The Last Samurai Movie Review 2003

Embittered ex-Army Captain Nathan Algren (Cruise) is hired to train Japanese soldiers in modern warfare in order to quell a rebellion led by samurai Katsumoto (Watanabe). The inexperienced soldiers are forced to go into battle too early and, despite the superior firepower of their American rifles, are quickly defeated. Algren is taken prisoner and brought to a remote mountain village, where he learns the Japanese, swordplay, and the samurai's ancient code of honor(all in one winter). While Cruise is certainly the big name of the film, Watanabe is the one to watch as the magnetic and charismatic samurai leader. A bit over-romanticized, but the intricate battle sequences and spectacular cinematography make up for it.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 150 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Japan, Period Piece: 19th Century, Big Battles, Culture Clash, Samurai

Screenplay

Edward Zwick, John Logan, Marshall Herskovitz

Cast

Tom Cruise, Ken(saku) Watanabe, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Masato Harada, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki, William Atherton, Scott Wilson, Togo Igawa, Shun Sugata, Shin Koyamada, Shichinosuke Nakamura

Cinematography

John Toll

Director

Edward Zwick

Music

Hans Zimmer

Other

Jeff Wexler, Steven Rosenblum, Victor du Bois, Kim Sinclair, Ngila Dickson, Lily Kilvert

Producer

Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, Scott Kroopf, Radar Pictures, Bedford Falls, Cruise-Wagner Productions, Warner Bros.