The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai | |
---|---|
Directed by | Edward Zwick |
Screenplay by |
|
Story by | John Logan |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | John Toll |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 154 minutes[3] |
Countries | |
Languages |
|
Budget | $140 million[5] |
Box office | $456.8 million[5] |
The Last Samurai is a 2003
Cruise portrays Nathan Algren, an American captain of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in 19th century Japan. The film's plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, led by Saigō Takamori, and the Westernization of Japan by foreign powers.[a] The character of Algren is based on Eugène Collache and Jules Brunet, both French Imperial Guard officers who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War.[6]
The Last Samurai grossed a total of $456 million
Plot
In 1876, former
Algren learns that the imperial soldiers are simply
One night, a group of
As the Imperial Army marches to crush the rebellion, a grieving Katsumoto contemplates seppuku. Algren convinces him to fight and joins the samurai in battle. The samurai use the Imperial Army's overconfidence to lure them into a trap; the ensuing battle inflicts massive casualties on both sides and forces the imperial soldiers to retreat. Knowing that imperial reinforcements are coming, and defeat is inevitable, Katsumoto orders a
Later, as trade negotiations conclude, the injured Algren interrupts the proceedings. He presents the emperor with Katsumoto's sword and asks him to remember the traditions for which Katsumoto and his fellow samurai fought and died. The emperor realizes that while Japan should modernize, it can't forget its own culture and history. He rejects the trade offer, and when Omura protests, the emperor tells him he has done enough and that he will seize Omura's fortune to distribute among the people. Omura claims to be disgraced, and the emperor offers him Katsumoto's sword, saying that if the shame is too great, Omura should commit seppuku. Omura relents and leaves.
While various rumors regarding Algren's fate circulate, Graham concludes that Algren had returned to the village to reunite with Taka.
Cast
- government train its first Western-style conscript army for a significant sum of money. During the army's first battle he is captured by the samurai Katsumoto and taken to the village of Katsumoto's son, where he soon becomes intrigued with the way of the samurai and decides to join them in their cause. His journal entries reveal his impressions about traditional Japanese culture, which almost immediately evolve into unrestrained admiration of Japan.
- Ken Watanabe as Lord Moritsugu Katsumoto, the eponymous "Last Samurai," a former daimyo who was once Emperor Meiji's most trusted teacher. His displeasure with the influence of Omura and other Western reformers on the Emperor lead him to organize his fellow samurai in a revolt, which he hopes will convince the government not to destroy the samurai's place in Japanese society. Katsumoto is based on real-life samurai Saigō Takamori, who led the Satsuma Rebellion.
- Koyuki as Taka Katsumoto, widow of a samurai slain by Nathan Algren and younger sister of Moritsugu. She and Algren develop feelings for each other, and she gives him her husband's armor to wear in the final battle of the rebellion.
- Timothy Spall as Simon Graham, a British photographer and scholar hired as an interpreter for Captain Algren and his non-English speaking soldiers. Initially portrayed as a friendly yet mission-oriented and practical-minded companion, he later comes to sympathize with the samurai cause and helps Algren rescue Katsumoto from Imperial soldiers. Graham is loosely based on real-life British Japanologist Ernest Mason Satow, who befriended Saigō Takamori during the Satsuma rebellion.
- Shin Koyamada as Moritsugu Nobutada, Katsumoto's son who is responsible for the village where Algren is sent. Nobutada befriends Algren when Katsumoto assigns him to teach Algren Japanese culture and the Japanese language. He dies when he willingly chooses to distract Imperial troops so his father can escape their custody.
- Washita River massacre. In contrast to Algren, Bagley is arrogant and dismissive of the samurai, at one point referring to them as nothing more than "savages with bows and arrows". He is killed by Algren who throws a sword into his chest when Bagley tries to shoot Katsumoto in the final battle.
- Okubo Toshimichi, a leading reformer during the Meiji Restoration. Harada noted that he was deeply interested in joining the film after witnessing the construction of Emperor Meiji's conference room on sound stage 19 (where Humphrey Bogart had once acted) at Warner Brothers studios.[citation needed]
- Shichinosuke Nakamura as Emperor Meiji. Credited with the implementation of the Meiji reforms to Japanese society, the Emperor is eager to import Western ideas and practices to modernize and empower Japan to become a strong nation. However, his inexperience causes him to rely heavily on the advice of men like Omura, who have their own agendas. His appearance bears a strong resemblance to Emperor Meiji during the 1860s (when his authority as Emperor was not yet firmly established) rather than during the 1870s, when the film takes place.
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Ujio, a master swordsman and one of Katsumoto's most trusted followers. Initially showing the most disdain towards Algren during the latter's time in captivity, he teaches Algren the art of sword fighting, coming to respect him as an equal. He is one of the last samurai to die in the final battle, being gunned down during Katsumoto's charge.
- Seizo Fukumotoas Silent Samurai, an elderly samurai tasked with monitoring Algren during his time in the village, who calls the samurai "Bob". "Bob" ultimately saves Algren's life (and speaking for the first and only time, "Algren-san!") by taking a bullet meant for him in the final battle.
- Billy Connolly as Sergeant Zebulon Gant, an Irish American Civil War veteran who served with and is loyal to Algren, persuading him to come to Japan and working with him to train the Imperial Army. During the first battle, he is killed by Hirotaro (Taka's husband) after being wounded with a spear.
- Shun Sugata as Nakao, a tall samurai who wields a naginata and is skilled in jujutsu. He assists Algren in rescuing Katsumoto and dies along with the other samurai in the final battle.
- Togo Igawa as General Hasegawa, a former Samurai serving in the Imperial Japanese Army. He commits seppuku after the first battle.
- John Koyama as Village Ninja
Production
This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source.(August 2022) ) |
Filming took place in New Zealand, mostly in the
The film is based on an original screenplay entitled The Last Samurai by John Logan. The project itself was inspired by writer and director Vincent Ward. Ward became executive producer on the film – working in development on it for nearly four years and after approaching several directors, including Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Weir, until he became interested with Edward Zwick. The film production went ahead with Zwick and was shot in Ward's native New Zealand.
The film was based on the stories of Eugène Collache and Jules Brunet, both French Imperial Guard officers, who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War; and Philip Kearny, a United States Army (Union Army) and French Imperial Guard soldier, notable for his leadership in the American Civil War, who fought against the Tututni tribe in the Rogue River Wars in Oregon. The historical roles of other European nations who were involved in the westernization of Japan are largely attributed to the United States in the film, although the film references European involvement as well.
Music
The Last Samurai: Original Motion Picture Score | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Film score by | ||||
Released | November 25, 2003 | |||
Genre | Soundtrack | |||
Length | 59:41 | |||
Label | Warner Sunset | |||
Producer | Hans Zimmer | |||
Hans Zimmer chronology | ||||
|
The Last Samurai: Original Motion Picture Score was released on November 25, 2003, by
Release
The Last Samurai had its world premiere in Tokyo in November 20, 2003. The film was released worldwide to theaters on December 5, 2003, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Reception
Critical response
Critical reception in Japan was generally positive.
In the United States, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 66% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 221 reviews, with an average score of 6.4/10. The site's consensus states: "With high production values and thrilling battle scenes, The Last Samurai is a satisfying epic."[12] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 55, based on reviews from 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]
Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic."[14]
One online analyst compares the movie favorably to Dances with Wolves in that each protagonist meets and combats a "technologically backward people". Both Costner's and Cruise's characters have suffered through a series of traumatic and brutal battles. Each ultimately uses his experiences to later assist his new friends. Each comes to respect his newly adopted culture. Each even fights with his new community against the people and traditions from which he came.[15]
Box office
The film achieved higher box office receipts in Japan than in the United States.[16] The film grossed $456.8 million against a production budget of $140 million. It grossed $111,127,263 in the United States and Canada, and $345,631,718 in other countries.[17] It was one of the most successful box office hits in Japan,[18] where it grossed ¥13.7 billion ($132 million).,[19]
Accolades
Criticism and debate
Motoko Rich of The New York Times observed that the film has opened up a debate, "particularly among Asian-Americans and Japanese," about whether the film and others like it were "racist, naïve, well-intentioned, accurate – or all of the above."[11]
Todd McCarthy, a film critic for the Variety magazine, wrote: "Clearly enamored of the culture it examines while resolutely remaining an outsider's romanticization of it, yarn is disappointingly content to recycle familiar attitudes about the nobility of ancient cultures, Western despoilment of them, liberal historical guilt, the unrestrainable greed of capitalists and the irreducible primacy of Hollywood movie stars."[21]
According to the history professor Cathy Schultz, "Many samurai fought Meiji
The fictional character of Katsumoto bears a striking resemblance to the historical figure of
In 2014, the movie was one of several discussed by
In a 2022 interview with The Guardian, Ken Watanabe stated that he didn't think of The Last Samurai as a white savior narrative and that it was a turning point for Asian representation in Hollywood. Watanabe also stated, “Before The Last Samurai, there was this stereotype of Asian people with glasses, bucked teeth and a camera,” [...] It was stupid, but after The Last Samurai came out, Hollywood tried to be more authentic when it came to Asian stories.” [27]
See also
- Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan
- Ōmura Masujirō
- French Military Mission to Japan (1867)
- Mark Rappaport (creature effects artist)
Notes
- ^ In the film the United States is portrayed as the primary force behind the push for Westernization, despite mostly European powers influencing this historically.
References
- ^ "The Last Samurai". New Zealand Film Commission. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "The Last Samurai - AFI|Catalog". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ "The Last Samurai". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- ^ Lumiere. European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c "The Last Samurai (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ISSN 2057-5696.
- ^ "The Last Samurai Filming Locations | New Zealand". www.newzealand.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ^ The Last Samurai: Original Motion Picture Score (CD liner notes). Hans Zimmer. Warner Sunset Records. 2003.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b "The Last Samurai – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Allmusic.com. Rovi Corp. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ "Sampling Japanese comment" Archived 2010-07-26 at the Wayback Machine. Asia Arts. UCLA.edu. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ a b Rich, Motoko (January 4, 2004). "Land Of the Rising Cliché". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- ^ "The Last Samurai". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (December 5, 2003). "The Last Samurai" Archived 2012-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. Chicago Sun-Times. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
- ^ History Buffs: The Last Samurai
- ^ "The Last Samurai (2003) – News" Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine. CountingDown.com. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ "The Last Samurai (2003) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- Nikkei Asian Review. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ Schwarzacher, Lukas (February 1, 2005). "Japan's B.O. tops record". Variety. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "The 76th Academy Awards (2004) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (November 30, 2003). "The Last Samurai" Archived 2012-11-12 at the Wayback Machine. Variety. Reed Elsevier Inc. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ Schultz, Cathy (May 31, 2010). "The Last Samurai offers a Japanese History Lesson". History in the Movies. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- ISBN 978-0030108112.
- ^ Goff, Keli (May 4, 2014). "Can 'Belle' End Hollywood's Obsession with the White Savior?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4399-1001-6.
- ^ "Oscar loves a white savior". Salon. February 22, 2013.
- ^ Lee, Ann (May 19, 2022). "'Each little thing in my life is precious': Ken Watanabe on cancer, childhood and Hollywood cliches". The Guardian. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
Further reading
- Primadhy Wicaksono (2007). "The Influence of Bushido on Nathan Algren's Personality Development as Seen in John Logan's Movie Script The Last Samurai" (PDF). Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University. - Bachelor of Education (Indonesian: Sarjana Pendidikan) thesis - Written in English with an abstract in Indonesian