel Pollard (Daniel Baldwin) launches an all out effort to hunt the man the Marines have dubbed "The Fox" of the Pacific. Failing to Capture Oba, Pollard is sacked and replaced by the mild mannered Colonel Wessinger (Treat ...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

11 February 2011 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Oba: The Last Samurai

Filming Locations:

Rayong, Thailand

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chukyo TV Broadcasting Company (CTV), Cine Bazar, D.N. Dream Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Colonel Wessinger: I don't understand these Japs. This ah... Bushido suicide thing... It's ah... Well! It's crazy.
Captain Lewis: Well, It's ah... it's a matter of pride. It's a way of thinking. They've been nurturing in their heads for centuries.

User Reviews

Pretty Good movie

The English dialog was not very good, but the story was worth telling, and it is a good war story told from the Japanese perspective.

The Japanese actors, and cast all did a superb job, and the American cast did an adequate job. It is refreshing to see a realistic look at the war from the Japanese side. The movie told the story of the Japanese people on the island, both soldiers and civilians, and it explained their attitude about the war.

The scenery is great, and if the story does not show an American defeat, at lest it shows an American struggle. It also captures the moment of the Japan's surrender, showing that it was not as instantaneousness as some historians lead to believe. Overall, it was a story about a Japanese hero fighting for survival, and a group of Americans fighting because it's their job.