The Last Samurai | Canadians First Time Watching | Movie Reaction | Movie Review | Commentary
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- Опубліковано 12 чер 2024
- Simone & George are reacting to The Last Samurai for the first time! Canadians React!
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00:00 - Intro
00:37 - The Last Samurai
36:10 - Discussion
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I think the title "The Last Samurai" refers to Katsumoto. Algren plays the roll of narrator at times, as if he is telling Katsumoto's story.
Samurai is also plural. It meant the last collection of samurai, not one person
At this time (1876-1880), the Emperor Meiji had assumed the leadership of Japan from the last remnants of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and began the task of modernizing Japan. The role, and the reign, of the Samurai caste was over, hence the Title.
Yes! This is what I've been saying!
Agreed and if Algren truly was a Samurai in custom as well, he would have committed seppuku as well (at least that's what I think).
He's the narrator telling the story about Katsumoto and his warriors.
@@nissy9220 it's a language issue. Western people do t understand that Japanese doesn't have singular and plural language. So they assume it's a singular and then look for this 1 samurai.
Tom Cruise's character wasn't the Last Samurai, Ken Watanabe's was. Algren was the person who carried the Last Samurai's story to the rest of the world
Well said. This is such a truly beautiful film especially the character growth with Algren, and the really lovely performance of Katsumoto and his relationship and how deep everything else is as well. So many great actors and performances
I like to think of it as samurai being plural so they are the last of the samurai
I think it works intentionally as a double meaning. Katsumoto being the literal last Samurai, and his people / tribe being the last to live by the old Samurai ways and traditions
I always saw it as the emperor became the last samurai because he chose "to serve" his people by accepting the heritage of his country and mixing some western elements
Nicely said
Tom Cruise's Japanese was grammatically correct, but with a heavy American accent, stressing the wrong syllables, mispronouncing some consonant sounds hard when they're meant to be soft.
Considering that acquiring phonemes not part of your mother tongue gets increasingly difficult with age, I think he did a great job learning as much as he did in two years.
That was probably intended to be not perfect because he was foreign
Chill big gains and nissy. I was answering George's question at the end of the film about how good Tom Cruise's japanese was.
@@pickthestickup yeh I meant he was probably speaking with an accent on purpose
considering he did good with vowel sounds(which are polar opposites) i'd say it was a fine performance, when i got to the movies i fully expected a butchery of the language. it was at least a respectful portrayal of someone clueless but perceptive, willing to listen
@@biggains1 by "chill" I'm referring to the fact the you both felt the need to comment under my post to "defend" Tom Cruise, when I was strictly talking about his Japanese in the film, not his acting performance.
"little shit?"
So you came here to pick a fight, like a petulant child upset at perceived criticism of your favorite thing.
Truly, who is the little shit here but you?
"I will tell you how he lived" gets me every time. And that all-timer Hans Zimmer score
Particularly the double meaning in response to the Emperor's request: he died just as he lived.
I feel like in reality, Tom Cruise's answer would have been deemed disrespectful of the emperor and he would have been summarily killed on the spot or thrown out of the palace.
@@eXcommunicate1979 Bruh really? That's a shame
1) the last samurai refers to katsumoto. who is a character based on a historical figure called Saigō Takamori
2) the events of this movie are highly stylized. Takamori's rebellion (the historical name is the Satsuma rebellion of 1877) occurred for pretty sorta similar reasons as portrayed in this movie; essentially it was made up of samurai who no longer agreed with the direction the mejii government was moving in, however his side fought with guns (japan made some of the finest flintlock riffles back in the 1600s, when they still traded with the dutch, the japanese samurai were well versed in firearms, and their army's made use of guns, even samurai would carry guns and fight with them, sword fighting by the 1870s-80's was mostly just an "art" it wasn't really a skill of war anymore, which is why so many samurai willingly sided with the government and gave up their swords).
3) Saigo is often considered the "last samurai" in japan, for he apparently died after losing the rebellion in the final battle at Shiroyama when the government army encircled the remains of the rebellion and the rebels fought to the death. Saigo apparently was shot in the leg, and rather then be captured alive committed ritual suicide (according to three eye witnesses) by cutting his belly and having his close friend Beppu Shinsuke cut off his head.
4) this movie is generally viewed favoribly by japanese audiences, not because of the historical accuracy (innacuracy to be truthful), but because of other reasons. One, all the japanese parts were played by actual japanese actors, even the extras. as a result the spoken japanese in the movie is both accurate and well spoken, as they are all native speakers; to say this is rare for a hollywood movie is an understatement, in fact this wouldn't have happened had it not been for tom cruise insisting on it, the original plan was to cast the japanese roles with south koreans, because all s.korean men serve in the military, and the director figured it would be easier to "train" them up for the action/war scenes if they had that type of training. In the end they hired actual japanese actors and put them all through a 2 month bootcamp in the philippines to make them look like proper soldiers. The other reason why japanese audiences like the movie is because while the facts are jumbled the movie seemed to catch the "spirit" of Saigo's last stand and the end of the samurai faithfully if not the facts correct.
Beautifully summarized. ❤️
Also, Tom Cruise is NOT the last samurai. It's more-so about the last days of the samurai. Title is a bit misleading because samurai are both singular and plural.
Is.
i think the correct a better name would be the last days of the samurai instead.
I always took it as Katsumoto as the last samurai.
Katsumoto is the Last Samurai. And it’s Algrens account of what happened. That’s why he narrates the whole story. It’s about Katsumoto and his rebellion from Algrens POV.
@@marcusfridh8489 Here's the thing about naming a movie, having it work on multiple levels like this is actually a benefit, rather than trying to pigeonhole the title to any single meaning.
I think Ken Watanabe is the titular Last Samurai and Tom Cruise is our witness to the events of this period.
@@technopirate304 Like in The Last of the Mohicans, where everyone seems to think that Daniel Day Lewis is the last Mohican, but it's in fact Russell Means, who plays Chingachgook.
The marketing (including the poster arrangement) is largely to blame for this.
@@technopirate304 Samurai isn't a singular word. Japanese doesn't differentiate between singular and plural like English. The last samurai means the end of the samurai period not an individual.
@@ThammuzBabylon It could have been part of Cruise's contract for the film. It's not uncommon for star actor's demand of top billing to include being the primary image in their marketing.
I believe that the person who inherited the soul of the samurai & lived as the samurai is the true samurai regardless of the country.
As “dances with wolves” type films go, this is actually my absolute favorite. Highly romanticized view of the samurai, obviously, but it pulls no punches as to the brutality of the taking of the American west and a guttural of not perfectly accurate portrayal of PTSD and addiction as self medication.
As someone with PTSD, I've certainly come close to acting the way Cruise acts with regard to alcohol, when I was first struggling
Same, wonderful movie, so moving, so powerful. its my favorite movie too!
@@JBWinter Stay strong!
@@ThreadBomb guttural is literally referring to a harsh sounding utterance. I was using it in a metaphorical sense that many of the scenes of Algren coming down from his addictions and dealing with his PTSD were hard to watch and/or hear.
Agree. The worst being avatar
While Last Samurai tries to make the rebellion tradition x modernity. In reality samurai were using firearms heavily ever since portugal traiders brought first arquebuses in 16th century. Also the rebels were not against modern technology, it was much more a question of who will be the "ruling power" in the modern Japan. As Japan was becoming more industrialized the strength of Samurai class was declining while merchant class (previously at the bottom of japanese class system) was becoming the true political power as they could more effectively make money and also afford to equip and train their own armies than samurai could.
The whole "they don't use firearms" comes from Battle of Shiroyama, where 500 samurai made last stand. In this battle samurai didn't use any firearms... but not because they didn't want to, but because they lost several previous battles and during retreat they had to abandon all their artillery and most of their supplies. So by the time of this battle they had no big guns and they were out of ammo for firearms forcing them to go back to melee weapons. The battle was also much more onesided with ~30000 imperial soldiers against ~300-500 samurai. Samurai were wiped out and imperial side lost like 30-50 soldiers and most of them were supposedly due to friendly fire as the imperial general wanted to make sure that none of the samurai could escape.
Also, to add, in reality the samurai caste was rife with corruption. It wasn't uncommon for samurai to murder peasants or rivals over even minor offenses, and get away with it by bribing officials or having their companions lie for then. And, in general, they were often little more than enforcers for local lords.
It never even occurred to me to think that Tom Cruise could be the last Samurai. Algren wasn’t a Samurai. He didn’t just become one because he fought with them. This is a story about the last of an entire culture, tradition, and way of life of a unique people. A beautiful film, with some of my favorite music by Hans Zimmer.
Thank you!
Cruise has enough self awareness not to style HIMSELF that, as it would be unbearably, insufferably pretentious and absurd. It's obviously Watanabe and his group.
@@BJBee Absolutely!
Billy Connolly's wife, acting as his biographer, noted how it takes a true lack of career guile to say what Billy said about this movie - "After I get killed is when the film really takes off".
But she is awesome. He hit the jackpot.
In reality he is a Frenchman and he was not alone, by the way they had Fort Goryōkaku built in Hokkaido, where the last battle took place. They survived because a french cargo ship picked them up in secret, new japan pressured france to punish them (have them executed) france just moved the men to more discreet places and told japan that they had "punished" them
@@airaliensoft1835 Bit sad how desperate you are to let everyone know that despite it not fitting into the conversation at all.
@@goldytwatus1674 Unnecessary and rude.
“Tell me how he died?”
“I will tell you how he lived.”
Beautiful moment to end the film. This is Tom Cruise’s best performance imo.😭
I appreciate it so much, when Taka is closing the door the night before battle. Not giving the main character a "deserved" sex scene before his possible death, makes the movie for me so much better. And when she's dressing him, is one of the most romantic scenes I've ever seen.
deserved I don't know but it is expected in too many movies. it realy is much better for story telling that they showed the dressing part and how gentle she was.
@@Humstuck Yeah, that's why I've put the "deserved" in quotes.
Yeah, movies are very often so predictable about this. That's why it's so refreshing here. :)
The dressing is especially emotional. It's likely that she previously dressed her husband before he went to fight in the battle that resulted in his death. She could have been thinking of him too... Best scene in the movie
I do like the scene and so glad they went with something clearly still intimate without being as crass as the cliched sex scene, however for me the better scene is between Algren and the son, where he gets upset and cries and Algren comforts him. That kid actor nails it and it hits me in the gut every time.
"And when she's dressing him, is one of the most romantic scenes I've ever seen". Yes. Absolutely beautiful the way they did that. That scene was more erotic than many sex scenes. And Koyuki Kato (Taka) is stunning.
If I remember right it is somewhat based on real history. At one point there was a french captain who indeed was sent there to train imperial troops, was captured and ended up falling in love with their culture. There was also a group of samurai who revolted when japan started to westernize, I think during the Meiji period. Thing is these 2 events happened hundreds of years apart so the movie is essentially taking those 2 stories, mixing them together and embelishing them
Yeah and the whole Samurai don't use guns thing is pure fiction they had started using guns shortly after they were imported by the Dutch if I remember right.
These two events you mentioned were around 10 years apart and the french Captain was hired by the Shogun to train his troops.
The movie mixed the begin (Tom Cruise trains the imperial troops) and the end of the rebellion (the last battle) together.
The "event" a few hundret year befor was a british navigator/pilot, but he just lost his ship and wasnt there to train the imperial troops.
@@AGD_27 yea samurai were using guns in the 1600s. The revolt was based on power shift. Samurai where in charge and during the Meiji period they no longer were.
So the Last Samurai is really about the First Weeaboo? That's amazing.
@@AGD_27 They took their first guns from the Portuguese. The Dutch came after they kicked the Portuguese out for being to pushy with religion.
My favorite stand-alone movie, hits everything "just right" for me. Perfect balance of drama, action, humor and everything. Really appreciate the restraint shown during the Nathan - Taka relationship, wasn't cheapened by forcing it to progress faster or further. All around great cast; my favorite Cruise performance (and character) and really made me a big fan of Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada in particular. And of course it's just _beautiful_, especially in Katsumoto's village.
Feel like this movie is finally getting the appreciation I think it deserves, not that it did poorly or was panned or anything but used to just hear endless complaints about historical inaccuracies and such as if it was trying to be a documentary. Nah, it knew what it was doing and it did it pretty much perfectly.
As a friend pointed out when this first came out, this movie perfectly pays homage to the action movie traditions of both the USA and Japan. The American main character survives every wound, while all the Japanese main characters have good deaths.
Though I have always viewed Katsumoto as the Last Samurai... Algren was just to tell the story.
I believe that the person who inherited the soul of the samurai & lived as the samurai is the true samurai regardless of the country.
Yep my thoughts exactly. The Samurai were no more at the end point of the movie. Now, that doesn't mean that in any other setting that Tom Cruise' character could NOT become a samurai. Remember the story of the African man who wound up in Japan and became a samurai? Thats based off a true story (they made an anime based around it last year too)
In reality he is a Frenchman and he was not alone, by the way they had Fort Goryōkaku built in Hokkaido, where the last battle took place. They survived because a french cargo ship picked them up in secret, new japan pressured france to punish them (have them executed) france just moved the men to more discreet places and told japan that they had "punished" them. the real story is much better than this movie
“At least the decapitate you afterward”
It was often the closest friend who would decapitate you, it was a kindness to put the out of their misery.
The person doing the decapitation is called Kaishaku (helper?). That is a basic technique (kata) taught in many Japanese sword schools.
It was a very high responsibility to be Kaishaku as the technique to properly cut was not simply decapitation (as usually wrongly shown in movies). It was not straight decapitation but to have the head still attached with some skin/flesh to the body and only once hitting the ground the head would be allowed to part from the torso as a simple decapitation would seem like something only worthy of dishonorable criminals and the like.
A 'botched' Seppuku could be so damaging to the honor of the Kaishaku that his own Seppuku would be deemed the proper way to restore honor.
@@mrnice81 wasn't it also done, besides being a mercy stroke, to basically save face for the individual committing seppuku? To preserve their honour so that no shame would show on their face as death took them?
@@chrispeel3123 Ah, yes, though as i read it it could depend on the severity of how honorable the seppuku had to be and what time period. Basically it was necessary to not show pain while doing it and at earlier periods the cut in the stomach was actually supposed to be L shaped ... if a lot of honor had to be restored then the decapitation would be delayed sometimes up to when the Samurai seemed to have stopped moving/breathing. But that was obviously a hell lot to ask for and the rules got simpler and easier. Later only a short horizontal cut was necessary and as soon as it was done the decapitation followed. And it got even further to the point that just stabbing the stomach was the sign for the decapitation.
In the end it was even completely formalized to a ritual in the meaning of there not even be the need for a blade, the sign to decapitate could be as agreed upon beforehand to be something as simple as picking up a fan while in the ritual set-up/setting, to show the willingness to commit to the ritual.
Its a fascinating topic ... and a frightening one. I mean, you could be asked to kill yourself for someone under your command fucking up in some cases... now let that sink in, people from middle management!
FYI, this (Americanized) story was inspired by actual events surrounding a French soldier, Jules Brunet.
It was the combination of a French and American. You're ignoring half of it.
Samurai is plural as well as singular so the last Samurai could be a singular person or group.
This is such an underrated movie. I consider it a new modern classic. It’s a shame Tom Cruise didn’t win an Oscar for his performance.
Best thing Cruise has ever done. I loved him in this.
Yes it is. This film changed my attitude towards Tom Cruise. He can be a polarizing individual, but one thing's for sure, he's a damn good actor, and this is perhaps his best performance...
Tom Cruise hasn’t won an Oscar since year 2000 because of his criticism of the Academy..Politics matter more than talent and performance, as usual
@@YODAJJ Tom hasn't won an Oscar ever. Perhaps you mean that he hasn't been nominated by the Academy since 2000.
In reality he is a Frenchman and he was not alone, by the way they had Fort Goryōkaku built in Hokkaido, where the last battle took place. They survived because a french cargo ship picked them up in secret, new japan pressured france to punish them (have them executed) france just moved the men to more discreet places and told japan that they had "punished" them. the real story is much better than this movie
“When I took this, you were… my enemy.” - one of my favorite lines in all of cinema.
Isn't that a great line? It's such an indirect way to basically say "you're now my bestest fwiend", but it makes sense when you consider he's Japanese (Japanese are known for talking very indirectly).
I know that the word "masterpiece". Is thrown around a lot on the Internet. But this film 100% earned that tilte. The Last Samurai never fails to make me cry. Not to mention the epic music from Hans Zimmer.
This movie is on par with Gladiator and Braveheart for me.
This is my Triumvirate of Epic movies with an hearthwrenching story.
only in history the last samurai other "than ken wanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada and the japanese actors" was french
The story is based close-ish on the Satsuma Rebellion by Saigo Takamori. It was in many ways about the legal status of Samurai who were becoming obsolete, and a power struggle between various factions in the newly forming government, but the rebels were not nearly as hardcore traditional as in the movie.
Also right before Meiji era, the ruling body fractured and different sides (one side representing the Shogunate and the other the Imperial government) used the samurai, as their key solders, and lower classes for their main solders, like in times of old, against each other, rivaling for powers, and for ultimate control of Japan. After winning, the body that came to be the heart of the Imperial Meiji ruling body, then began to discard the same samurai and their culture, which helped them win the revolution. Here this film fictionally depicts the “last” of the samurai who was abandoned by their government, after having served it, to help bring about the Meiji Era. Essentially it was the time where Japan was transitioning from the feudal system to where the government was centralized, and all powers given to the emperor and the new system of prefectures, under Imperial control, and new oligarchy-- bringing the end to the Shogunate and the Daimyos that use to control Japan.
"Yeah, Sudoku." This really made my day. Thank you so much for it. :)
And yes, regarding seppuku, a friend was meant to behead you, after you stabbed yourself in the stomach with your sword, then pulled the sword upwards, turned it and continued cutting to the side. After a dishonoroble action (like being defeated without dying), this was meant to proof that you are capable of doing what is needed, no matter what (which the dishonorable action suggested you couldn't). Doing it freed your relatives from the suspicion and shame probably being cowards (too).
Btw., the other name for it, harakiri, is half english. Hara is the japanese word for belly, while kiri is an speach-to-text adaption of killing.
Tom Cruise's character wasn't the last Samurai. Katsumoto was; or, arguably, since the singular and the plural are the same in Japanese, the whole samurai army were the last Samurai.
Anyway, the story is loosely based on real events. Katsumoto is based upon Takemori Saigou, and Algren is based upon a Frech military officer, Jules Brunet.
One of my absolute favorite movies. I love the culture aspects. When Tom Cruise is getting told about "no mind" during his sword training, a very core Buddhist philosophy.
I believe the emperor wore one glove so that he had a hand he could touch someone with without making skin to skin contact.
Tom Cruise was not the last samurai in my opinion, he was the narrator of the tale of the last samurai, plural.
Having lived with them, learned about their culture, and fought with them, he went back to live a peaceful life, without his nightmares.
I think Ken Watanabe deserved an oscar for that death scene alone though.
First time I watched this film was in Japan, my hosted family showed me and we all cried together which I think is a sign of how accuereted this film is
I love this movie. I was a full-contact Tae Kwon Do instructor for many years and this movie perfectly sums up the "Do", the spirit or essence of honor in the martial tradition. Beautiful rendition.
It gets a lot of flack because some idiots dont know how Japanese language works (no plurals) but it's Tom Cruise's best film imo.
Also, i wish i could be as beautiful as Ken Watanabe.
Edward Zwick is a super talented director especially when it comes to war films, the choreography of the extras, outfits/costumes, and the authenticity of the weapons training.
He also directed Glory if you guys hadn't reacted to it already.
They replayed the sword fight scene to show that he remembered he didn't kill one guy during fight and at the end was expecting to be attacked from behind.
i like to think that Katsumoto is the last samurai, not Algren. in some sense he is just an observer to the events that occur in the movie. ofc its not historically accurate at all but i still think its well made
The title of the movie uses the plural form of Samurai (Japanese doesn't have a means of distinguishing between singular and plural). So it's basically a story about "The Last of the Samurai", thus "The Last Samurai".
This is up there as a candidate for my favorite movie of all time. A well written emotionally resonant screenplay, gorgeous cinematography, top notch choreography of fight scenes (w/ no CGI), an exquisite score and a top notch cast with magnificent performances. Not to mention a film that beautifully honors Japanese culture.
Katsumoto was the last samurai. The American colonel was Tom Cruise commander in the army. The colonel ordered them to attack an Indian "winter" camp, which is mainly occupied by women, children, and the old. That is the shame and horror that drove him to drink. Seppuku, roughly translated means belly cutting, is a form of suicide and was originally reserved for the samurai. A full ceremony would mean making one long cut. You would shove the knife in on the left side, cut across to the right, and then downward at an angle to the left. Very painful as you can imagine. A friend, a commander, or an enemy who thought you fought honorably would then cut your head off before you dishonored yourself from the pain. Katsumoto did not want to suffer the shame of defeat or of dying from his wounds, so Tom helped him commit seppuku. Sex at that time was not performed nude, but wearing robes. You ought to check out Shogun, a five-part, 10-hour long miniseries about a British sailor who washed up in feudal Japan. There is so little English spoken in it that you could almost speak Japanese at the end. It won many many awards the year it came out.
LMAO @ when you said " Now do you think Tom Cruise requested to be shot at actually when filming the training scene?" Love you guys
Landed in Japan in 1867 to train the samurai regiments there, the Frenchman Jules Brunet ended up embracing their cause, joining the insurrection against the emperor. A century and a half later, he will inspire the character of Nathan Algren, portrayed by Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai.
5:46 Fun Fact: The script for Tom ended on the line “I will kill him.” The rest is pure improv and it scared everybody. xD
That "she closes the door.." line is ones of y'all's funniest moments 😂
Ken Watanabe is just the personification of charm In this film and was my introduction to him. Probably my favourite Tom Cruise film but he does get out shown in it.
The combination of the acting, the music, the cinematography make this a brilliant film.
I've had a crush on him for almost two decades lol. I point my eyeballs at anything he's in. Such a beautiful, elegant man, with so much screen presence. He could hold his own in a scene with any Hollywood actor, and not get overshadowed.
I love Hiroyuki Sanada in this movie. Always bringing in his samurai skills in the movies we see him in.
He fought against and with Tom Cruise in this movie.
He fought Hugh Jackman in The Wolverine.
He fought with Keanu Reeves in 47 Ronin.
He fought Hawkeye briefly in Endgame.
Fought Jackie Chan in Rush Hour 3.
Fought Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat.
He had to drop out of the third John Wick film, but he's in the fourth one.
Please watch “Empire of the Sun” by Steven Spielberg. It’s about A British boy living in China when the Japanese invaded and his growing up in a prison camp in occupied China. It’s a powerful movie showing the horrors of the occupation. It’s a beautifully shot movie.
Epic movie
I remember seeing it as a kid and when I watched it as an adult a few years ago I was like...holy shit that kid was Christian Bale! Lol
@@SouthPaw718 same
My favorite part about this movie is actually the quiet moments. There is such beautiful acting between Katsumoto & Algren, and Algren & Taka. The subtleties and nonverbal communication is really amazing; I find that I rewatch those parts more than the battles.
You speak my mind. It's the perfect example of Show Not Tell. It's such elegant, quiet, beautiful storytelling. Taka dressing him before battle is one of the most gorgeously intimate scenes I've ever witnessed. She obviously dressed her husband before his death, and that scene says so much, without a word.
Which is a huge nod to Japanese culture. So much even in the language is implied. Like, if I were to ask a friend out and they weren’t keen, they’d said something like, “あー、ちょっと. . . ” (aa, chotto) which just means “oh, a little” but in Japanese it’s a full sentence translated to something like “yeesh, I’m wicked flattered, but that really would be way to forward” I don’t remember if it was this film, but there was a remark made by a gaijin in some film where they remark about a country who has such a strict language, no one actually says what they mean
Some of temple shots for the 'talks' were filmed in Koyasan a very beautiful Buddhist sanctuary near Osaka open for tourists.
"A man can spend his whole life looking for the perfect cherry blossom, and it would be a life well spent."
But in the end of all things...
"Perfect. They're all perfect."
I had a high school teacher, whom had suffered more than enough loss and trauma for a single person, that would often quote this to us. Live a life that brings you happiness and peace.
17:56 In martial art, there can be a moment when you can foresee how your opponent will move before the fight even begin. and I think that is what happened. This shows that Algren starting to adopt the mentality of a sword practitioner.
24:24 I believe that this scene represents the 'No Mind' state. Algren just moves without thinking and fights with instinct. And his mind only processes what he has done when the fight calms down.
You two should watch the first season of True Detective. It's an anthology crime drama series, with one story by season, and the first one starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson is absolutely perfect, in every way possible. One of the best seasons of any series, ever.
I've always seen "The Last Samurai" as primarily plural, referring to the entire class of warriors and their traditions, and secondarily as a reference to Katsumoto. Algren is just an avatar for the audience and a messenger for Katsumoto and his followers.
The Last Samurai is my absolute favorite Tom Cruise film. And despite the poster and all marketing featuring him and his face, he is not the main character nor is he actually “the last samurai”. It is in fact Katsumoto (Watanabe) who is the main character and the men who follow him who are the true last Samurai. It is the Samurai who save Nathan Algren and his soul and he is there to bear witness to their era coming to an end.
I don’t care if this film romanticizes the Samurai, in truth, it made me look more in Japanese culture and respect their past and history. It’s a fascinating film and easily one of my favorite movies of all time.
The premise of this film resembles Kevin Costner's "Dances With Wolves" (1990), while the battles are in the same realm as Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" (1995) & "The Patriot" (2000). Director Edward Zwick also made "Glory" (1989), which has a similar vibe. I recommend all four since you enjoyed this movie; just stick to the theatrical cuts.
The miniseries SHOGUN would be worth a watch, if on the longer side
Every time I see clips of this movie, I think of the "Shogun" TV series, from 1980. Before 'The Lord of the Rings' movies, there was those type of 12 hour TV movies/Miniseries filmed all at the same time. It was based on "Shogun" the James Clavell novel, about a 1600's navigator shipwrecked in Japan, and how he becomes a Samurai, and his part in helping the Shogun reunite Japan under one military ruler, while the Emperor was more of a figure head of the country.
An absolutely amazing novel, if I recall correctly, a fictionaluzed retellling of the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate, starting with Ieyasu.
Cruise delivering as usual, Watanabe absolute perfection, Sanada again being the overall badass. Plus Seiko Futomoko, a man who died so many times on film that Sean Bean looks like the plot-armored Last Girl from every horror movie, as Bob.
What a beautiful film.
The historical accuracy was very much all over the place. It was based in the widest sense on real history, but obviously extremely Hollywoodized.
Unsurprisingly, there was no American Samurai like the main character here, and most of the events showcased were fictional. But the core of the movie - a rapidly changing Japan stuck between the modern world and traditions, was true to reality. And there was a similar rebellion towards the end of the 19th century since the Samurai caste was resisting giving up its power and influence to a democratic form of government.
Not got enough disposable income to support the patreon each month but do love your guys content. Would love to see you react to the movie hacksaw ridge or unbroken, both movies set in the Pacific campaign of ww2, both harrowing, but both beautiful stories.
Letters from Iwo Jima as well...
An interesting nite, hiroyuki sanada was actually much preferred in Japan to play Katsumoto yet chose his character to be the master swordsman. Algrens character also (very loosely) replaces a French Colonel who's grandfather was a survivor of the battle of Waterloo in the cavalry. The movie is based upon the Satsuma Rebellion. One of the three nobles who restored the emperor rebelled against the westernization of Japan and the greed that was infesting their government.interesting to see that song years after Saigo Takamoris death the emperor pardoned him and had statues commissioned throughout Japan
"Bob" was played by Fukumoto Seizo. Fukumoto was (he died in 2021) a kirareyaku, it translates into something like "cut down actor," an actor that specializes in dying on screen (there is more but that is the basic idea). In samurai movies these were the "no name" extras that acted as fodder to add to the body count, but in time they developed their own sort of style for dramatically dying and it became its own specialization. In 2014 there was a movie called Uzumasa Limelight about such a samurai movie kirareyaku at the end of his career. New acting and film making methods along with CGI technology were starting to make his art obsolete. It stars Fukumoto, and while fictional is heavily influenced by his and other kirareyaku's life stories. As many others have said, I see Katsumoto not Algren as the "last samurai" and it is through Algren that we witness the story. The movie is supposed to based on the rebellion of Saigo Takamori although there is virtually nothing in this movie that lines up with the actual history.
Yabusame (or mounted archery) requires uniquely shaped saddle stirrups that brace a riders feet. The stirrups on samurai horses are more flat like platforms, which absorb the up and down motions of the horse, which in turn gives said rider more stability in his aim.
There’s one brad Pitt movie out there that I love that came out in ‘94 called Legends of the fall that I’ve never seen anyone react to. It’s drama, romance with some war and western thrown in to round it out. I think it would really pull at your heartstrings, it was done amazingly, and the acting was just phenomenal. I really thing you guys should give it a go, or at least put it to a vote lol.
Regarding Algren's job at the beginning of the movie, yes he was considered a war hero. Back in those days people like Algren were basically celebrities, so having him hawk rifles would be the same as having a movie star be a spokesperson for your product today, like George Clooney with Nespresso coffee.
The reason Algren wanted the soldiers to wait before firing in the first battle wasn't so much because of better aim. Actually it was kind of the opposite. Knowing that the conscripts had terrible aim he wanted the samurai to get close enough that when the soldiers did fire at them, it would be a wall of lead. It wouldn't have mattered how bad their aims were, as the sheer amount of bullets in the air at the same time would have mowed the samurai down. Of course, because the soldiers panicked, they started firing individually against Algren's orders, completely throwing away the 'wall of lead' advantage.
Also because the first shot fired meant the barrels were clean and the guns should be loaded properly. It was going to be the best shot they would get. As battle went on the barrels would get fouled, reducing accuracy and making loading more difficult. Men could panic and fail in the proper loading sequence, leaving rammers in barrels, forgetting to prime the piece before firing, etc.
The best chance of a wall of lead was definitely going to be the first shot if discipline had held.
Definitely add Blood Diamond by Ed Zwick
The scene where Katsumoto dies, and all soldiers from the Imperial Army bows down always sends me shivers. The message is very strong and symbolic.
8:58 former Martial arts practitioner and aficionado here. The practice of seppuku as seen here is pretty accurate. Normally a friend (or even a foe, as they would also respect your decision) would be there to cut your head off if you couldn't finish the act of disembowelling yourself (which is obviously excruciatingly painful). It was seen as honourable and an act of mercy to assist.
Two Samurai films I highly recommend are “13 Assassins”, and the Japanese Samurai remake of the Clint Eastwood western “Unforgiven”. Both are top notch samurai films.
Ed Zwick knows how to direct a historical war epic (Glory, Legends of the Fall, Last Samurai)
24:30 that fight scene - it's not entirely clear, but it's supposed to be Tom replaying the fight in his head, and realizing one of the attackers is not dead.
Delirium tremens,
also called DTs or alcohol withdrawal delirium (AWD), is a severe type of withdrawal from alcohol. It usually starts about 2 to 3 days after someone who’s dependent on alcohol ends a long drinking binge.
Damnit! I can't even watch a reaction to this film without tearing up. Underrated MASTERPIECE!
Not albino tigers - Snow tigers. Yes, they exist in japan too.
Learn some more about life in Japan after its first contact with the west - the turmoil depicted in this movie is a sort of romantic portrait of actual struggles in Japanese society.
This movie is one of my top 3 favorites, right after Master and Commander and Saving private Ryan
Uhhhhh no. Tigers exist in Japan like... in zoos. Not in the wild. There is an extinct kind of big cat called the Wahnsien Tiger that may possibly have lived wild in Japan but the last of them went extinct about 10-12 thousand years ago.
I love this movie so much and the casting is nothing short of spot on. The scene where the samurai first charge through the woods gives me chills every time. Probably why I have played through Ghost of Tsushima 3 times.
Some facts:
- Tom Cruise trained for around 6 months just for the fight against all those men.
- Bob was a retired and super well known actor that came from retirement just for this movie.
- The guy that built Tom's sword is a 3rd or 5th generation sword maker. He build the place were he made the sword.
- Took 3 days to film the first battle through the fog (my favorite part)
One part I always look forward is when the woman dresses Tom Cruise. All the movements were so precise. I found it super sensual.
I purchased the Soundtrack, which I love listening to blasting my ears.
GREAT reaction. Simone as usual is super adorable :)
I think this is Cruise's best work, even with all the later stuff he tried to do to show he was a real "actor", just think as an actor he was meant to play this character and only he could have pulled this off in a realistic, believable way. Still my favorite TC movie by a mile. Great action, great authenticity, the romance is so subtle and real that it is believable. The cast and direction was incredible, and when they were speaking Japanese the subtitles are so good and efficient as an English speaker, I never lost the plot. Really underrated film that never got the do it deserves. Name me any pre-20th century great Japanese period pieces that have made any popular impact since Shogun?
Watch Born on the Fourth of July, which is older than this movie, and for which Cruise was Oscar nominated for Best Actor. He's never to show he was a real actor: he is one. I love this movie though. So elegant, so beautiful, so brutal.
24:52 they replayed it to show him recalling it, that’s why he was prepared for the last guy to get up behind him, he recalled defeating the other 3 but not that last one.
Also, Tom Cruise was not the titular last Samurai, he was never officially a Samurai, Katsumoto and the rest of his people were the last Samurai.
This is based loosely (“Hollywood adaptation”) on true events, Tom Cruise’s character was actually a Frenchman, but he didn’t fight alongside the Samurai at the end. The battle at the end was based on the battle of Shiroyama (I learned about this from Swedish metal band, Sabaton), which was the end of the Satsuma Rebellion and the end of the Samurai culture. The rebellion was in protest at the bringing in of modern western culture and ideas, the Samurai stood against full transition over traditionalism. The scene where they ride through the town returning Algren to his “employers”, the reason the townspeople fled and cowered was because the Samurai were a higher caste in the ancient Japanese classes, the townspeople were considered peasants below the Samurai.
Although Hollywood of course took liberties with the storytelling, this is one of the best movies I’ve seen, definitely great visually and the score by Hans Zimmer is fantastic (as his tend to be). Ken Watanabe for me was the star of the show, though Tom Cruise was fantastic too… it’s often said, he may be a little bit bonkers as a person, but when it comes to movies he is a consummate professional who demands the highest levels from everyone that he works with.
Regarding the decapitation of the elderly general, sometimes in honourable seppuku, a fellow samurai will decapitate the man (after he has made the full disemboweling cut) in order to spare him the agony of his death throes.
My 4th favorite movie of all time. It only loses to pulp fiction, the godfather and platoon. When you talk about beauty, its probably the most beatifull movie of them all
24:52 They replayed the scene to show that Captain Algren didn't have anything in mind while he was fighting (the "no mind" advice), but after his enemies were down he finally used his mind to count how many enemies approached him and which ones he actually killed: that's when he realized that there was one enemy left right behind him, then he quickly turned around to block such enemy's strike and kill him.
I really loved this movie, the thing that gets me every time is the music. The score for this movie is so emotionally powerful and impactful. There has rarely been such a perfect score for a movie.
Love this movie. One of Cruise's best performance. My first introduction to Ken Watanabe...also amazing. My only complaint was the lack of archery in the final battle/charges. Samurai were first and foremost archers.
This is my favorite movie!! :) The more-true story is the life of a French officer named Jules Brunet.
This movie is what got me interested in the Samurai at all. While it isn't very historically accurate, it did what it needed to to encourage people like me to want to learn more about the subject.
Now I am actually building my own suit of Samurai armour out of steel, using accurate templates and months and months of research into the different styles of armour. It's been an incredible experience so far.
How far have you gone, Nate? Is it complete? What happens when it is?
As many others have already said, Katsumoto and his men were the last samurai. Also the movie is based on the real life Satsuma Rebellion, which pitted traditional samurai vs modernizing Japan. The ending the war culminated the same way with a suicidal Banzai charge, but basically everything else is glamorized and romanticized. The rebel samurai had absolutely no compunction against using guns and cannons themselves, for example.
I love that he said sudoku instead of seppuku 😂. Tickled me that one.
While Japan did ask for help from the west in banking and engineering etc, America was not used to train it's army. I believe that was left to Germany and France (I believe), but not to the extent that is in the film. I think the US was more involved in the finance. Not everything was happening at the same time. I believe the story was taken from letters of a French clerk in Japan at that time.
It took his dying breathe to find a perfect cherry blossom. They were always perfect. He just didn't realize it until it was too late.
This is so well done. I can’t say enough good things about this movie.
This movie gets me every time! Also, I have always thought that the fight choreography in this movie was REALLY amazing!
This movie is about Satsuma Rebellion. Katsumoto is real life of Saigō Takamori.
Possibly his best movie. Beautiful work of art.
For these types of movies it goes: 1) The Last of the Mohicans 2) The Last Samurai 3) Dances with Wolves 100) Avatar
19:52 The complete change in perception and behavior towards Algren. The respectful greeting from the guards. He is no longer the ignored Gaijin. He has shown that he went to the extreme of risking his own life in defense of Katsumoto. There is no more radical change.
This also has a very similar story structure to 'Shogun'.. a TV mini series about an English sailor that gets shipwrecked in Japan. Would definitely recommend that one for a watch. The book really gets into the Japanese mentality of the time and would help to understand things like samurai and the caste system that predated this.
The book was amazing. My brother doesn't like books and reading. He read this one.
This is the closest thing we got from a modern Kurosawa movie
One of the only few films to ever get me emotional. Still get goosebumps for certain scenes each time
24:52 - i think it’s meant to show that he acted so quickly on pure instinct that it took a few moments of reflection after the fact for him to gain conscious awareness of how it went down and realize there was one enemy left whom he had not fatally wounded.
This flick was directed by Ed Zwick. Another Ed Zwick you guys should react to is Legends of the Fall. Classic film.
From the same director, Glory, about American Civil War, just as impacting and amazing cast.
There's a good chat on a talk show called "Parkinson" with Cruise and Connelly talking to Parky about the film - as well as other things from Connelly which gets Cruise laughing a lot at the same time during it all . . .
Before he says you could spend a lifetime looking for the perfect blossom and it wouldn't be a life wasted. Then at the end he says, they are all perfect.
Actually the title "The Last Samurai" refers neither Nathan Algren nor Moritsugu (森次) Katsumoto (且元 or 勝元) but to all Samurai in the movie. Samurai is both singular and plural. The movie's plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the Seinan War (西南戦争, Seinan Sensō), a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era (明治時代, Meiji jidai) an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The revolt lasted from January 29, 1877, until September 24 of that year, when it was decisively crushed, and its leader, Saigō Takamori (Takanaga) (西鄕 隆盛 (隆永), January 23, 1828 - September 24, 1877), was shot and mortally wounded.
Why the revolt? Because in the eyes of the Samurai, the westernization also Europeanisation or occidentalization of Japan by foreign powers, (though in the film the United States is portrayed as the primary force behind the push for westernization.) was a threat to both Japan, to them and to ther way of life that Japanese people followed for thousand of years.
Like the Picts, the Gaels, The Britons..., the Native American tribes, the colonisation of Africa, Australia, Indochine... the occidentalization of Japan by us (Western Europe and USA) kill the cultures, languages, tradition of those countries. It is one of the greatest sins of mankind.
Just watched this again... overall good movie... like another film of that era, does a perfect job of communicating a culture to the audience. They could have easily called it "Dances with Swords."