Last Samurai-worth seeing?

...Holy crap. That was one incredible movie. Best I've seen this year.

I can see how some prior knowledge would make this movie better.

I don't think many people in the audience understood why the seppuku scene took place and a lot of people didn't seem to get the importance of the metaphorical emphasis on the perfect cherry blossom.

This was the best movie I have seen in a long time. Why is everybody saying Tom Cruise can't act? He seems to do a good job in all the other movies he has been in. The way it was directed, the actors, the music everything was awesome. Movie of the year.

I enjoyed it thouroghly. For those of you who have not yet seen it, it may seem like one of those "off the wall" movies but it is not. Its not one of those war/love story movies that have been coming out lately. It came across to me as a nonfiction movie that was mostly historically accurate. You just have to see the Last Samurai, you wont be dissapointed.

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animegirl Why is everybody saying Tom Cruise can't act? He seems to do a good job in all the other movies he has been in.

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Because his range of emotions all seem to be the same. His look of concern is the same look of disgust. And sometimes with the (wrong) director ... he doesn't show his emotions ... and his speech patterns are too similar as well. Its a shame really. Cause his roles in Top Gun and M:I part 1 were rather good, but His roles in the Firm, Days Of Thunder, M:I part 2, Eyes Wide Shut, Minority Report ... etc. Were not his best.

But this movie had his best acting effort thus far ... BAR NONE!

Fantastic movie. IMO it's right up there with Glory. My eyes started watering at one point :cry:

I like it a lot, but i think it could've been an hour or so longer. NOt enough build up of him absorbing the Samurai culture. It doesn't compare to "Shogun" the book stroy-wise, but having never seen the mini series, I can't say how it matches up to that.

Great movie.

good movie..

I only wished that
Tom Cruise would have died with all the other samuri's

Wow, Yeah I saw it and totally agree with you guys - Great film indeed. I wasnt really looking forward to it so I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.Couple of questions though :

-- This wasnt based on a true story was it ?I mean were the characters real people Captain Aldrew(sp?) , and the leader of the samurai?

-- Was it just me or whenever the emperor talked I wished he'd just shut up :curse: I wouldve rather listened to fingernails on a chalkboard. (maybe the fact that he was a total puss made it worse for me to hear him)

-- Also what was the main reason that the samurais were rebelling for? Were they just anti-technology and anti western influence or what? The movie never really gave a good explanation for why the government hated the samurai so damn much.The people in the city respected them (bowing when they entered), the emperor was friends and had the one as his mentor, the only person who seemed to really hate them was Osaka ( the pudgy, bearded advisor), so WTF - why kill them all

Last Samurai wasnt really based on actual events of Japan of late 19th century. There was a Samurai rebellion, which had a leader that character of Katsumoto was based on, but I dont think there was an American captain, especially so high in the ranks of the rebellion. But historical inaccuracies, doesnt make this film any less enjoyable.

The emperor Meiji(sp) was young and inexperienced. He was trying to care of his people while also protecting interests of Japan, and with technological boom of late 19s cetury, Japan had no other choice then to adapt to Western technologies, or it would have been risked loosing out to more advanced countries. But bringing technologies in ment to change to ways the culture/society worked for the past 100s of years, in which Japan was pretty isolated from outside world.

Katsumoto believed that Emperor guided by Osaka council would just sell out completely to outside will, and would forget the cultural roots. I dont think he was totally against technology, but more against the rush to abandon the traditions in favor of wester customs and technologies.