Everyone who has been looking forward to the new series "Movie reviews from Japan", thank you very much for waiting! If there are any other movies that you would want me to review, please let me know in the comments! ・ In this channel, you can take a closer look at Japanese traditional culture, tips upon traveling to Kyoto, and social problems in Japan. So learners and lovers of Japanese language and culture, be sure to subscribe to enjoy more content! Please check out the description box for more videos recommended for you! ▼Join our Membership▼ ua-cam.com/channels/n7DCb9ttrcw9h3vh9dfnVw.htmljoin ▼Sub channel “Shogo’s Podcast”▼ ua-cam.com/channels/ZAe1VayWxp5NLO4Net78DA.html ▼Instagram▼ instagram.com/lets_ask_shogo/ *Please ask me questions through the DM here!（⚠️I do not use e-mail） Thank you again very much for watching!
Akira Kurosawa films would be good. Yojimbo, his take on spaghetti westerns, was pretty cool. But seven samurai was good too. I dunno, he has a lot of good films 😊 love this new series already Shogo 💜
Please do Seven Samurai or The Hidden Fortress. Drunken Angel. There are so many with so many great actors but this is but a few. The movie Ran would also be very good.
I watched this movie when I started learning Japanese as a kid. My sensei, an older gentleman from Hiroshima, said it made him cry. Regardless of historicity, it really is an interesting portrayal of international exchange and cultural identity.
History Buffs' video has a pretty good summary of it, that boiled down to something like "while it is incredibly factually inaccurate to the historical details of the Satsuma Rebellion, it is extremely thematically accurate to the mood and emotions running throughout the country at the time".
You should look up a channel voices of the past and listen to the story of a Japanese man in America during the 18th century. It's worthy of a movie. Check it out buddy!
@@samojede6776 The most interesting part of the movie, for me,was the time Ahlgren spends with Katsumoto as a hostage, when they slowly start to understand each others way of thinking through their conversations, and discover, much to their own surprise, a lot of similarities as well as some striking differences in how to deal with hardships.
I think the reason that they had more Sengoku era armour and weapons was a conscious decision by the filmmakers to show the contrast between the more western army and the traditionalist samurai
As it relates to archers vs gyns as impossible, look up the war between zulus and british soldiers, how they gave britain a hard time despite british soldiers having guns.
Films often ignore “historical accuracy” in favor of the use of visual language. Two good example are this film and Braveheart. When, in reality, both sides of a battle really wouldn’t look all that different from each other, if becomes very muddy in terms of storytelling. So putting the Samurai in traditional armor or the Scots in Kilts is a way of making it easy to tell who is who and what is happening on screen.
I mean they could at least, for once in a while, attempt to show two sides with different colors of their lord(s) and actual formations and line battles. That would already help immensly with understanding who is who, and even if sometimes you don't and it gets chaotic, that's just another gruesome aspect of war.
"True Bushido is not about throwing yourself into a reckless battle and dying." Japanese generals using bushido to justify ordering suicidal "banzai" charges during WWII: "This is awkward." (Joking aside, great movie review Shogo!)
my dad hated japanese stuff, so, for me was very hard to share any of the stuff i love related to them, like anime, manga, games, architecture, painting and sculpture, fortunately this movie gave me the opportunity to share something with him, in fact he loved it, it was the last movie i saw with him before he passed away.
@Kurotetsu while Dreamer’s opinion is blunt and likely founded in ignorance, to say anime is better than western media is entirely subjective. Instead of saying one is better than the other we should just agree that different people like different things.
@@zedtheexplorer5206 it's better only because it's a more versatile and widely used medium than western cartoons, the sheer amount of anime that exists compared to western cartoons are a big factor. It covers the most cookie cutter topic to some of the most experimental experience on Earth. There is no denying that most anime are garbage (like 97% more or less), but it also have more of those gems as a result. Indeed it is subjective, people's standards of what is considered "better" is up to each individuals. To be honest I don't even think the 2 are that comparable, although I think it's okay for someone to say one is better than the other especially on a specific aspect.
You can tell the director took more care to aim for authenticity than typical Hollywood productions, even if he didn't hit the mark perfectly. I think it's an overall very enjoyable movie with a high production quality, acting, music. I agree I can't help but tear up a bit at the final battle scene. Also I liked Nathan's personally story. He felt lost and troubled but unexpectedly found peace with the Samurai. In a way they "saved" him.
I grew up (and lived in) the city in NZ that majority of the film was shot in, and the scene near the beginning where Alden is standing next to a target yelling at the soldier to fire, was actually filmed on a cricket pitch in the main park in the centre of the city 😅 one of the guys who worked on the film fell in love with the city and moved there permanently with his wife, and operates a very successful sushi restaurant and sake bar, and a second sushi train in the local mall. It'll always have a nice place in my heart for that, even if the movie isn't historically accurate.
Little fun fact, an old friends great (add a few more greats) grandfather was told to fire on woman and children but refused and was able to convince his superiors to move them west, saving my own great grandmother. Our families moved to complere different areas, but hundreds of years later we ended up in school together
"Tell me how he died." "I will tell you how he lived." That transcends all the inaccuracies because how someone lives is beyond boundaries and timeless.
Which is funny because Nathan basically betrayed the Emperor by allying with Katsumoto if even from a political standpoint. Yet with Katsumoto being his former "mentor" Meiji seemingly switches sides and reject's America's proposal despite how powerful and wealthy they've already made him and the Country at that point. My biggest problem with this film is how unbearably seriously it takes itself whilst taking almost all of the liberties with various source material's.
I always thought it was poetic that the samurai had outdated armor in the movie when fighting to the end. Last Samurai is an amazing movie and I honestly wish there was a 4k restoration of this masterpiece.
Although the armour is wildly outdated and ahistorical for the Satsuma Rebellion, I have to give them credit for actually having pretty good armour overall. Sure, it more like the armour from Nobunaga's time, but at least it looked like actual historical armour, which is a rarity in movies.
@@Martini--- It's quite obvious that you missed the whole point of the movie. Toms character wasn't the last samurai, he's a bystander who admired his enemy; Stockholm syndrome. Furthermore Nathan Algren is losely based of Jules Brunet who happens to be a real person.
@@acertainghost286 Agreed...the "last samurai" WAS Katsumoto, with Algren acting as the perspective of the American moviegoing audience, hence throwing an anachronistic American soldier into the mix of a historic event.
@@Martini--- Samurai is both Singular and Plural, this is about the Last Samurai, as in, the Last Samurai Tom Cruise's character fought alongside, not Tom Cruise being The Last Samurai
Everybody likes to romanticize the past in some way. Here in America, how the wild West is portrayed in media verses how the wild West actually would have been, is completely different. Romanticizing the past will have "the rule of cool" dragged with it, thus you get "Hollywood" duo katana wielding samurai and the like.
One of the most famous Samurai to ever live, who quite literally wrote the manual on it, called The Way of Five Rings, was a dual-wielding fighter. Every Samurai was trained HOW to fight with both Katana and Wakazashi/Tanto as well. It's really not that crazy of a concept
You do know that there's historical evidence for dual wielding right? Mushashi used a Katana and his Wakisashi at the same time, in ancient rome the Demachieri Gladiatiors where considered the most elite ones and they dual wielded, in historical european swordfighting manuals you have dual wielding a sabre/rapier/ropera/broadsword and a dagger/short sword, in India there's alot of dual wielding weapons, same in Shaolin Kung Fu tradition, in Japan you have of course the Katana and Waki, the two sticks which I forgot the name and so on and so forth
Two of the things you mentioned in the video were explained in the movie. Katsumoto is explained to no longer dishonor himself with firearms and it seems the rest of his samurai also follow this idea. And Omura hired the ninja to assassinate Katsumoto. Also from what I remember Algren was the only one to dual wield katana which makes sense considering his background compared to the rest of his fellow samurai. It’s not as effective but it’s what he’s used to. I just wanted to point these few things out. I really loved the video though!
I really wish that the Emperor had commanded Katsumoto and his "rebels" to surrender, endure the shame of surrender and participate in the fine training of the new army. "Give our Western Army a Samurai spirit, Katsumoto. Endure this for our sake and the sake of the realm."
"The actual Samurai hardly used two swords at once." ~ not Miyamoto Musashi And the last battle... I got the impression that it was not 'disregarding life' or 'battle crazies'. I got the impression that it was two things within another. It was Hatsumotos last lesson, if you so will, and acceptance of the changes that the Tenno made. He shows on one side what the westernisation will do to japanese past and culture, it's way-of-life, and, on the other, that they will lose something precious if they follow it absolutely through. AND knowing that there are many that still cling to the past and surely will make trouble for the Tennos new policy he decides to help his pupil, by showing him what the past represents, by removing these obstacles and also helping these honor-driven souls to find a rest they could live, well, die, with. Because, when there is no place for Samurai anymore, where is there place for Bushido, a warriors codex? That's why the last scene, where the (treasonous) foreigner comes to the Tenno, with the sword of his teacher but his soul full of Bushido, is, in my eyes, as important as the last battle. Totally forgot. By fighting against Hatsumotos rebellion and winning, Hatsumoto gives his protegeé the ability to showcase his strength and the strength of his new government. People will say 'He's fighting against his sensei, a person he likes as his own father, he must have the resolve of a steel tiger' and 'the government is chaotic now, but they have the strength to fight and win. He won't tolerate some samurai disregarding his rule and he will do the same to the westerners. There will be peaceful times coming.' Thus cementing his rule, his government and the new era.
One of my favorite quotes from the movie that surprised me, and made me think deeply. Nathan said "Every soldier has Nightmares..." and Katsumoto responded " Only one who is ashamed of what he has done." It hurts to hear it but it is true in many ways, yet there are things that can not be helped, this haunts the Soldier as well.
For me the one that gets me everytime is when the Emperor asks "Would you tell me how he died" and Nathan goes "I will tell you how he lived"... It starts raining everytime
"They are all perfect" is an incredible line in an incredible scene, closing the circle from what looked like a small comment from Katsumoto when he is starting to explain Bushido to Ahlgren.
From what I understand Shogo lived in Michigan for a good amount of years. It wouldn't surprise me if French Canadian touched upon him during thar time.
I honestly remember being SHOCKED at how great "The Last Samurai" was! It's an outstanding movie. And yes, as something of a "history nerd" myself, I could see several of the inaccuracies pointed out in this review. I went into my first viewing of this flick, expecting crap. But I still love all the characters (fictional though they are), I still absolutely love that "ninja scene," inaccurate though it may be, and that final valiant charge into machine-gun fire, by horse-riding Samurai who probably know they are dead already, still drags gallons of tears out of my eye sockets. This movie may have been inaccurate, at times, but there's no question it was done by a film director who LOVED the idea of Japanese culture, and history, and who took great steps to be as accurate as possible, while also dealing with the whims of the production committee, who probably pressured him endlessly about adding more "pizazz." The idea that the Japanese themselves love this film is noteworthy in and of itself! This film is literally the "Dances With Wolves" of Japanese movies. It's that good!! And I don't even LIKE Tom Cruise... but this is hands-down the best overall movie he ever acted in. Gotta give props when they're due.
Samurai on horseback appearing from the fog in the forest is a beautiful scene, albeit unrealistic - their horses would either have to slow down to a walk or come to a full stop in fear of breaking their legs. But I agree with your assessment, it's a beautifully shot well thought out movie with a great cast of actors.
And thinking of the way shogo or the reviwer said. Katsumoto character wouldnt commit sepuko, cause he wasnt fighting with someone who respects such tradittion but against western ideas...
@@dannyb9209 Yup, i was very surprised. that was the movie that convinced me that he can act, if he has to, meaning if his part wasn´t written to be "let´s give the audience another movie of Cruise playing himself, they liked that last time".
Jules Brunet. Your French is good as it is my native language. Never thought you could pull this off as each countries have their very own way to pronounce voyels. But you got them out pure and clear and if we were to have a French conversation, I'm sure I'd enjoy it. ^^
Regarding some of point 3, I thought it was obvious that Omura was the one who hired the 'ninja'. I am not sure why this should be regarded as any kind of mystery. And it was a sneak attack. They attacked during the kabuki performance. With regard to the guns vs bows and arrows, the guns have a terrible re-fire rate although they are more accurate, fire further, and inflict worse damage. I saw a documentary where Nobunaga first used matchlocks in his army but each one armed with a matchlock was further supported by two others armed with bows and arrows to provide cover while the firearm was reloaded and set to fire again. I thought that was rather clever on his part. While the firearms used during the period of the film were not matchlock rifles, the reload would still take about 20 seconds or more depending on how well trained the user is. Now depending on the battlefield and the situation, it is not completely unimaginable that the bows and arrows would work better. Low skilled, untrained, inexperienced soldiers in a skirmish formation armed with muskets in a forested area vs experienced soldiers armed with bows and arrows, my money is on the bows and arrows. Highly trained soldiers formed in lines with muskets on an wide open battlefield vs experienced soldiers with bows and arrows, my money goes to the muskets.
The 1861 Springfield could fire 3 rounds a minute and was at the time of this movie (1876) an extremely outdated firearm technology wise, and had an effective firing range of 400 yards (meaning I could aim at you individually and likely hit you) and a max range of 1000 yards (volley fire). Bows were laughably outclassed in 1876 by even outdated rifles. That first volley, even if inexperienced and fired sporadically, should have decimated those in the front of the charge as tightly packed as it was. Especially since a lot were mounted which would have partially nullified the trait of inexperienced troops aiming high.
Muskets are not accurate as you mistakenly stated above. They are infact extremely inaccurate due to the fact that they are smooth bore and have no rifling inside the barrel. The rifling is what causes the projectile to spin and is what makes the projectile accurate. That is why at the beginning of the movie in the first battle the soldiers have to line up and shoot at the same time in volleys to have any kind of a chance at hitting anything. Later on in the movie when they have the second Battle the Japanese soldiers have much better firearms...not muskets like in the first battle..they are rifled, metallic cartridge, bore loaded, bolt actions.
@@Secter84 We've had rifling in muskets since the original 'Kentucky Rifle' during the French and Indian Wars BEFORE the USA was even a country. Just cause it's a muzzle load doesn't mean it's smoothbore.
Great review and very informative, but just one minor issue...the description of Algren. The Civil War, which he did fight in, took place before his fights with Native Americans. Those conflicts primarily occurred after the Civil War concluded as the US expanded west and began to push into territory inhabited by Native peoples, causing much conflict. Also, and this is just a personal note as a firearms enthusiast, the guns of that time were fairly slow and not as accurate or fast as what would be available just 30 years after the movie's start, so the fights between the samurai using bows and the westernized army using rifles wasn't too far fetched as an arrow shot by a skilled archer was probably as accurate or more accurate than a bullet or musket ball from a terrified soldier with only a few months training. But again, overall a great review of a movie I enjoy to this day!
that's what i waas going to type as well, the rifles at the time didn't have magazines and the soldiers weren't experienced with real combat or accustomed to the new weaponry so the idea of a skilled archer who's been shooting a bow his entire life being able to hold his own and even have the advantage in specific circumstances seems legit.
@@MolemanITA While it would've been nice to show that with Katsumoto's group, it would confuse the audience of Katsumoto's Samurai Clan and the warlord's character as a symbol of the past.
@@hexmech1893 I think the difference between the matchlock Tanegashima and single-shot bolt-action rifles would still make a big difference for the average joe to distinguish. Matchlocks had a much different shape on the outside compared to their early modern descendants.
I've watched this movie many times and never considered the Samurai as mindless warriors that wanted to throw their lives away. I viewed it as a group of people holding on to what they believed to be right and being committed to defending their beliefs. A noble commitment in any age.
The story is wonderful even if you don't like the rest of the movie. I think there needed to be more Japanese actors in the film, but it was acted very well I must say, and the kimono were gorgeous.
at the bridge scene when bow users were wining against the gun users you must first have to understand that the bow users are disciplined and very experienced warriors at this point but the gun users were little more than conscripts (basically farmers and workers who have never been in an actual life or death battles) As well even if they were trained in rifle combat just couldn't load the rifle as fast as the archers could notche an arrow
But at that point, when they were fighting; the movie made it clear that the modern army they were facing against were trained soldiers, with how they moved, talked and how they were dressed. I would argue that due to the darkness of the night, it was harder for the soldiers to accurately judge where the bowmen were shooting from, while the Bowmen had a fun time picking away at the soldiers who shot at them.
@@kenh.5903 That's actually kind of an urban legend. Even 16th century guns were far more accurate than most people think, late 19th century rifles could be shot with great accuracy over a pretty large distance.
My favorite all time scene in a movie is definitely the samurai arriving in the mist fully clad in their armor. So beautiful, so powerful, and really shows the purpose behind the armor beyond just the practical.
I was curious because this is one of my favorite movies. This review is so refreshing. Everything is said so calmly, and bad points are expressed without forgetting that in movies it's mandatory to do some concessions. Great video.
Oh it would be really cool if you talked about Seven Samurai or The Twilight Samurai which actually came out a year before The Last Samurai. Those were like the first two samurai movies I watched when I was younger!
I would love to get your perspective on the movie "Letters From Iwo Jima" As a gaijin who studied Japanese in high school & college, but then waited almost a decade before my work took me to Japan (approximately 1-2x/year from 1999-2014). I feel I have a bit of understanding the Japanese technology/business aspect, and was lucky enough to have hosts who understood I was interested in more than tourist attractions. I visited the Kiyomizu-dera Temple & walked the dark tunnel to "center myself." I saw the Kitsune mura as well as the snow monkeys in Jigokudani Monkey Park...many evenings in karaoke bars in hidden 3rd floor locations that held no more than 12-15 people & singing with VP's who spoke little English, but knew all the words to Johnny Cash & Elvis songs by heart. I have been all over Asia, but Japan holds a special place in my heart. I look forward to the end of the lockdowns & returning to the wonderful place that is Japan.
Thank you for making such great and informative content! I’m a huge lover of The Last Samurai and I’m so glad I watched your video to give me greater context. I love Japanese culture and really try my best to learn all that there is to learn and love to soak up every bit of knowledge I can research and your perspective really helped drive some of that home with this video. I can’t wait to watch more! Kanpai!
This channel is very educational and your enthusiasm is well appreciated. The line "we have to accept this is how foreign people see Japanese culture" I hope in time this will change so that we all have a deep understanding of one another. Great work!
@@MrVvulf is the director of kurosawa movie where theres gondola no uta also direct the samurai film? i forgot the names but theres also anothe instance of hattori hanzo but with a flair of english like bunraku
8:56 the original plan of the ninja was to shoot Katsumoto with a crossbow, from a roof near that stage, when Katsumoto was also performing. It's when that failed, that the ninja went to fighting face-to-face
What I like most in this review and in your videos in general, is the very graceful and understanding way you express yourself, even when being critical of something. Much respect!
Honestly as a first time viewer, I gotta tell you that I've never seen a review be this structured and clear, and I am here for it. I found the process very soothing and easy, which enticed me tot pay closer attention to the video. Definitely gonna check out more of these!
As a young man I began studying Japanese Ju Jitsu and became very interested in Japanese culture. As an adult I held a leadership position with Panasonic and worked very closely with many Japanese expats, who were very willing to spend a lot of time discussing with me Japanese culture and history. I miss my Japanese friends very much and this channel gives me back the chance to continue learning of Japanese culture. Thank you, Shogo. All the best.
You are one of my new favorite content creators! Your way of talking & expressive body language is always so natural, and doesn't feel like you're reading off of a script at all!
Here are my two cents about the pronunciation of the name Jules Brunet It was quite good even though the final "t" in Brunet is silent in french but it is expected when your second language is american english.
My husband and I teared up a little at your description of the scene. He was able to remember it vividly. And your wording doesn't spoil too much, if anything. It is a really good scene.
Yes that would be great.There Isn't much information on the web.I had to seek out and contact my relatives since I'm from the "Beppu" clan of the Hells!
Why were they different small duckies and kingdoms in the holy Roman empire? Humans lived in tribes and clans for most of history even when they were under empires. It's just recently where power has been centralized in a government body as we see in modern governments
My favorite clan of all time is clan SHIMAZU the great SAIGÕ TAKAMORI in this video was part of the clan he severed as feudal retainer and soldier also became statesman of clan SATSUMA which is old clan SHIMAZU
Your videos are great and helpful. It helps me know a lot Japanese history and culture, i have partner live in Osaka, hope i had chance to come to visit Japan again. Best wishes to you and your family !!
You should do a review on "Letters from Iwo Jima". It's a movie produced by Hollywood and directed by Clint Eastwood on the last days of the WW2 battle on the island.
I always assumed the lack of modern weapons used by Katsumoto was due to his trying to fight the modernization of Japan as it was going and that the army was being housed at his sons estates in the mountains where they just simply didn't have such weapons due to punishments to the Katsumoto clan.
After learning more about Japanese culture from your channel I watched this film (again for the 49th time) and could see it from a different angle..."historically accurate isn't always correct" is a great line...yes they COULD have done it by the book so to speak - but it may not have delivered the way it did as a piece of art...albeit it Hollywood art...
I find it heartening that somehow every video you produce, there is so much soul in the delivery of the information, as if we also receive a gift or some form of hospitality from you
Jules Brunet was a villain who aided secessionists to break off parts of Hokkaido as Ezo Republic. Meanwhile the Satsuma rebellion was quite a bit more interesting and serves as the actual historical basis of the movie. Funnily enough the conflict was initially only about a dispute on disarmament that grew into an actual war.
Love the new idea of Reviewing Movies! I'd love to hear your thoughts on The Ramen Girl and Pom Poko! Two very different movies, of course... Another one that could be interesting could be Letter to Iwo Jima, but it might not fit this channel too much!
Dear Shogo, I enjoy your channel very much. I love learning about other cultures; has someone who finds it difficult to travel for physical reasons. I especialy enjoyed the talk at the end of this video when you place the movie in historical context, it was very informative, thank you! And your prononciation of Jules Brunet was excellent, you should be proud!!! Thank you so much for all of your content, it is always very informative!!!
I love this movie for its historical value and I loved your review because you hit several points I hit in conversations with friends. I will certainly keep coming here!
Thank you so much for the kindness of sharing your knowledge and heart! The Japanese Way is always a blessing to the West, I always learn so much from you guys. Wishing all the best to your Channel too! Thank you!
I'm so happy for you starting this series - I for one am an avid fan of Japanese cinema, which still remains my top favorite category of international cinema. I'm still trying to catch up with the classics while looking for more recent examples that match the rich cinematic heritage and quality of their predecessors. As far as THE LAST SAMURAI is concerned, it's probably the closest that Hollywood will ever come to making a truly authentic samurai epic. Check out the episode of HISTORY BUFFS covering this film.
This is one of my favorite movies. As a native American the last battle scene makes me tear up. We fought back against modernization as well. Many were massacred by a gatling gun.
@@よろしく-u5l Why? The sword maims and kills far more cruelly. Having no guns wouldn't have stopped anything, It would just have taken longer. Look at the Mongal expansion and the slaughter they inflicted on those who opposed them. Weapons are not the problem. People are the problem. Even then there are times where one must fight.
I thought "The Last Samuri" was an entertaining movie that was based on history only, but was not based on Fact! I liked to hear an opinion from a Japanese person himself! Loved your video! Thank you for doing it!
I have heard about the samurai who were not happy with the government. But i think it's potrayed totally different in the film than in real life. Thanks for the review 👍
Wow I am so enlightened and now understand this movie so much better. It concretes it even further as my favorite movie. This review was absolutely amazing. Your other videos will be watched soon!
For me what stood out most of this movie was the way it depicted the unifying humanity between different peoples. We are all human, we are all one and the same in that aspect and that common ground can be enough to break down all barriers to unite and stand together for what we believe in.
Just to add as well to this great review, there's one scene (no spoilers) where it's explained to Tom Cruse's character that Katsumoto & the samurai see firearms as "dishonourable" & therefore don't use them. From my limited understanding, weren't guns (first brought by the Portuguese) being used in Japanese warfare for centuries by this time? Wasn't there even a time in the 16th century when Japan had more firearms than any other country in the world? From what I understand about both the 1868-1869 Boshin war and the 1877 Seinan war, weren't all sides using firearms, both old tanegashima matchlocks and modern rifles from Western countries? If what I know is correct, even in 1877 the samurai used such guns and only resorted to traditional weapons like swords and bows after their forces ran out of ammunition. Still loved the Last Samurai, even while it wasn't historically accurate at times.
You're absolutely correct. The "guns are dishonorable" part is a complete fantasy on the movie's part. It's even more ironic considering that the people who led the rebellion in the Seinan war - the Satsuma domain - were the same clan who kept a tight monopoly on modern firearms just prior to the Boshin war.
@@nanaya7e433 This may be an allusion to the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima . Remember this is art not history. Shakespeare too was not Historically accurate.
@@susanbergman9765 You're looking too deep into a widely popular historical inaccuracy. This is not Shakespeare and there's absolutely no reason for such a random reference. It was just one of many instances of romanticising the samurai.
It might have been possible that some could have consider firearms "dishonourable", as there's still people around the world today with a negative opinion on firearms. I mean I don't exactly like them, but I'd use one if I had to. However, yeah, the samurai in general would have used firearms. It would have been both illogical and idiotic to go into battle giving your army such a deliberate disadvantage. I think this is just Hollywood romanticising the concept of honourable warriors and heroes in general, not just the samurai. Firearms are even disregarded in some modern day (and futuristic) settings because the characters think they're bad and favours knives or something. Plus, they're not as flashy as a sword or hammer.
This was such an entertaining, captivating and educational review. I haven't seen this movie in a while, although I love it so much, and there were things that I definitely hadn't noticed before (mainly the armour 😆). The Last Samurai was my introduction to actor Hiroyuki Sanada, who might be recognized as Scorpion in the new Mortal Kombat movie. Although his character was a jerk (from what I remember) I found the actor to be very engaging, and especially handsome. Thank you for this video and thank you for this channel!
6:32 I think the story of the 47 Ronin (no specific movie, several give good gist of the tale), and Harakiri (1962) are the two most insightful glimpses into the Samurai mindset.
You need to review the television mini series Shogun from 1980 based on the book by the same name. It was filmed in Japan with Japanese actors. It is fantastic. The main Samurai is played by Toshirô Mifune And the 2 other main japanese roles are played by Furankî Sakai and Yôko Shimada.
Great review and content. :) I believe the idea of reckless, crazy attitudes about death would be a superficial takeaway from this movie. I don't believe the film actually supports that view at all. I never thought of Katsumoto and his samurai as portraying a reckless worship of death. I don't think the movie ever stated any of the characters wanted to die (except for Algren, and people who felt great shame). Rather, I saw them as seeking to die well, if dying would be necessary. A good death for a worthy cause. It was about keeping honor intact, and all the more if the enemy were insurmountable. For such a thing, a samurai would sacrifice himself without regret. Furthermore, Katsumoto admonishes Taka to avoid suicide, even when she asks to kill herself out of shame for taking care of her husband's killer (Algren); he believes there is a higher purpose, and the current pains must be endured to carry it out. Are not these things in accordance with "true bushido," or, "doing the right thing, even when it's difficult"?
Shogo, you are so damn cool. To say as much as that it is both sides' fault for the misunderstanding. That is bold. And I agree with exactly everything about your review.
Many westerners thought the title referred to Tom Cruise's character but when I watched it I realized it was talking about the group that taught him about the culture of the Samurai.
Strictly live action movies? If not, it would be awesome if you go through the Studio Ghibli library of movies! Would love to hear your opinion on Mononoke Hime, my personal favourite! 😍
Everyone who has been looking forward to the new series "Movie reviews from Japan", thank you very much for waiting!
If there are any other movies that you would want me to review, please let me know in the comments!
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Akira Kurosawa films would be good. Yojimbo, his take on spaghetti westerns, was pretty cool. But seven samurai was good too. I dunno, he has a lot of good films 😊 love this new series already Shogo 💜
I would love to hear your opinion on When the last sword is drawn. It is my no. 1 favorite samurai movie.
Have you watched super sentai
Please do Seven Samurai or The Hidden Fortress. Drunken Angel. There are so many with so many great actors but this is but a few. The movie Ran would also be very good.
@@chellybub there are so many films by him that would be great to review. He could even do a movie night live and chat.
Shogo, you should review the "Ghost of Tsushima" video game
Pin this pleeaaassee
This comment has Honor.
Omg yesss
That would be amazing
"Find me in the next life"
"I will"
I watched this movie when I started learning Japanese as a kid. My sensei, an older gentleman from Hiroshima, said it made him cry. Regardless of historicity, it really is an interesting portrayal of international exchange and cultural identity.
History Buffs' video has a pretty good summary of it, that boiled down to something like "while it is incredibly factually inaccurate to the historical details of the Satsuma Rebellion, it is extremely thematically accurate to the mood and emotions running throughout the country at the time".
You should look up a channel voices of the past and listen to the story of a Japanese man in America during the 18th century. It's worthy of a movie. Check it out buddy!
I also see it as a crossing of two different cultures. Especially considering their mind
❤️💯👍
@@samojede6776 The most interesting part of the movie, for me,was the time Ahlgren spends with Katsumoto as a hostage, when they slowly start to understand each others way of thinking through their conversations, and discover, much to their own surprise, a lot of similarities as well as some striking differences in how to deal with hardships.
I think the reason that they had more Sengoku era armour and weapons was a conscious decision by the filmmakers to show the contrast between the more western army and the traditionalist samurai
As it relates to archers vs gyns as impossible, look up the war between zulus and british soldiers, how they gave britain a hard time despite british soldiers having guns.
@@cleiand5868 The zulus had the benefit of terrain advantage and knowing the land. The Samurai and western army came from the same place.
@@cleiand5868 Not really, as that was close quarter weapons against ranged weapons.
Films often ignore “historical accuracy” in favor of the use of visual language. Two good example are this film and Braveheart. When, in reality, both sides of a battle really wouldn’t look all that different from each other, if becomes very muddy in terms of storytelling. So putting the Samurai in traditional armor or the Scots in Kilts is a way of making it easy to tell who is who and what is happening on screen.
I mean they could at least, for once in a while, attempt to show two sides with different colors of their lord(s) and actual formations and line battles. That would already help immensly with understanding who is who, and even if sometimes you don't and it gets chaotic, that's just another gruesome aspect of war.
"True Bushido is not about throwing yourself into a reckless battle and dying."
Japanese generals using bushido to justify ordering suicidal "banzai" charges during WWII: "This is awkward."
(Joking aside, great movie review Shogo!)
thats the main problem bushido had, what is considered "right" is usually what your superior is telling you to do
@@CAMSLAYER13 Certainly. Hard to change a belief system that stifles criticism & mandates deference to authority as as a moral code.
Yes. It's like Normandy's Banzai charge.
They were forced to die in vain by incompetent headquarters.
Only military were victims of the "banzai" charges. But in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki innocents were the victims.
Which is cruel?
@@山下清-n9z It's history , has the most cruel act commited on the story of mankind... idk why u are so good friends
my dad hated japanese stuff, so, for me was very hard to share any of the stuff i love related to them, like anime, manga, games, architecture, painting and sculpture, fortunately this movie gave me the opportunity to share something with him, in fact he loved it, it was the last movie i saw with him before he passed away.
Anime is crap and should have died with the 1990s. Everything else from Japan is solid.
@@getawaydreamer2724 u can't say that & not be living under an anime rock
@@getawaydreamer2724 was expecting this comment to be 9 years old tbh
@Kurotetsu while Dreamer’s opinion is blunt and likely founded in ignorance, to say anime is better than western media is entirely subjective. Instead of saying one is better than the other we should just agree that different people like different things.
@@zedtheexplorer5206 it's better only because it's a more versatile and widely used medium than western cartoons, the sheer amount of anime that exists compared to western cartoons are a big factor. It covers the most cookie cutter topic to some of the most experimental experience on Earth.
There is no denying that most anime are garbage (like 97% more or less), but it also have more of those gems as a result.
Indeed it is subjective, people's standards of what is considered "better" is up to each individuals. To be honest I don't even think the 2 are that comparable, although I think it's okay for someone to say one is better than the other especially on a specific aspect.
Shogo is one of the most wholesome, honest, and thoughtful people on UA-cam and I can’t respect him enough
You can tell the director took more care to aim for authenticity than typical Hollywood productions, even if he didn't hit the mark perfectly.
I think it's an overall very enjoyable movie with a high production quality, acting, music.
I agree I can't help but tear up a bit at the final battle scene.
Also I liked Nathan's personally story. He felt lost and troubled but unexpectedly found peace with the Samurai. In a way they "saved" him.
Agreed, it's one of Tom Cruise's best movies, in my opinion.
@@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289 his absolute best
I absolutely agree, though ot falls quite a lot under the noble savage trope
I grew up (and lived in) the city in NZ that majority of the film was shot in, and the scene near the beginning where Alden is standing next to a target yelling at the soldier to fire, was actually filmed on a cricket pitch in the main park in the centre of the city 😅 one of the guys who worked on the film fell in love with the city and moved there permanently with his wife, and operates a very successful sushi restaurant and sake bar, and a second sushi train in the local mall. It'll always have a nice place in my heart for that, even if the movie isn't historically accurate.
Little fun fact, an old friends great (add a few more greats) grandfather was told to fire on woman and children but refused and was able to convince his superiors to move them west, saving my own great grandmother. Our families moved to complere different areas, but hundreds of years later we ended up in school together
Wholesome
And then everyone clapped
When was this and where was this if you don't mind?
@@citizenoftheninthdivision that aint even a funny meme
Complete horseshit 😂 Why do people really need to make up stores on the internet?
"Tell me how he died." "I will tell you how he lived." That transcends all the inaccuracies because how someone lives is beyond boundaries and timeless.
That basically meant dont forget your peoples orgins.
Which is funny because Nathan basically betrayed the Emperor by allying with Katsumoto if even from a political standpoint. Yet with Katsumoto being his former "mentor" Meiji seemingly switches sides and reject's America's proposal despite how powerful and wealthy they've already made him and the Country at that point. My biggest problem with this film is how unbearably seriously it takes itself whilst taking almost all of the liberties with various source material's.
I always thought it was poetic that the samurai had outdated armor in the movie when fighting to the end.
Last Samurai is an amazing movie and I honestly wish there was a 4k restoration of this masterpiece.
Although the armour is wildly outdated and ahistorical for the Satsuma Rebellion, I have to give them credit for actually having pretty good armour overall. Sure, it more like the armour from Nobunaga's time, but at least it looked like actual historical armour, which is a rarity in movies.
lol also poetic that the last samurai isn't even remotely japanese? the last samurai should've been katsumoto.
@@Martini--- It's quite obvious that you missed the whole point of the movie. Toms character wasn't the last samurai, he's a bystander who admired his enemy; Stockholm syndrome.
Furthermore Nathan Algren is losely based of Jules Brunet who happens to be a real person.
@@acertainghost286 Agreed...the "last samurai" WAS Katsumoto, with Algren acting as the perspective of the American moviegoing audience, hence throwing an anachronistic American soldier into the mix of a historic event.
@@Martini--- Samurai is both Singular and Plural, this is about the Last Samurai, as in, the Last Samurai Tom Cruise's character fought alongside, not Tom Cruise being The Last Samurai
This was a pleasant movie. It's good to hear that the Japanese found it respectful of their culture. Personally, I am a fan of Kurosawa's work
Kurosawa 👍👍
Everybody likes to romanticize the past in some way. Here in America, how the wild West is portrayed in media verses how the wild West actually would have been, is completely different.
Romanticizing the past will have "the rule of cool" dragged with it, thus you get "Hollywood" duo katana wielding samurai and the like.
Fun fact Miyamoto Musashi was a duel wielder and one of the best samurai of his generation.
One of the most famous Samurai to ever live, who quite literally wrote the manual on it, called The Way of Five Rings, was a dual-wielding fighter. Every Samurai was trained HOW to fight with both Katana and Wakazashi/Tanto as well. It's really not that crazy of a concept
saying that Hollywood invented dual wielding is just incorrect
@@weeboftheleft5113 I love how that book goes into philosphy and what not and in the next page you get an anime tier name for an upwards slash
You do know that there's historical evidence for dual wielding right? Mushashi used a Katana and his Wakisashi at the same time, in ancient rome the Demachieri Gladiatiors where considered the most elite ones and they dual wielded, in historical european swordfighting manuals you have dual wielding a sabre/rapier/ropera/broadsword and a dagger/short sword, in India there's alot of dual wielding weapons, same in Shaolin Kung Fu tradition, in Japan you have of course the Katana and Waki, the two sticks which I forgot the name and so on and so forth
I think "Samurai Fantasy" is a good genre to put it in. But many fantasy stories can teach us beautiful lessons about real life.
Two of the things you mentioned in the video were explained in the movie. Katsumoto is explained to no longer dishonor himself with firearms and it seems the rest of his samurai also follow this idea. And Omura hired the ninja to assassinate Katsumoto. Also from what I remember Algren was the only one to dual wield katana which makes sense considering his background compared to the rest of his fellow samurai. It’s not as effective but it’s what he’s used to. I just wanted to point these few things out. I really loved the video though!
I really wish that the Emperor had commanded Katsumoto and his "rebels" to surrender, endure the shame of surrender and participate in the fine training of the new army.
"Give our Western Army a Samurai spirit, Katsumoto. Endure this for our sake and the sake of the realm."
"The actual Samurai hardly used two swords at once."
~ not Miyamoto Musashi
And the last battle...
I got the impression that it was not 'disregarding life' or 'battle crazies'.
I got the impression that it was two things within another.
It was Hatsumotos last lesson, if you so will, and acceptance of the changes that the Tenno made.
He shows on one side what the westernisation will do to japanese past and culture, it's way-of-life, and, on the other, that they will lose something precious if they follow it absolutely through.
AND knowing that there are many that still cling to the past and surely will make trouble for the Tennos new policy he decides to help his pupil, by showing him what the past represents, by removing these obstacles and also helping these honor-driven souls to find a rest they could live, well, die, with. Because, when there is no place for Samurai anymore, where is there place for Bushido, a warriors codex?
That's why the last scene, where the (treasonous) foreigner comes to the Tenno, with the sword of his teacher but his soul full of Bushido, is, in my eyes, as important as the last battle.
Totally forgot.
By fighting against Hatsumotos rebellion and winning, Hatsumoto gives his protegeé the ability to showcase his strength and the strength of his new government.
People will say 'He's fighting against his sensei, a person he likes as his own father, he must have the resolve of a steel tiger' and 'the government is chaotic now, but they have the strength to fight and win. He won't tolerate some samurai disregarding his rule and he will do the same to the westerners. There will be peaceful times coming.'
Thus cementing his rule, his government and the new era.
Very interesting take, nice!
ah last lesson dam it rip himeko murata
Musashi was thought to have fought a lot of his duels of combat , using a Bokken, a wooden simulation of a Katana.
One of my favorite quotes from the movie that surprised me, and made me think deeply. Nathan said "Every soldier has Nightmares..." and Katsumoto responded " Only one who is ashamed of what he has done." It hurts to hear it but it is true in many ways, yet there are things that can not be helped, this haunts the Soldier as well.
My grandfather had nightmares of artillery bombardment in Greece WWII. It’s a quaint thing to say, but nonsense really.
For me the one that gets me everytime is when the Emperor asks "Would you tell me how he died" and Nathan goes "I will tell you how he lived"... It starts raining everytime
I love how Shogo avoids spoilers even if the movie is like 20 years old
Next Rurouni Kenshin!!! talking about the most fantastic of fantasies ❤
"They are all perfect" is an incredible line in an incredible scene, closing the circle from what looked like a small comment from Katsumoto when he is starting to explain Bushido to Ahlgren.
Canadian French here. Your ''Jules Brunet'' pronunciation was quite good to be honest.
I agree.
je suis d'accord.
French girl here, I agree.
From what I understand Shogo lived in Michigan for a good amount of years. It wouldn't surprise me if French Canadian touched upon him during thar time.
American French teacher 👨🏻🏫 here. You did fine, Shogo-kun.
I honestly remember being SHOCKED at how great "The Last Samurai" was! It's an outstanding movie. And yes, as something of a "history nerd" myself, I could see several of the inaccuracies pointed out in this review. I went into my first viewing of this flick, expecting crap.
But I still love all the characters (fictional though they are), I still absolutely love that "ninja scene," inaccurate though it may be, and that final valiant charge into machine-gun fire, by horse-riding Samurai who probably know they are dead already, still drags gallons of tears out of my eye sockets.
This movie may have been inaccurate, at times, but there's no question it was done by a film director who LOVED the idea of Japanese culture, and history, and who took great steps to be as accurate as possible, while also dealing with the whims of the production committee, who probably pressured him endlessly about adding more "pizazz." The idea that the Japanese themselves love this film is noteworthy in and of itself!
This film is literally the "Dances With Wolves" of Japanese movies. It's that good!!
And I don't even LIKE Tom Cruise... but this is hands-down the best overall movie he ever acted in. Gotta give props when they're due.
Samurai on horseback appearing from the fog in the forest is a beautiful scene, albeit unrealistic - their horses would either have to slow down to a walk or come to a full stop in fear of breaking their legs. But I agree with your assessment, it's a beautifully shot well thought out movie with a great cast of actors.
And thinking of the way shogo or the reviwer said. Katsumoto character wouldnt commit sepuko, cause he wasnt fighting with someone who respects such tradittion but against western ideas...
hanz zimmer on the soundtrack aswell
Agree with every single thing in this post....it's a brilliant movie and probably one of my favourites...and cruise kills it
@@dannyb9209 Yup, i was very surprised. that was the movie that convinced me that he can act, if he has to, meaning if his part wasn´t written to be "let´s give the audience another movie of Cruise playing himself, they liked that last time".
Jules Brunet. Your French is good as it is my native language. Never thought you could pull this off as each countries have their very own way to pronounce voyels. But you got them out pure and clear and if we were to have a French conversation, I'm sure I'd enjoy it. ^^
Regarding some of point 3, I thought it was obvious that Omura was the one who hired the 'ninja'. I am not sure why this should be regarded as any kind of mystery. And it was a sneak attack. They attacked during the kabuki performance.
With regard to the guns vs bows and arrows, the guns have a terrible re-fire rate although they are more accurate, fire further, and inflict worse damage. I saw a documentary where Nobunaga first used matchlocks in his army but each one armed with a matchlock was further supported by two others armed with bows and arrows to provide cover while the firearm was reloaded and set to fire again. I thought that was rather clever on his part. While the firearms used during the period of the film were not matchlock rifles, the reload would still take about 20 seconds or more depending on how well trained the user is. Now depending on the battlefield and the situation, it is not completely unimaginable that the bows and arrows would work better. Low skilled, untrained, inexperienced soldiers in a skirmish formation armed with muskets in a forested area vs experienced soldiers armed with bows and arrows, my money is on the bows and arrows. Highly trained soldiers formed in lines with muskets on an wide open battlefield vs experienced soldiers with bows and arrows, my money goes to the muskets.
The 1861 Springfield could fire 3 rounds a minute and was at the time of this movie (1876) an extremely outdated firearm technology wise, and had an effective firing range of 400 yards (meaning I could aim at you individually and likely hit you) and a max range of 1000 yards (volley fire). Bows were laughably outclassed in 1876 by even outdated rifles. That first volley, even if inexperienced and fired sporadically, should have decimated those in the front of the charge as tightly packed as it was. Especially since a lot were mounted which would have partially nullified the trait of inexperienced troops aiming high.
Muskets are not accurate as you mistakenly stated above. They are infact extremely inaccurate due to the fact that they are smooth bore and have no rifling inside the barrel. The rifling is what causes the projectile to spin and is what makes the projectile accurate.
That is why at the beginning of the movie in the first battle the soldiers have to line up and shoot at the same time in volleys to have any kind of a chance at hitting anything.
Later on in the movie when they have the second Battle the Japanese soldiers have much better firearms...not muskets like in the first battle..they are rifled, metallic cartridge, bore loaded, bolt actions.
@@Secter84 We've had rifling in muskets since the original 'Kentucky Rifle' during the French and Indian Wars BEFORE the USA was even a country. Just cause it's a muzzle load doesn't mean it's smoothbore.
Great review and very informative, but just one minor issue...the description of Algren. The Civil War, which he did fight in, took place before his fights with Native Americans. Those conflicts primarily occurred after the Civil War concluded as the US expanded west and began to push into territory inhabited by Native peoples, causing much conflict.
Also, and this is just a personal note as a firearms enthusiast, the guns of that time were fairly slow and not as accurate or fast as what would be available just 30 years after the movie's start, so the fights between the samurai using bows and the westernized army using rifles wasn't too far fetched as an arrow shot by a skilled archer was probably as accurate or more accurate than a bullet or musket ball from a terrified soldier with only a few months training.
But again, overall a great review of a movie I enjoy to this day!
not just the presicion of the bow, but it was also faster to shoot a bow and arrow vs shooting a muzzle loader cap and ball rifle.
that's what i waas going to type as well, the rifles at the time didn't have magazines and the soldiers weren't experienced with real combat or accustomed to the new weaponry so the idea of a skilled archer who's been shooting a bow his entire life being able to hold his own and even have the advantage in specific circumstances seems legit.
And still, the samurais adapted firearms centuries before. Why? stopping power.
@@MolemanITA While it would've been nice to show that with Katsumoto's group, it would confuse the audience of Katsumoto's Samurai Clan and the warlord's character as a symbol of the past.
@@hexmech1893 I think the difference between the matchlock Tanegashima and single-shot bolt-action rifles would still make a big difference for the average joe to distinguish. Matchlocks had a much different shape on the outside compared to their early modern descendants.
I've watched this movie many times and never considered the Samurai as mindless warriors that wanted to throw their lives away. I viewed it as a group of people holding on to what they believed to be right and being committed to defending their beliefs. A noble commitment in any age.
When I saw the movie Memoirs of a Geisha, I was laughing at the Geisha being portrayed by a Han Chinese speaking in heavy Mandarin accented English.
Pleease review this
I hated this movie
The book was wonderful. I didn’t know it had. movie but I certainly don’t plan on watching it now… :(
The story is wonderful even if you don't like the rest of the movie. I think there needed to be more Japanese actors in the film, but it was acted very well I must say, and the kimono were gorgeous.
Yes, it was a terrible decision to make her the main actress as if there's no Japanese girl who could have done it million times better.
at the bridge scene when bow users were wining against the gun users you must first have to understand that the bow users are disciplined and very experienced warriors at this point but the gun users were little more than conscripts (basically farmers and workers who have never been in an actual life or death battles)
As well even if they were trained in rifle combat just couldn't load the rifle as fast as the archers could notche an arrow
Yeah, that has to be considered
But at that point, when they were fighting; the movie made it clear that the modern army they were facing against were trained soldiers, with how they moved, talked and how they were dressed.
I would argue that due to the darkness of the night, it was harder for the soldiers to accurately judge where the bowmen were shooting from, while the Bowmen had a fun time picking away at the soldiers who shot at them.
Most important to remember is that rifles of this time were incredibly inaccurate
@@kenh.5903
That's actually kind of an urban legend. Even 16th century guns were far more accurate than most people think, late 19th century rifles could be shot with great accuracy over a pretty large distance.
I came home tired from work but when I saw your new video release I was like I need to watch it before sleeping. Love your videos and this new serie
My favorite all time scene in a movie is definitely the samurai arriving in the mist fully clad in their armor. So beautiful, so powerful, and really shows the purpose behind the armor beyond just the practical.
“The last samurai” is my favourite film 🥺 thank you for the review ❤️
I was curious because this is one of my favorite movies. This review is so refreshing. Everything is said so calmly, and bad points are expressed without forgetting that in movies it's mandatory to do some concessions.
Great video.
Oh it would be really cool if you talked about Seven Samurai or The Twilight Samurai which actually came out a year before The Last Samurai. Those were like the first two samurai movies I watched when I was younger!
Twilight Samurai is fantastic!
Sanada Hiroyuki also plays a major role in both films.
Any Kurosawa movie is excellent Ran is long but worth it
@@raiftadehara9218 Speaking of Kurosawa, I wonder if there would be any fertile ground to explore in reviewing Star Wars from a Japanese perspective.
I would love to get your perspective on the movie "Letters From Iwo Jima"
As a gaijin who studied Japanese in high school & college, but then waited almost a decade before my work took me to Japan (approximately 1-2x/year from 1999-2014). I feel I have a bit of understanding the Japanese technology/business aspect, and was lucky enough to have hosts who understood I was interested in more than tourist attractions.
I visited the Kiyomizu-dera Temple & walked the dark tunnel to "center myself." I saw the Kitsune mura as well as the snow monkeys in Jigokudani Monkey Park...many evenings in karaoke bars in hidden 3rd floor locations that held no more than 12-15 people & singing with VP's who spoke little English, but knew all the words to Johnny Cash & Elvis songs by heart.
I have been all over Asia, but Japan holds a special place in my heart.
I look forward to the end of the lockdowns & returning to the wonderful place that is Japan.
Reviev "Letter's from Iwo Jima" :3 I know you're mostly reviving samurai things but this is very accurate and good.
Thank you for making such great and informative content! I’m a huge lover of The Last Samurai and I’m so glad I watched your video to give me greater context. I love Japanese culture and really try my best to learn all that there is to learn and love to soak up every bit of knowledge I can research and your perspective really helped drive some of that home with this video. I can’t wait to watch more! Kanpai!
I would recommend a anime: Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka), specialy before September 2nd.
That movie is amazing! But soooo sad! 😢
That is my favorite anime, and the only one I may never watch again.
This is an important, incredible, and heart-rending film. Very heavy, but very worth more people knowing about it.
This channel is very educational and your enthusiasm is well appreciated. The line "we have to accept this is how foreign people see Japanese culture" I hope in time this will change so that we all have a deep understanding of one another. Great work!
I would absolutely love to see your reviews of the classics - Yojimbo, The Seven Samurai, and Harakiri.
Harakiri is the best samurai movie ever made, but all three are great.
@@MrVvulf is the director of kurosawa movie where theres gondola no uta also direct the samurai film? i forgot the names but theres also anothe instance of hattori hanzo but with a flair of english like bunraku
Love your videos! As a foreigner who has been living in Japan for the last year they have been so helpful and interesting. Thank you!
8:56 the original plan of the ninja was to shoot Katsumoto with a crossbow, from a roof near that stage, when Katsumoto was also performing. It's when that failed, that the ninja went to fighting face-to-face
What I like most in this review and in your videos in general, is the very graceful and understanding way you express yourself, even when being critical of something. Much respect!
Glad this channel is blowing up. Been here since 10k
Twelve I believe for me but only casually until recently.
Same around since 30k ish
Honestly as a first time viewer, I gotta tell you that I've never seen a review be this structured and clear, and I am here for it. I found the process very soothing and easy, which enticed me tot pay closer attention to the video. Definitely gonna check out more of these!
i have so much respect shogo and the way you carry yourself
As a young man I began studying Japanese Ju Jitsu and became very interested in Japanese culture. As an adult I held a leadership position with Panasonic and worked very closely with many Japanese expats, who were very willing to spend a lot of time discussing with me Japanese culture and history. I miss my Japanese friends very much and this channel gives me back the chance to continue learning of Japanese culture. Thank you, Shogo. All the best.
I loved this review!! So respectful and I actually learned a lot.
What are your thoughts on Silence (2016) and Letters from Iwo Jima???
Thank you!!
Yay ! I just suggested that he review "Silence" as well ! That would be so fascinating !
You are one of my new favorite content creators! Your way of talking & expressive body language is always so natural, and doesn't feel like you're reading off of a script at all!
Here are my two cents about the pronunciation of the name Jules Brunet It was quite good even though the final "t" in Brunet is silent in french but it is expected when your second language is american english.
Thank you for recommending this, the passion they had was indescribable. I'll be keeping that experience forever.
When the last sword is drawn
This movie change my life.
Great movie
My husband and I teared up a little at your description of the scene. He was able to remember it vividly. And your wording doesn't spoil too much, if anything. It is a really good scene.
Could you make a video about the different Samurai-Clans??? I'd love to know how and why there were different clans.
Yes that would be great.There Isn't much information on the web.I had to seek out and contact my relatives since I'm from the "Beppu" clan of the Hells!
Why were they different small duckies and kingdoms in the holy Roman empire? Humans lived in tribes and clans for most of history even when they were under empires. It's just recently where power has been centralized in a government body as we see in modern governments
My favorite clan of all time is clan SHIMAZU the great SAIGÕ TAKAMORI in this video was part of the clan he severed as feudal retainer and soldier also became statesman of clan SATSUMA which is old clan SHIMAZU
@@Be.M.O.S. I used to live there, that's fascinating your heritage is from there.
He doesnt know. He simply used his ethnicity to claim that he is right.
Your videos are great and helpful. It helps me know a lot Japanese history and culture, i have partner live in Osaka, hope i had chance to come to visit Japan again.
Best wishes to you and your family !!
You should do a review on "Letters from Iwo Jima". It's a movie produced by Hollywood and directed by Clint Eastwood on the last days of the WW2 battle on the island.
Yes!! Good choice!
I always assumed the lack of modern weapons used by Katsumoto was due to his trying to fight the modernization of Japan as it was going and that the army was being housed at his sons estates in the mountains where they just simply didn't have such weapons due to punishments to the Katsumoto clan.
I remember at the start of the 2020 pandemic this channel would do well, and I'm happy to see it flourish, great content as always :)
After learning more about Japanese culture from your channel I watched this film (again for the 49th time) and could see it from a different angle..."historically accurate isn't always correct" is a great line...yes they COULD have done it by the book so to speak - but it may not have delivered the way it did as a piece of art...albeit it Hollywood art...
I find it heartening that somehow every video you produce, there is so much soul in the delivery of the information, as if we also receive a gift or some form of hospitality from you
The long haired guys chiburi during the final battle is my favorite part.
Ujio a.k.a. the legend Hiroyuki Sanada!
This was an absolutely wonderful review and I learned a few new things in the process. All I can is thank you for this wonderful video! *bows*
The American "47 Ronin" with Keanu Reeves might be a good one-- it's one of my favorites.
Good choice! I love that movie!!
Jules Brunet was a villain who aided secessionists to break off parts of Hokkaido as Ezo Republic.
Meanwhile the Satsuma rebellion was quite a bit more interesting and serves as the actual historical basis of the movie. Funnily enough the conflict was initially only about a dispute on disarmament that grew into an actual war.
i cried when i watch the last battle when tom cruise said i will miss our conversations
Thank you for this excellent review, and look forward to the next one!
Love the new idea of Reviewing Movies! I'd love to hear your thoughts on The Ramen Girl and Pom Poko! Two very different movies, of course...
Another one that could be interesting could be Letter to Iwo Jima, but it might not fit this channel too much!
One of my all time favorite films. I cry every time during Algren’s final plea to the emperor.
Hello Sogo. If you are taking suggestions. I highly recommend "Silence"(2016).
Please do.
That film is a masterpiece!
Wow, you blew that 1M subscriber goal out of the water! Great review.
Can you review "7 Samurai" next? I love it.
Thank you for your review! I appreciate your videos a lot!
17:58 "Staying alive and enduring the pains of life" that feels more like a ninja(忍者) than a samurai.
Dear Shogo, I enjoy your channel very much. I love learning about other cultures; has someone who finds it difficult to travel for physical reasons. I especialy enjoyed the talk at the end of this video when you place the movie in historical context, it was very informative, thank you!
And your prononciation of Jules Brunet was excellent, you should be proud!!!
Thank you so much for all of your content, it is always very informative!!!
yes! more of these movie reviews... i wish to hear your review on samurai x
I love this movie for its historical value and I loved your review because you hit several points I hit in conversations with friends. I will certainly keep coming here!
I hope you will review Akira Kurosawa's samurai movie like 7 samurai or Kagemusha for example
Both absolute classics.
Thank you so much for the kindness of sharing your knowledge and heart! The Japanese Way is always a blessing to the West, I always learn so much from you guys. Wishing all the best to your Channel too! Thank you!
Super! Thank you! Could you tell in the next video about "Twilight Samurai" by Yoji Yamada...
I'm so happy for you starting this series - I for one am an avid fan of Japanese cinema, which still remains my top favorite category of international cinema. I'm still trying to catch up with the classics while looking for more recent examples that match the rich cinematic heritage and quality of their predecessors. As far as THE LAST SAMURAI is concerned, it's probably the closest that Hollywood will ever come to making a truly authentic samurai epic. Check out the episode of HISTORY BUFFS covering this film.
Everyone in the comments are asking Shogo to review their movies while I'm here secretly hoping he reviews a Taiga drama.
"We cannot forget who we are or where we come from."
~ Emperor Meiji, The Last Samurai
This is one of my favorite movies.
As a native American the last battle scene makes me tear up. We fought back against modernization as well. Many were massacred by a gatling gun.
I wish guns were never invented :(
@@よろしく-u5l Why? The sword maims and kills far more cruelly. Having no guns wouldn't have stopped anything, It would just have taken longer. Look at the Mongal expansion and the slaughter they inflicted on those who opposed them. Weapons are not the problem. People are the problem. Even then there are times where one must fight.
I thought "The Last Samuri" was an entertaining movie that was based on history only, but was not based on Fact! I liked to hear an opinion from a Japanese person himself! Loved your video! Thank you for doing it!
I have heard about the samurai who were not happy with the government. But i think it's potrayed totally different in the film than in real life. Thanks for the review 👍
Wow I am so enlightened and now understand this movie so much better. It concretes it even further as my favorite movie. This review was absolutely amazing. Your other videos will be watched soon!
review Lost in Translation please! 😊
For me what stood out most of this movie was the way it depicted the unifying humanity between different peoples. We are all human, we are all one and the same in that aspect and that common ground can be enough to break down all barriers to unite and stand together for what we believe in.
Just to add as well to this great review, there's one scene (no spoilers) where it's explained to Tom Cruse's character that Katsumoto & the samurai see firearms as "dishonourable" & therefore don't use them. From my limited understanding, weren't guns (first brought by the Portuguese) being used in Japanese warfare for centuries by this time? Wasn't there even a time in the 16th century when Japan had more firearms than any other country in the world? From what I understand about both the 1868-1869 Boshin war and the 1877 Seinan war, weren't all sides using firearms, both old tanegashima matchlocks and modern rifles from Western countries? If what I know is correct, even in 1877 the samurai used such guns and only resorted to traditional weapons like swords and bows after their forces ran out of ammunition.
Still loved the Last Samurai, even while it wasn't historically accurate at times.
You're absolutely correct. The "guns are dishonorable" part is a complete fantasy on the movie's part. It's even more ironic considering that the people who led the rebellion in the Seinan war - the Satsuma domain - were the same clan who kept a tight monopoly on modern firearms just prior to the Boshin war.
@@nanaya7e433 This may be an allusion to the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima . Remember this is art not history. Shakespeare too was not Historically accurate.
@@susanbergman9765 You're looking too deep into a widely popular historical inaccuracy. This is not Shakespeare and there's absolutely no reason for such a random reference. It was just one of many instances of romanticising the samurai.
@@nanaya7e433 Okay.
It might have been possible that some could have consider firearms "dishonourable", as there's still people around the world today with a negative opinion on firearms. I mean I don't exactly like them, but I'd use one if I had to. However, yeah, the samurai in general would have used firearms. It would have been both illogical and idiotic to go into battle giving your army such a deliberate disadvantage.
I think this is just Hollywood romanticising the concept of honourable warriors and heroes in general, not just the samurai. Firearms are even disregarded in some modern day (and futuristic) settings because the characters think they're bad and favours knives or something. Plus, they're not as flashy as a sword or hammer.
This video was very well done. Thank you so much and I look forward to viewing much more content on your channel.
This was such an entertaining, captivating and educational review. I haven't seen this movie in a while, although I love it so much, and there were things that I definitely hadn't noticed before (mainly the armour 😆). The Last Samurai was my introduction to actor Hiroyuki Sanada, who might be recognized as Scorpion in the new Mortal Kombat movie. Although his character was a jerk (from what I remember) I found the actor to be very engaging, and especially handsome. Thank you for this video and thank you for this channel!
6:32 I think the story of the 47 Ronin (no specific movie, several give good gist of the tale), and Harakiri (1962) are the two most insightful glimpses into the Samurai mindset.
You need to review the television mini series Shogun from 1980 based on the book by the same name. It was filmed in Japan with Japanese actors. It is fantastic. The main Samurai is played by Toshirô Mifune And the 2 other main japanese roles are played by Furankî Sakai and Yôko Shimada.
So sad to hear of the recent passing of Yoko Shimada 😞
These are very interesting insights. I look forward to more.
Great review and content. :)
I believe the idea of reckless, crazy attitudes about death would be a superficial takeaway from this movie. I don't believe the film actually supports that view at all. I never thought of Katsumoto and his samurai as portraying a reckless worship of death. I don't think the movie ever stated any of the characters wanted to die (except for Algren, and people who felt great shame). Rather, I saw them as seeking to die well, if dying would be necessary. A good death for a worthy cause. It was about keeping honor intact, and all the more if the enemy were insurmountable. For such a thing, a samurai would sacrifice himself without regret. Furthermore, Katsumoto admonishes Taka to avoid suicide, even when she asks to kill herself out of shame for taking care of her husband's killer (Algren); he believes there is a higher purpose, and the current pains must be endured to carry it out. Are not these things in accordance with "true bushido," or, "doing the right thing, even when it's difficult"?
Great video! Can't wait to see your other reviews
Shogo, you are so damn cool. To say as much as that it is both sides' fault for the misunderstanding. That is bold. And I agree with exactly everything about your review.
Many westerners thought the title referred to Tom Cruise's character but when I watched it I realized it was talking about the group that taught him about the culture of the Samurai.
Strictly live action movies? If not, it would be awesome if you go through the Studio Ghibli library of movies! Would love to hear your opinion on Mononoke Hime, my personal favourite! 😍
Mine is Spirited Away. Such a lovely fairy tale. Or at least, thats what it felt like.
A fairy tale.
Congratulations for hitting 1 million subs! 🐾