The Last Samurai [HD DVD]

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Starring: Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, William Atherton, Chad Lindberg, Ray Godshall Sr.
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Binding: HD DVD
Published: 2006-04-18

Features:

Actors: Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, William Atherton
Format: Anamorphic, CC, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Deleted Scenes With Commentary
Audio Tracks: English/French (Dolby Digital 5.1)

The Last Samurai [HD DVD]

Editorial Review:

Epic Action Drama. Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary by Edward Zwick
Deleted Scenes:The Beheading (Behind the Beheading) Algren and Katsumoto
Documentaries:History vs. Hollywood: The Last Samurai {History Channel Documentary)
Featurette:Tom Cruise: A Warrior's Journey Edward Zwick: Director's Video Journal {Behind-the-scenes production journal - narrated by Ed Zwick and Tom Cruise A World of Detail: Production Design with Lilly Kilvert Silk and Armor: Costume Design with Ngila Dickson Imperial Army Basic Training: From Soldier to Samurai: The Weapons
Interviews:Making an Epic: A Conversation with Edward Zwick
While Japan undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernized society in 1876-77, The Last Samurai gives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced by a mercenary officer (Tony Goldwyn) to train the Japanese Emperor's troops in the use of modern weaponry. Opposing this "progress" is a rebellion of samurai warriors, holding fast to their traditions of honor despite strategic disadvantage. As a captive of the samurai leader (Ken Watanabe), Algren learns, appreciates, and adopts the samurai code, switching sides for a climactic battle that will put everyone's honor to the ultimate test. All of which makes director Edward Zwick's noble epic eminently worthwhile, even if its Hollywood trappings (including an all-too-conventional ending) prevent it from being the masterpiece that Zwick and screenwriter John Logan clearly wanted it to be. Instead, The Last Samurai is an elegant mainstream adventure, impressive in all aspects of its production. It may not engage the emotions as effectively as Logan's script for Gladiator, but like Cruise's character, it finds its own quality of honor. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Good Movie, Blu ray suspect:

I am not here to write about the movie... it's a good flick and worth owning. However, the blu ray version would not play on my BD30K machine with the latest updates.
Not sure if it's the anti-copy protection or the poor implementation of blu ray from Sony. Either way I can't watch it.

Great Flick about the toll war takes on the people who fight it:

While this movie may be set in Japan during it's early industialization, at the end of the Samurai's reign (don't take that literally), that is not what this movie is about. For anyone who's interested in what went on historically at the time, and it's acuracy, go find something else. For anyone else, especially those with friends or family who may be returning from serving overseas in Iraq or Afganastan, this movie can help give you a small glimpse of the conflict those who fight face. At it's heart this... more info

Say what you will about Tom Cruise, he is a credible actor &:

sometimes makes a good movie. The Last Samurai is. Historical? Hardly. Take a few grains: yes, Samurai existed in Japan as an ancient, militaristic culture, a law unto themselves, & Japan was opening itself up to the west at the time of the movie (1876). Aside from that... Cruise is an emotionally damaged hero of the civil & Indian wars. He is contracted to whip the Japanese army into a fighting force. Who is the enemy? The Samurai, who are much admired & feared through-out Japan. They refuse to... more info

Arrogant, presumptive, historically/culturally inaccurate:

This movie is TERRIBLE. Anyone who's actually sat down and STUDIED this time period cannot watch this film without criticizing it. Yeah, sure, rural peasants who are so poor they live in the mountains eat fluffy rich-people white rice. Uh huh. And Japanese is SUCH an easy language to learn. If you want to make a film about Saigo Takamori and the Satsuma Rebellion, please do. It's a fascinating moment in history. But this exoticized, orientalist, American-centric pastiche masquerading as a historical drama... more info

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