History Buffs: The Last Samurai
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 сер 2015
- Time to talk about The Last Samurai! Please enjoy!
SUPPORT HISTORY BUFFS ON PATREON
/ historybuffs
HISTORY BUFFS MERCH!
history-buffs-shop.fourthwall....
● Follow us on Facebook: / historybuffslondon
● Follow us on Twitter: / historybuffs_
One of the few Tom Cruise films where you forget it’s Tom Cruise and you just see the character.
True. Though my favourite actor he is so big that Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise. He cant hide. But in this he does a fucking amazing Job. Collateral, Magnolia is also some. I also believe Eyes Wide Shut is at same level.
@@ImperialMJG Don't forget Tropic Thunder, one of his finest roles to date.
@@MrGwf1000 you beat me to it. I think it's his best role
He's pretty good in " Interview With A Vampire " as well
Its his best film
What I love about this movie is that the Japanese characters speak Japanese among themselves and not English
Yeah but the main character doesn't speak french even if the historical one is french
@@cupcakechronicles4551 yeah but i'm french so I would have prefered him to be french like the real guy lol
42ndnumber You do realize that the main character isn’t supposed to be French right? He’s an AMERICAN advisor to the Meji government.
His character is just *inspired by a French man....
@@sjappiyah4071 Yeah but the thing is that americans always want to have the glory in every historical event.
It doesn't bother me in reality since the movie is good but I'm just a french man so i'm complaining
@@const6610 ok we get it you hate american films that put glory in them except their enemies like afghanistan movies where people who speak arabic are the bad guys
yet this is one of the few movies where they retain the language of another culture because that is their backdrop to the story its about Japan my guy not French and Japan
heck they could've made a film just Japanese if they wanted to but that would force the actors to just talk in english since its American made
edit: rather not force but WILL make the actors just speak english for the actual audience to understand
One thing I really like about this movie is that Algren actually participated in the raid on the Native Americans even though he opposed it. Unlike the cliché that the hero just stays back and therefore is innocent, it gives a sense of realism
And not only that. He was scarred by it, and didn't like celebrating it.
I'm Native, and descended from survivors of the Wounded Knee Massacre.
It's something that's stayed with my family, since it's happened
And to see Algren, a US Calvary member (albeit, a fictional one) suffer from what happened, and carry that guilt and grief with him.
Really humanized for me, the Military that had eliminated many of my ancestors relatives
They were human beings as well. Many fresh from the Civil War, when the Indian Wars began.
It's traumatizing for both sides, and that's what makes this movie special to me
*Arugaren
That's one of my favorite aspects of the film. Instead of the great hero that comes to save the samurai or some shit it's a story of a flawed person finally gaining redemption even though the samurai die. He's able to show a country what they tried to destroy for the sake of modernism is still important for its history. You shouldn't destroy your traditions and history. You should embrace it. He redeems himself for doing what he failed to do and couldn't for the natives in the U.S
@@bradleykalinoski99427not only does he not save the Samurai but in fact it's their culture and dedication to discipline and honor that eventually redeems Algren.
It may not be the most historically accurate movie but it sure has a great story with well written characters.
another interesting and human aspect of him is that he stops drinking and then he starts drinking again
As far as the "not using guns" thing goes, I like to focus on the line "NO LONGER dishonors himself by using firearms". "No longer" being the key words, which implies that he is well versed in their use, as history would also suggest.
I like to think that he chooses to no longer use them because he knows his rebellion is not a winnable war, but a message to the emperor to not forget the old ways.
He has condensed his tactics down to only the most "honorable" and symbolic ones, Only using the things that the imperial army has "forgotten" or compromised on.
He fights not as the samurai actually fight, but as the legends and stories SAY they fight. Blade and bow, discipline and tradition. Anything less is just another losing battle by an inferior force
Annoying thing is they missed an opportunity to show the real reason they stopped using guns. They had run out of ammunition even for muskets let alone modern firearms. That would have shown just how desperate everything truly was.
Yeah, Samurai definitely did fight like this in the era, but they did it just to make a point, knowing they would lose. Like, once time, a military rebellion ended with a regiment of samurai attack a fortified position...with swords and lances against cannons and guns. Yeah, it went about as well as one might expect.
It’s more complex than that. There was a selfish reason for distancing themselves from guns. Mainly being that a peasant could kill a samurai fairly easy.
Still a little bit ridiculous because Saigo Takamori was literally one of the three great nobles who “lead” the Meiji restoration. His brother was an admiral in the modernized Japanese navy. If anything he would’ve been the one pushing for guns and modern technology to be part of the new society. The only thing he didn’t want to change was the power structure of the samurai. Not the tech.
It's clear that movie attempted to compromise historical accuracy with more cinematic approach combined with sending a specific message to the viewers. I would say they did a great job, because it's hard to explain everything over the course of the movie without changing it into straight up documentary. We got a notable samurai dressed in western uniform fighting for emperor, we have a quote about Katsumoto *no longer* using firearms (it means he used them, the art of making them was preserved throughout the shogunate, though obviously they were archaic by the time Meji Restoration happened). Hell, Oda Nobunaga did introduce firearm regiments on scale not used even in Europe at the time (XVI century), but then, he was fascinated by everything western, especially if it furthered his goals. Real life samurais who rebelled were mostly angry about losing their privileged status, which as mentioned in video could be both a blessing and a curse.
OUR MEN ARE RUNNING FROM THE FIELD OF BATTLE!! A MOST SHAMEFUL DISPLAY
OUR HIDDEN UNITS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED!
+Sean Lau A BLACK DAY; OUR GENERAL HAS FALLEN!
AN, AMBUSH AND AMBUSH SIR!
+Gunter Barkmann An....
OUR GENERAL IS IN GRAAAAVE DANGER MY LORD
"Tell me...how did he die?"
"I will tell you how he lived"
With honor
Emperor: "how dare you disobey me".
Lol Katsumoto was his teacher. The emperor was probably thinking “Why did I ask” because he already knew how he lived
@@Sea-qv4sd The point was the Emperor had become a puppet of the political class by then. Sure, he was a living god, but he was kept so isolated from the actual world of his subjects that he really didn't have a clear idea of what was happening save what his advisors wanted him to know. Algren telling him how Katsumoto lived was symbolic, mostly, of reminding the Japanese people what they were losing in the mad dash to "westernize".
"They're all perfect."
When Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay, he said to Japan “Could you be any more closed?”
BRAHHHH
XD FRIENDly quote you got there
History of the entire world I guess?
😆😆😆
The bushido blade is 🔥
The end of the battle on the field always brings me to tears. As Nick said, it is the perfect metaphor for times changing. Like English Knights getting shot down by the British Colonial Army's rows of soldiers. It is the perfect metaphor for times changing. As one way of life dies, another one rises above the ashes.
„What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Matthew 16:26 NIV
And like knights being shot down by line infantry ... it never happened lol. Their armor is also inacurate for the day. They wore metal plate armor, not lacquer.
@@joshrstanford its a metaphor dumbass. Of course it didnt happen. Learn to read
And it is a sad thing to see it go.
idiots being shot because they're too stubbornly prideful to use guns isnt worthy of respect or admiration.
"Transition from feudal to imperial Japan"
They skipped castle age
It's called fast Imperial. All that time the Japanese spent not fighting amongst themselves let them hoard enough food and gold to power through Castle and jump straight into Imperial so they could rush out Elite Samurai, Cannon Galleons, and Hand Canoneers. They really had no choice when every other player was in Imperial at that point.
😂😂😂 Hidden tech upgrade
That moment when Age of Empires is ignored...
*Sad person noises.*
castles existed in Japan since almost 1000 years earlier... just show how ignorant you are... as expected from a ignorant gringo
@@boro3454 ikr its not like its a joke or anything that u didnt fucking understand cuz you were a smartass no of course not he was talking seriously
America to Japan: You’re going to trade with us and you’re going to like it
TheUnknown 7789 I get the oversimplified referens
Santiago Fortin
Man of culture
BoS to literally everything they touch. "Your tech is ours now and you're going to like it."
You know it'd be really nice if this side of history was taught in the US but usually they gloss over that along with the genocide of the native americans. And pretty much every bad thing we've ever done.
America to Japan many years later: You're not going to trade with us and you're not going to like it
I loved the scenes were they were simply talking, especially between Katsumoto and Algren.
I will miss their conversations
@@acrispywaffleiron4014 I’m not crying you are!
@@gd88467 AND I'M NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT IT!!!! T_T
@@acrispywaffleiron4014 Algren’s role as Katsumoto’s kaishakunin is left beautifully ambiguous. Did Algren finish the job by beheading Katsumoto (as per tradition) offscreen, or did he decide against it, not wanting to mirror Bagley’s actions in the previous wars (i.e. scalping)?
Don't you mean Arugureno?
Despite being born into a family of samurai, Yataro Iwasaki founded the Mitsubishi corporation. He made important investments in shipping preceding and following the Meiji Restoration, and he became a successful and wealthy businessman and financier! I think about that every time I see a Mitsubishi on the road.
I heard his company's planes have a bad habit of burning up and crashing :^)
"I think about that every time I see a Mitsubishi on the road". go touch some grass weirdo LOL
I think about that every time I pop a Mitsubishi pill.
A ton of Japanese companies were founded by daimyo. The Shimazu corporation is another one, they make scientific instruments and medical devices.
@@richardmoylind7621Eat some lead reject.
Must be sad that no one loves you...
"our men are running from the battlefield, a shamefull display"
me playing shogun 2 while watching this viedeo
"Wait what?"
jocelyn v
SPAMS ODA ASHIGARU WITH MALICIOUS INTENT
When you are watching a murder movie with your dad and he says ah the glory days
:Look of concern:
i was playng medieval 2 when i heard that i started shearching routen man then i routed cuz i thought that my cavalry routed and got defeated
After years of playing Shogun 2, my only regret is no yet winning as Takeda on legondary.
Hahaha, yes! Shamfur Dispray!
My Grandmother was Japanese and when she saw the movie, she talked about the real samurai, Saigo Takamori. He's still revered in Japan as a hero of the Old Ways.
An offer of surrender... Saigo ignore contender
Charles Saint Mifuni T. Made a movie about him
My Great Grandmother did the same. Also part Japanese, even if no one (even my grand parents) look it, like seriously, we just look white. But my family (English) look up to Takamori too. He is a hero.
He was pardoned shortly after his death by the emperor, with it being said that his rebellion was noble. He did what honor obliged him to do and rebel. He was therefore a hero, fighting a losing battle as he had to.
One could argue this was part of the greater plan of increasing nationalism in Japan and militarism. The samurai had to be removed to reinforce the emperor's power, but in honoring their stand the government reinforced the idea of honorable dearh for your country. An ideal built so strong that we would eventually see them fight as they did in the second world war
He is. Perhaps the epytome of the "Tragic Hero" concept, or the idea that a man doesnt need to succede to become a Hero, but to stand for its ideals and take them all the way. Theres a statue of Takamori and his dog in Ueno Park!
“The general actually fought with katsumoto for the emperor”
“He fought with the samurai”
“He IS samurai
KATSUMOTO: “The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.”
KATSUMOTO: “Perfect. They are all perfect.”
It gets me everytime
@@enriquemattiacci451 0
Enough with the "noble savage" narratives already! Everyone who's more or less educated knows how really savage and cruel all those peoples were up until a few decades ago. Just look up Japanese atrocities during WWII in Asia... Do you think they were any better during their "ancient history"?
Also Katsumoto: Wow look blossoms during my death scene. How convenient.
@@ZenkiCoyote lol thing is those trees are everywhere in Japan..
Reasons for fighting for a cause....
The Last Samurai-The main character is mesmerized by the Samurai and their cause
The Avatar- Jake Sully wants to get laid
Having not had the use of his penis for years, of course he does!
@@GUNNER67akaKelt fucking trash AVATAR. Avatar gain popularity because of AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER 😑
Cruise also "got the girl: and did not need an AVATAR to get laid.
The five minutes the extended version of Avatar adds to the opening of the film add a ton to establish Jake's character, which pretty dramatically elevates the film as a whole.
@@jqa16 wot
You missed one of the best parts of the movie, where the Emperor Meiki asks "Tell me how he died and Algren responds "I will tell you how he lived."
Great line. But that Bruce Lee biopic movie of the 90's got the upper hand on that line, right at the end too.
So the point is not whether it was historically accurate, yes they knew each other. Also not whether it was in a different movie. If this was a thread on the Bruce Lee biopic I would have commented similarly. The point s that he did not want to hear about a bad moment in a good mans life but wanted to hear about the good life of a good man.
@B Redfern If Katsumoto was a good man, he wouldn't have been fighting for the rights of the Samurai, which included the right to kill commoners for bumping into him by accident. Let's not kid ourselves: Algren was a deluded man who fought for the wrong side.
@@Ares99999 While in todays society your comments would be valid you are judging a far different time and place. The people he was fighting against were far more brutal. The Samurai fought for and defended the country. There were historical reasons for the feudal nature of the time and to judge his actions by todays standard are wrong. That does not mean we should return to those time, the freedoms we enjoy today were non existent back then and people took advantage of this, hence the Samurai and what they did to defend the entire country. There is an over-riding desire by people to judge past leaders through the lens of todays peaceful world. In reality our world has been in the longest standing peaceful time in history and has distorted our perceptions to the realities of the past.
@B Redfern
The samurai did not 'fight for and defend their country'. They fought, at best, for one of the many hundreds of warlords that feuded over Japan for centuries. Then Tokugawa won and managed to impose a certain level of peace. In which time the Samurai became less and less useful. Many Samurai then quit being Samurai because there were other ways to make a living, and fighting was no longer omnipresent.
And even in the timeframe of the movie, the Samurai were judged to be obsolete, and had been for some time beforehand. Their privileges being revoked - like killing people who bothered you - was a progressive thing.
And unlike dumbasses like Katsumoto and the imbeciles that followed him, most Samurai were reasonable enough to understand that there was no going back. Instead they adapted, most of them becoming officials or officers in the army or navy.
Algren fought for the inflexible side. The one unwilling and unable to change. Tragic it may be, but right it never will.
There is an over-riding desire by people to distort perceptions of samurai and pirates and knights - who were all pretty darn brutal people - into something romantic. The reality of the past was that samurai were armed thugs. Period.
Definitely my favorite Tom Cruise role. I've rarely seen such effective subtly in an actor's performance as with his performance as Algren. So much of the film required him to use nothing but his eyes to convey intense emotions, and goddamn did he nail it.
The last two sequences of the film with Meiji and then Taka contain some of the most effective acting from a leading man I have ever seen. This film is a true gem.
he does a really good job at conveying trauma from participating in war crimes
@@fourshore502 Americans do love their war crimes.
Also, most of the military advisors weren't american but prussian, see Jacob Meckel. Meckel left behind a loyal group of Japanese admirers, who, after his death, had a bronze statue of him erected in front of his former army college in Tokyo. Overall, the Imperial Japanese Army intensively oriented its organization along Prusso-German lines when building a modern fighting force during the 1880s. There is a reason why a lot of middle school uniforms look like prussian military uniforms over there
And the French too in the 1850's they trained the shogun's army, they were in fact the only ones to do that since other countries helped the emperor.
I don't know from everything that I read about the Meiji restoration, they modeled the Imperial Navy after the British and then Americans and, the Imperial Army after the Germans
"From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue."
Ideals to live by.
Yeah, problem is that, unlike in their era, our lives have gotten so much more hectic, we have such limited time, time has gotten really valuable, everything has to be done fast nowadays.
What I am saying is that its difficult to devote yourself to everything with our limited time, the only thing you can devote yourself to is your job or a personal goal if you can make the time for it.
@@MercenaryZack I am of the firm belief that everyone needs at least one thing in their life where they can pursue perfection. We need that to balance and center our lives. It doesn't have to be something grand, but even something simple as making what you consider the perfect cup of coffee in the morning, or organizing your closet perfectly, hell even parking in your spot perfectly centered, something. Everyone needs at least one thing in their life they can have pride in.
Pursuing perfection does not imply you'll ever achieve it, that's the main realization: it's the effort you put into that goal that grows you as a person.
There is no destination of perfection, there is only a journey.
@@RobertMorgan What an inspiring comment. Thank you. Truly.
Explains my Couch Potato Grandmaster level....
It just doesnt fit the mold unless youre a special chaste or just survive off the land. People have jobs (rarely related to some kind of passion) and thats that, you dont work you die.
The speed at which Japan came through its Industrial Revolution and went from being an isolationist Nation to ultimately having a massive Navy and attacking Pearl Harbour was astronomical. Essentially went from being a Medieval Society to one of the most technologically advanced on Earth now.
Very good point.
Alians.
Shows the power of being willing to break out of your own traditions and ways, and take wholeheartedly the advice and guidance of others.
Think about how hard it is as an individual to go "the way I'm doing things is wrong, I realize it, I accept it, tell me how to change and I'll do it". That's almost impossible for most people in reality.
But the Japanese embraced that change and leveraged it for massive advancement.
@@RobertMorgan it does indeed. They turned their backs on the old Japan and embraced a completely new world. Quite the achievement in some ways. And maybe a little sad in others.
They basically aped through 300 years' worth of evolution in a matter of decades.
“I am beset by the ironies of my life…”
God, this movie has fantastic writing.
Tom Cruise his best role and character he ever played! There i said it.
Agreed
"Shameful Display" savage reference
*Shamefur Dispray
They are levy, what can you spect from them
alex perez need them line infantry at least
Thomas D in the game even line gets rekt by cav
alex perez you soften them up with a nice artillery barrage or Gatling guns on the flanks
Fun fact:
1) flintlock musket was one of the traditional weapons of the samurai since 16th century.
2) Just as there are traditional iaijutsu, kenjutsu and sojutsu (spear) schools there are also traditional teppojutsu (gunpowder weapon) schools.
3) Takamori's rebel army used rifles and artillery just like the Imperial Army.
4) Takamori was wearing a western style commander uniform in his last stand.
No, no it wasn't, the Japanese used a rifle known as the tanegashima, they were the Japanese reproductions of Portuguese matchlocks from the mid-16th century. These were inferior to flintlocks. Other than that, I agree with the rest.
I think you mean matchstick guns
@@DuckiestBoat959 matchlock*
Interesting. Wasn't it the Chinese who invented gun powder anyway? Weren't they pretty consistently fighting each other? There must've been some exchange proir to European influence.
Hey Morrissey: Take a Geographics class.
"Trade with us or get invaded"
Well that just makes the next hundred years until the end of WW2 make so much more sense now.
This is one of the movies that I will watch whenever it comes on. Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe are just so enjoyable to watch on screen. Plus the theme of striking a balance between new and old always amazes me.
That scene of the Samurai being mowed down by the Gatling guns always gets me.
it does
Vanders it's beautiful in a way
Right on! Who cares about history when we can have cool scenes with lots of blood and drama?
Yes, and somehow it remembers me first world war too, some generals were still trying to use old war tactics and the result was many men dying like the samurais in this movie
Zer0MX But unlike the Samurai, WW1 soldiers wanted to live afterwards. Still a valid observation though.
"Fire at will"
Will- "Wait What"
"Will...I'm sorry, orders are orders..."
*grabs torch and throw at Will
Will: ah, fak!
the Crew: which Will?
@@nono-kr7um good soldiers follow orders
Will - "oh no, not again"
16:55 "He is Samurai" and the look on his face. Always gives me the chills. I my opinion those 4 seconds have all the information you needs to understand what samurai means.
My cousin is a college professor. Every new class gets the same warning after their first book report.
"Do Not watch a Hollyweard creation and expect to pass a history or literature test."
Instead play a historical game to ace a history and literature test.
@@FJhei Instead, watch history youtubers
Instead, listen to Sabaton! Then research the hell out of everything you hear!
I watched the History Buffs episode on Zulu and got an A on my essay on the movie. There was no way my prof had seen it though so that helped a lot.
TLS is actually really quite accurate by Hollywood standards.
Tokugawa Japan wasn't closed to all foreigners. The Dutch had a trade station called Deshima in the Bay of Nagasaki, and this is still reflected in Japanese medical jargon (the Japanese imported European medical knowledge via the Dutch Island), which has Dutch words in it. The Europeans stationed there by the Dutch East India Company were not allowed to enter the Japanese mainland, but they were allowed to import and export goods on a limited scale.
As for this movie, it's a mess historically. However, I am quite fond of it on a metaphorical level. If you view Katsumoto and his Samurai as the metaphorical embodiments of the Old Japan, struggling against the rise of the New Japan, it really works.
+The Iron Historian Totally agree.
+The Iron Historian Yea, kinda irked me that he didn't mention this.
He also forgot to mention Japanese had more and better guns than in europe by the time Tokugawa took over the Shogunate.
+The Iron Historian I just feel the whole 'Japan has to be safed by the white 'Murican!' bit hurts the film.
+Aelius Magnus i was refering to time just after Tokugawa won and bacame shogun, not when they realized they need to modernize in 19th century.
In around 1600 there was propobly more matchlocks than in europe.
Ken Watanabe is a fantastic actor. Loved him in this and Letters from Iwo Jima.
Yeah, and also very hot. Those who have seen Memoirs Of Geisha know...
yup
I wish he had more scenes in "Godzilla".
He is the Morgan Freeman of Japan
+Terézia Marková I watch memries of a gaystar I liked it to
The reason why Japan expelled all foreigners is because the Christian missionaries were instigating religious revolts. Tokugawa Ieyasu, remembering the whole sohei rebellion incident in mount hiei, wanted to avoid it all costs.
"We samurai find these guns dishonorable"
*Oda Nobunaga has entered the chat.
Right? He was one of the first to use volley fire
He destroyed Takeda with guns, changing the warfare in Japan forever...
Chokes me up when they kneel in respect at the end.
And the music.....
With only cruise surviving 😐
@C.F.P.N Hans bring ze luger don't underestimate plot armour
@@eldritchart716 its about a 1,000 times thick as the frontal armour of a tiger 2
One thing you also could have mentioned is that Tom Cruise is not "The Last Samurai" as a lot of people seem to think, and make fun of the movie for. The last samurai in the movie are Katsumoto and his followers, not Tom Cruise.
A lot of people seem to think samurai is singular when it is both singular and plural. I didn't know for a long time either and at one point I realized that samurai are a class and since you need to be born into it tom crukse can't be a real samurai. after that it was obvious that the last samurai is meant as plural and meant the samurai that died in the last battle.
Same thing with "The Last of the Mohicans".
Tom cruise is just the observer and the eyes through which the audience sees the final days of the last samurais.
Devoti
Ok. Not sure what this has to do misinterpreting the title of the movie...
Devoti yeah doesn't have anything to do with the conversation at hand.
And it may have inaccuracies but films have the freedom to take certain liberties. As said otherwise both sides would have used guns for example. But it is still a pretty accurate depiction of the radical change that happened in Japan at this time.
And you can't expect every film about historical events to be 100% accurate. Most medieval films for example are way more innacurate than this movie. And furthermore it never claimed to be accurate.
Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 - 12 August 1911) was a French Army officer who played a famous role in the Japanese Boshin War. He was sent to Japan with the French military mission of 1867 and after the defeat of the shōgun had an important role in the Republic of Ezo. He later became a General and Chief of Staff of the French Minister of War in 1898.
The lieutenant’s reaction when the samurai are being gunned down is incredible
Gut wrenching, that's how the final battle hit me. What an amazing film. Cruise's arguably finest film.
Roger H Werner I agree it was most likely cruise’s best film he’s done
'Born 4th of july', maybe?
Edge of tomorrow in my opinion
A Dog cruise’s best sci-fi film.....hmmm edge of tomorrow oblivion or war of the worlds......but this is one of my favorite films of his
@@atomicrc5189 Minority Report is another good Cruise science-fiction flick.
"Tell me, how did he die?"
*Starts to weep*
*Looks up to the emperror*
"I will tell you... how he lived."
This moment gives me chills, tears and a smile every single time
Possibly my favorite scene in movie history.
(sniff sniff)
I'm not crying, you're crying!
Mine is when worm tail says "he is samurai"
@@nolanlarocque2967 same here. The little bow and smile he gives allgren is perfect haha
@@nolanlarocque2967 Mine Too!!!!
I'm Japanese and I love this movie so much. I was so reluctant to watch it at first but I am so glad that I put my skepticism aside~
Man the beginning of your video, the charge of the Light Brigade, Zulu tribesmen, etc. was a masterpiece.
Charge of the Scots Guards at Waterloo. It's his original intro.
That Total War: Shogun 2 reference lol
OUAH MEN ARE RUNNING FROM TEH BATTURFEILD, A SHAMEFUR DISPRAY
it' impossibru not to
Ahh this explains a lot about this video. It's as historically accurate as the Tom Cruise movie itself.
@@amp8295 THERE ARE MORE OF YOU WHY ARE YOU RUNNING AWAY, COWARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@saffakanera A BRACK DAY, OUAH GENERAL HAS FARREN
17:54 "Our men are running from the battlefield. A shameful display"
That caught me off-guard LOL
"The men are wavering!"
Total War :D
I whole units was perished my lord! The total war joke I wasn't expect haha
TRIARIIIIIII!!!!!
MY LORD, A GLORIOUS VICTORY WILL SOON BE YOURS
I like how you included a lot of scenes from Kagemusha, the original (and historically accurate) case of horseback samurai charging and being mowed down by guns.
The Last Samurai is hands down my favourite movie of ALL time! I think it was beautiful and perfectly executed in so many ways.
well Hans Zimmer did a bloody great job in it
It's amazing how much better a movie can be with a great score
Hans Zimmer always does
It's a very good movie, but the score elevates it to a great movie...
Samurai: trained for their whole lives in the sword, the spear and the bow
Soldier: a conscript from a town 3 months ago that demolishes with superior technology
The power of guns...my friend... The power of guns.
@@magosexploratoradeon6409 The gun eventually changed the whole of Japan no matter if they liked it or not.
Same with the carssbow vs a heavily armored and well trained knight
The samurai used guns
Say hello to my new friend, Shooty McGun from America.
Film brings me to tears each time I watch it. hands off to the excellent direction and score.
The transition from painting to Charge of the Scott's Gray's with the music is still one of the coolest things I've ever seen
Knock Knock. It's the United States. With huge boats. With guns. Gunboats.
Matthew Perry: Open the country. Stop having it be closed.
*- Japan should take the islands! -*
"Hey, can you call us something other than dipshit?"
"Like what?"
"How about ~ _Sunrise land_ ~?"
lol
Hey, We could make a religion out of this.
Bewilderbeastie No..
"The First Weeaboo"
Meester Writer HAHAHAHAHABA)!!
Well, actually not. That'll be William Adams
Beaten by William Adams 250 years ago :P
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA (serious)
HAHAHAHAH
I must say I'm glad, and kind of surprised that you liked this one. I've always loved it, but there are some things that make it an easy target. Every time I watch it, it gets more relevant. "What could be more necessary?" That line gets me every time.
Sweet sweet practical effects. How i miss thee.
Achieving 300 years of development in 20 years...yup that's Japan all right.
It's hard to reconcile this sentence with the later "white savior" comments. That is exactly what happened?! Furthermore, it was 100% the culture of Japan that allowed this success. And for further reflection think of all the nations the US has tried to do the same and failed, that have markedly different cultures.
And look what it has become!
well, it was either adapt to the shifting winds and accelerate development to match the western powers or end up like Imperial China
@@InvestmentBankr I think its due to the already existing unified infrastructure that allowed Japan to adapt so quickly unlike all the others who failed to do so, who were fragmented, my country for example.
@@joevenespineli6389 what country would that be..... I'll wager the lack of a unifying culture, religion, or language are the primary reasons.
I know historically this film has a lot of inaccuracies; but it's one of my favorite movies of all time! Beautiful film and extremely underated.
Very compelling and yes, underrated to say the least.. i don't mind the historical inaccuracies because it's not based on true characters really, nor does it claim to be..but it is more the telling of a specific time period and struggle , that uses fictional characters to tell us about this specific point of modernization of Japan.. so, I'm not to harsh on it for any historical inaccuracies.. as l would be a film meant to be based on specific people in that time period.. that being said I'm a huge history buff and really enjoy learning more about a time period especially in Japanese history that is really overlooked and you don't really hear much,if anything about.. and this movie does a pretty good job using fictional characters and some pretenses to tell us about this period. All though granted it is glaring with some historical inaccuracies, false motives, and pretenses.. it's a damn good movie and i recommend it to anyone who enjoys history.
couldn't agree more, imho a true modern masterpiece
Some parts are true. By mid 1800s, samurai and bushido was on the decline. They were forbidden to carry swords in public. There was a mini war of Portugal waging a war on Japan before the 1800. Reason is because Portugal ships opium to Japan and the Japanese people didn’t like it and killed all foreigners and the addicts plus Western religion. Portugal win though because of modernize guns and cannons vs ancient swords, spears, and bow and arrow.
It’s just a brief history that no one mention though.
@@jonross2747 What I find amusing was that the movie made praise of General George Armstrong Custer, even though, some would argue he was a reckless idiot that foolishly got himself and all his men killed in battle against the Native Americans, being bested by the chief Sitting Bull and faced an enemy ten times the size of his own troops.
My personal stance that as long as a studio is not being willfully revisionist, they are not technically under obligation to educate audiences.
Fantastic movie through and through, and the music gets me eeeeevery single time. Both this and Master and Commander are amongst my absolute favs when I want to immerse myself into a period in history, when it comes to movies. Love them so, so much!
I heard once from a Japanese's UA-cam channel that despite it's inaccuracies, this movie is well loved by Japanese in general.
Regardless of any historical inaccuracies this is by far one of my favorite films!
Victory erases all dishonor. Shogun 2 fans will know.
+wig smey "Strangers have come to our shores. They bring weapons of smoke and fire. Weapons that kill without honor, without skill. But these foreigners and their guns can bring a man victory, and victory wipes away dishonor."
+Ian Cabugsa Love shogun 2 , but that saying is incomplete to me. It should go : "Strangers have come to our shores. They bring weapons of smoke and
fire. Weapons that kill without honor, without skill. But these
foreigners and their guns can bring a man victory, and victory wipes
away dishonor. Only for that dishonor to be doubled when judged by history and looked back by the generations to come."
+Ian Cabugsa there you go! I needed someone to actually put it there
Nice
+wig smey ends justify the means, eh?
The main thing I hate about this movie is portraying the Japanese as ignorant to firearms. During the sengoku jidai Japan had tons of firearms maybe not 1800 level firearms but they were not completely ignorant to the concept
Those pesky Portuguese and Dutch traders brought matchlock rifles. If I recall, I think the Dutch enjoyed special trading privileges for a period even after Tokugawa closed the ports.
@@jakemander2412 thanks to the dutch being willing to help the shogunate deal with catholic rebels, compared to the portuguese who allegedly helped them
Dammit, I almost teared up after watching a fraction of the final battle alone. Such an emotionally strong movie.
The really dumb thing about the movie is that they somehow have this stupid no gun rule for Samurai. The dumb thing about it is that in real life, Japan absolutely loved firearms when they first got them from the Portuguese. They loved them so much that they built their own gun foundries and factories and by the end of the 16th and early 17th century, there were more firearms in Japan than the rest of the world combined (I'll bet you never thought you'd hear THAT sentence uttered in seriousness). They even developed the most advanced muskets in the world at the time. They had muskets that could be reliably reloaded and fired in the rain, something that didn't exist in the West until the early 19th century with the percussion mechanism.
The idea that a Samurai would consider guns to be dishonorable is stupid. A real samurai would have used everything and anything they had to their advantage in battle, and totally did.
+Hotshotter3000 Not to mention the Samurai, like any other warrior, was a practical and pragmatic human being. Anything that would give them an edge (including fighting dirty) would be used to its fullest. Heck, even the famed Ronin Miyamoto Musashi would've preferred a firearm if he could get his hands on one.
Nemo003
Musashi was the dirtiest fighting swordsman in history, and a magnificent bastard. He was still a highly skilled sword fighter in his own right.
+Nemo003 case in point,here was a translation from a samurai military manual from the 1600s that basically said if your fighting a strong opponent get your friends or comrades to rush them and hold them down so you can stab them,kill them and take their head
+Hotshotter3000 True. And before the arrival of gun powder, the Samurai's most "civilized" weapon wasn't the sword but the bow.
scantrontheimmortal That's even the case when you realize that on an operational level, the Samurai, many having been educated in the Chinese classics (e.g. Sun Tzu), would use anything and everything to their advantage. Nobunaga made use of superior numbers and the technological edge of firearms in many battles post-Okehazama (Anegawa, campaigns against the Hoganji, even Nagashino), Shingen used cavalry, superior numbers (e.g. 4th battle of Kawanakajima---> Takeda (20000) vs Uesugi (13000), Mikatagahara-------> Takeda (30000) vs Oda-Tokugawa (11000)), AND alliances, particularly against Nobunaga. Or how the Shimazu, despite constantly being the underdog in many of their victories, always relied on the ferocity of their warriors and officers, were the first to actually adopt firearms into their battles, and relied on luring and ambushing the enemy (e.g. Kizaki, Mimigawa, Okitanawate, Hetsugigawa).
Matthew C. Perry: "Open the Country. Stop having it be closed."
lol
Fellow Officer looks at Perry: "What the hell did you just say?"
Perry: "SHUSH!"
KNOCK KNOCK. IT'S AMERICA.
Hyun K. #TheEntireHistoryOfJapanIGuess
@@Tareltonlives Perry actually shelled the outskirts of Edo in a show of force as he came. Can't believe Nick missed that. He also missed that there was an island during the isolation where the Dutch were allowed to hold a trading base. The Japanese did learn from them about the wider world and studied their knowledge. Thus science in Japanese is still literally called Dutch studies.
This channels intro never gets old. I always get so pumped when it starts.
I LOVE the addition of the sound bite from Shogun Total War 2. Don't think we missed that!
Im so glad i found you
As am I. Welcome to the community :)
Same here, just found this channel and this is exactly the kind of thing I stay up to 5 AM watching to.
+James Heineman very early version of gun were not that good as they were inaccurate or just plain dangerous as a gun.
+logan fitzgerald Same I just found this channel and I love it!
+logan fitzgerald I just did, and I'm very glad!
A small objection; not all foreigners were banned from Japan. Chinese traders were often in Japan, scholars, and what not more. But, even more important perhaps, the Dutch were allowed to trade with the Japanese and were given their own tiny little island in Nagasaki (Deshima) to operate on. On an annual basis they were even summoned to audience with the Shogun. Japan even had Western Studies back then (Rangaku; technically Dtuch studies)
That is true it is one of Japan's history that not everyone knew about
Correct
Great info, my brother.
True - In all, 606 Dutch ships arrived at Dejima during its two centuries of settlement, from 1641 to 1847.
Also, a western man turned samurai isn't that far-fetched , as William Adams from England was ordained the title of samurai in the 1600s after his expedition boat crashed off the coast of Japan and he was held there to provide intelligence and cultural insight into the West. He ended up serving as a key advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the Japanese rulers that paved the way for barring most foreigners from entering Japan in the first place.
I have watched this video multiple times now. The Last Samurai is one of my top-five favorite films of all time. I absolutely love this channel, and I really appreciate all that Nick does. Thank you for amazing content!
Back in the late 2000s, they used to show The Last Samurai back home in Bangladesh like a daily ritual. By far my most watched movie ever, and I agree, it is a masterpiece.
Something that I like about this movie, is that cases like this where an outsider accepts and embraces another culture, actually happend during colonization. A real life example of that is the story of Gonzallo Guerrero. He was a Spaniard that went to the new world with Hernand Cortes to colonise the land, but the boat where he and his crew where sunk due to an enormous storm. He escaped the ship with other of his comrads and naufrage on a beach of the yucatan Peninsula. As soon as they touch land, they were captured by the locan Mayan people and some of them, along with Gonzalo, were sell to slavery and the rest were sacrificed. Gonzallo spend an unknown amount of years as a slave, Gonzalo stared to see the lives of the Maya and stared to learn their language and teach them military techniques to fight against the Spaniards that where slowly colonizing the peninsula. He slowly fell in love with the culture and saved a mayan chief's live from an alligator during a walk. He became a military leader with Mayan battle scars printed on his skin, he wearer the mayan clothes and their earnings. He felt in love with the Mayan chief's daughter and had three children with her. Before dying in battle at the side of the Mayan he wrote to Cortes after he send messengers to save him, he gave them a letter that wrote "For the live that this land of green brought me, I will tell them my brothers (the Spaniards) that I will stay here in the land of my people"
There where actually white samurai and a black one.
A version of Stockholm Syndrome that predates the conceptual term.
@@blackpowderkun Yeah if you take all the incidents between foreigners and Japan, and condensed them into one movie, you basically get The Last Samurai, give or take one or two liberties.
"until the dawn they hold on, only 40 are left at the end.
None alive, none survive shiroyama"
~Sabaton (Shiroyama)
I see you are a man of culture aswell
IMPERIAL FORCE DEFIED, FACING 500 SAMURAI
SURROUNDED AND OUTNUMBERED
60 TO 1, THE SWORD FACE THE GUN
60 TO 1 FACING THE GUN
60 TO 1 CULTURE UNDONE
*end credits*
IN
THE
NAME
OF
GOD!!!
FOR THE GRACE, FOR THE MIGHT OF OUR LORD!
IN THE NAME OF HIS GLORY!
Ugh, Sabaton, comment when you start listening to the Real McKenzies
17:54 Its cool that the guy from shogun 2 is in this movie. So it might actually be something that was said during the battle.
Whoever thought of adding the "shameful display" line from Total War Shogun 2... pure gold! You had me cracking up at home. Liked and subscribed 😆😆😆
18:10 The Shogun 2 Total War audio clip made me chuckle. Nice addition HB :D
It is perfect!
I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING! PLEASE MAKE ME STOP! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
NOOOOOOOOOO
Armand Cowell ah :c
that was awesome
It should be mentioned, that there were still some regulated trades being made with the Dutch during the Sakoku period. Many Japanese learned Dutch from them and some science, as well as news from distant lands, which also explains why they caught up so fast with the rest of the world techwise and were capable of learning English later on. By the way, one of the first interpreters ever sent to America wasn't even surprised with the technology and gadgets he saw.
If you are talking about the first Japanese exhibition to America he was extremely surprised by a lot of things. He was extremely surprised by how technologically advanced they were (not because he saw things he didn't know but instead because he saw how abundant they were) and was most surprised by how wealthy they were. If I remember correctly he was most surprised by the abundance of high quality metal as in America metal scraps and cans litter the ground and beaches while in Japan when a building burns down people flock to grab what ever metal and nails they can as every piece is extremely valuable.
This is one of the best early 2004 or 2005 movies I’ve ever seen. The cinematography, the acting, the score are all grate and is highly underrated and I watch this movie at least once a year. Also please do the last of the Mohicans because that is also a grate one
3:55 that one didn't age quite so well. RIP Matthew Perry (1969-2023)
3:44 “Open the Country. Stop...having it be closed.”
I was thinking the same, with the music as well lol
Heiji Subaru Bill Wurtz is with us always.
I see you are a man of culture as well
@@Ballin4Vengeance I try sometimes.
This is some serious historical foreshadowing
I don't know why but I feel an inexplicable need for a movie about the opening of Japan with Matthew Perry playing Commodore Mathew Perry.
"Come on Japan, could you *be* more isolationist?"
Joey and Ross as clumpsy deckhands, or his closest officers, both would be equally great
They have the same head shape.
I would just like to add that aside from being a great and informative video you have one of the best channel intros I have seen in a while, well done. I love Japanese history and I thoroughly enjoyed this video, thank you for expanding my knowledge and understanding.
I still find the romance arc pure black comedy. "Your husband is dead. Here. Take care of the man who killed him." XD
A friend just told me about this channel and man it's fantastic. Great videos! Educating and entertaining. Well done, Nick!
Nice seeing you here
wtf are you talking about hater?
Why are you here?
I want to like this comment, but then I would ruin the unintentional "Order 66" reference...
Star Wars Explained i
Something that always kinda annoyed we was when people would poke fun at "Tom Cruise being the last samurai", when the title refers to the samurai collectively. (Because there's no plural of the word "samurai.") It's a story about the last samurai as a warrior class, not the last dude who was a samurai.
That was my point: "Samurai" is an invariant noun, so it has no actual plural form. You can have one samurai and you can have seven samurai, but you can't have seven samurais.
Also, while moose is an invariant, coyote isn't as it has the plural form coyotes.
Fervidor Many much, moosen.
Podemos URSS same thing in portuguese..
Even if its singular... The last Samurai was Ken Watanabe's character, wasnt he? I was just a little bit taken out of the movie because Tom Cruise becomes one of the best swordfighters in six months.
Fervidor, it was not Algren it was Saigo Takamura, aka Sakamoto.
People still call this out as “WHITE PERSON IS GOD” movie.
But no. This seems like a movie celebrating the culture, and drama of the time.
And the Japanese sure knew that, after all, according to tom cruise in his interview with Graham.
Due to this movie, he was awarded with a Tom Cruise Day in Japan.
"Because of his love, time and devotion to the country, the poster boy of the Mission Impossible series has October 10 named after him in Japan October 10, 2006 was declared “Tom Cruise Day” in Japan"
Weird how people gotta spin shit to make others feel all bad. Maybe next time i feel like i should help out a minority i should instead just say to myself "dude you think you are a white messiah or something? Take your white privilegded ass back home, nobody wants your help."
Productive.
I seriously doubt if the people who claim that even saw it beyond glancing at the poster (which honestly due to Tom Cruise looming over everything like a giant does kind of give that impression).
I mean at the time, it can be seen as celebrating the culture. But it is definitely romanticised and has this white man's saviour complex in it at the same time.
This is not a "white man adopts exotic culture and saves an inferior race" movie. But the movie poster and most, if not all, of the promotional material that I remember seeing give off the vibe that it is.
It should've had Ken Watanabe wearing the samurai armor front and center, with Tom Cruise off to the side.
You're misinterpreting the "trope." Dances with Wolfes and The Last Samurai are not pro-western films.
Also in this movie it’s Japanese vs. Japanese, as opposed to people fighting an outside invader. It’s very different.
And the fact that the mc in tls EMBRACES the culture (the culture that _saved_ him from his woes and desperation and the ptsd that clinged to his mind and that made him an almost broken man)
As well as the fact that the “white guy” doesn’t effect the outcome.
@@sullivandmitry1416 Total like. Yes, white guy was there. Why was he there? Was this a white savior coming to fulfil the movie trope? No, he was only there because the Japanese government invited and paid him to be there. Did his presence matter? No. Were the samurai even worth preserving into modern times? No. The Japanese government realized that pretty damn quickly. While, OK, America had no technical right to demand opening trade, the Japanese were smart enough (because of the demand, and also they're very smart) to realize just how behind the rest of the planet they were. Jesus, imagine (just for the sake of argument) that the ban to Japan was respected (for some reason) and then the British started landing Harriers in Japan in 2000 xD
oh look the white savior has come to teach us the right way to interprete the movie
I cried twice in this movie: once when watching an ancient tradition get wiped from existence by the single turn of a lever, and another when watching a man we’d seen washed with torture in his dreams finally reach that peace he’d never thought he’d get back
The samurai weren’t wiped out until the nukes fell in 1945. Look into the imperial Japanese army command, nearly all samurai pedigree. Lots sided with the Meiji program because they saw the vision of using modernization to turn their sword outward and bring violence to foreign shores rather than rival feudal daimyo and enjoying archaic feudal rights
@@captainahab9602 Warfare between Daimyou was centuries in the past by this point.
The scene where he spars with the wooden sword gets me every time
Yeah those two scenes hit hard, the battle one I always have to fight tears back.
one guy screamed (literally) when 'bob' died. not anyone else, just bob
If you watch many of the Samurai movies, they use rifles. The Dutch actually introduced the wheel lock musket/rifle to them. The Japanese were so impressed with it that they told their blacksmiths to start making them for the Samurai.
What about matchlocks? How'd that get into Japan?
@@amp8295 matchlocks and cannons arrived in Japan in 1500s through the Portuguese and Dutch merchants and matchlocks were commonly used in their wars afterward. Japan even produced their own matchlocks called Tanegashima.
I do not know much about the Boshin war that is the background of this movie, but I am sure the Japanese were using rifles and cannons and probably gatling guns besides their traditional weapons
The Japanese first had guns in the 1200's from China. But they were simple as hell, basically a hand held tiny cannon.
The Portuguese were stranded on a junk ship in Tanegashima, the Japanese lord of this Island got two of the matchlock firearms off these men (supposedly bought them). He then had the Japanese make them in the thousands, this rendered a European invasion impossible.
If the Japanese didn't do this so quickly then the Japanese without a doubt would have been invaded just like everyone else in Asia was.
Thank you for reminding me why this movie is so great despite being a heartbreaking tale rather than a history lesson. i still cry at the final battle ending every time I see it.
RIP not that Matthew Perry.
My lord our men are running from the battle field. Shameful display.
*Shamefur Dispray
yeah haha
Breaking the Samurai forces in Shogun II Meiji Revolution was very easy. Just go in with Infantry and cannons. Setup a strong defense around your cannons and start shooting. They will come rushing in since they don't have many ranged units. At this time, your infantry and Gatling guns simply mow them down.
+Kevin Smith It all depends which domains you fight..for example I played Satsuma and by the time i got to Aizu and Hokkaido they were pretty advanced. AI upgrades themselves too.
One quick note is that the line about Katsumoto not using guns goes "He NO LONGER uses firearms", meaning that he did do it earlier. This could open up the interpretation that he did indeed run out of ammunition, but simply spun it as a deliberate decision as propaganda.
I always thought that was the purpose of that line.
Absolutely not. Anyone that followed “bushido”, the way of the warrior, could not lie or “spin” the truth. It would dishonour themselves, their family and their ancestors.
Jim Sanderson Oh really? Never lie or spin truth? You need to do some readings.
PatrickOMulligan No. I don’t need to do any reading. I live there for 3 1/2 years. I know what it’s like, been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
Jim Sanderson So living there confers on you knowledge that samurai never betrayef or lied?
I guess you could say that no true Christian would tons of things self proclaimed Christians would do.
The sound track still hits me in the feels. What an excellent movie. I went into this not expecting historic accuracy...the story is still really good and I HATE Tom Cruise.
One of my favorite movies. Even though lots of creative liberties were probably taken, still a fantastic story. A story that needs to be told more often. 🙂
Cool how they made New Zealand look like feudal Japan!!
A little more to the west, or whatever is your catchfrase in Tintin. ;)
Or as Austin Powers put it "Isn't it amazing how England looks in NO way like Southern California?"
And looks quite similar to Middle-Earth too! I swear I saw a hobbit behind the cherry trees in that final battle
New Zealand can look like anything if you need it to be
With enough money (and tax incentives) you can make New Zealand look like anywhere.
one of the few historical movies where even though its completely inaccurate, I couldn't help but like the movie.
Basically the Ridley Historical Fiction category with his films: Gladiator, Robin Hood, and Kingdom of Heaven.
The patriot is not just historically inaccurate, it's an outright attack on it. Nothing but revisionist propaganda, but I still absolutely love the movie for its popcorn cinema qualities
The only thing I didn't like in the movie was that the ministers are portrayed as evil and envious people. They were doing what was best for Japan and they were right for the most part of it. Even the prime minister is portrayed as a rich commoner but in reality he was also a samurai and was bound to defend both the emperor and Japan.
@@nunodasilva5449 Not evil, but they certainly could be greedy. Omura always struck me as someone that would have been lower class under the feudal society. But because he was educated and a superb statesman, he is able to raise his station in a modernized Japan.
The portrail of society, clothes, the places and such where very acurate in the last samurai. The story is fiction sure, but the place and culture of the time is spot on.
The scene of the Samurais dying almost made me cry, it is so emotional.
They were the greatest the greatest warriors of there time and then they become obsolete
HAHAHAHAHA NO THEY WERE THUGS AND CRIMINALS WHO BETRAYED EACH OTHER!
That clip of Chandler was perfectly timed! Despite knowing about the historical Matthew Perry, I can’t help but conjure up the kooky actor