The Last Samurai is my favourite movie ever

[honavery]

I love this movie too, while also recognizing it isn't perfect.
The cinematography is gorgeous and the Zimmer score is an all timer. You hear the score in movie trailers occasionally to this day, I still listen to the score from time to time.
I feel like this was Zwick's follow up to Glory, and has some similarities.
(I also remember being super excited that Ken Watanabe was in the new Batman movie, then disappointed he died so early, lol)

 

[jett]

The Last Samurai absolutely does not deserve to be categorized under the "white savior" trope, Cruise's character doesn't end up saving shit. All of the samurai are wiped out in the end and in the final scene, Cruise is back to wearing his US military uniform, signifying that that Katsumoto and his brethren were the last samurai.

The film isn't without its flaws or cliches obviously. Cruise becoming a brilliant swordsman seemingly so quickly was pure Hollywood as was the ninja attack, and Cruise actually wearing samurai armor in the final battle was a tad cringey. But overall it's a very well-directed and well-acted film. It's definitely one of Cruise's best performances and Watanabe steals the show.

Also, the movie was worth it just for this shot alone:

Click to shrink...

Honestly one of the best things about TLS is watching a well-crafted modern Samurai period piece film with superb Hollywood-tier production values (no doubt the most lavishly-produced Samurai flick since the days of Kurosawa). We'll probably never see something like it again. This film only happened because the Cruisemissile willed it. Praise Xenu!

 

[Speevy]

Even back then as much as I loved the movie I wish the movie ended ten minutes earlier, that epilogue was not the best. .

Click to shrink...

I'd like to find a film history of the "It's not about how he died. It's about how he lived." speech. I know it didn't originate with this film, but it hasn't gone away either.

 

[Wamb0wneD]

I like it too but history doesn't look fondly on the "white guy saves another culture" stories.

Click to shrink...

It's been a while since I saw the movie but as far as I remember he...doesn't really save it? I'm no expert but I always found the reasoning behind the white guy being there alright and have seen far worse.

 

[TAJ]

Zwick never did anything as good since, and it really sticks out in his filmography, which makes me wonder if Tom put on his domineering Producer's hat and had ghost-directing duties on this.

Click to shrink...

Sticks out? It's practically a reskin of Glory, but vastly inferior.

 

[tokkun]

My main memory of this movie is that for some reason it used the silly, over-the-top pop culture depiction of ninjas in a movie that was otherwise supposed to be tonally serious.

 

[KillLaCam]

My main memory of this movie is that for some reason it used the silly, over-the-top pop culture depiction of ninjas in a movie that was otherwise supposed to be tonally serious.

Click to shrink...

Yeah that was really random and out of place. I always forget about that part

 

[Speevy]

Yeah that was really random and out of place. I always forget about that part

Click to shrink...

I just rewatched it and was thinking "Ah, well at least no one throws a ninja st...fuck

 

[TheWraith]

OP mentions "attention to historical detail", while this movie is filled with fantasies like the usages of Samurai armor from the 1100's , and the use of comic book type Ninjas among many other groan inducing portrayals.

 

[Prolepro]

I like it too but history doesn't look fondly on the "white guy saves another culture" stories.

Click to shrink...

But he doesnt.

Also, white savior tropes are defined by the white hero changing the culture he is assimilated into in such a way that puts the virtues of whiteness above the native customs and cultures, but this movie does the opposite. Algren changes to fit theirs and is made better as a person by his exposure to them, not the other way around. His closing words of describing the life of Katsumoto instead of glorifying his death pretty safely swerves the movie from failing in its positive message.

It's also the only movie of this type I can think of where the "romance" scene involves the characters putting their clothes on instead of taking them off.

Im not gonna sit here and act like The Last Samurai is the pinnacle of nuanced postcolonial theory or anything but it's a good movie, darn it.

 

[Deleted member 21339]

The movie has grown on me with repeat viewings. First time I saw it, I didn't care for it but over time I have grown to embrace the romanticism and melodrama.

 

[Speevy]

OP mentions "attention to historical detail", while this movie is filled with fantasies like the usages of Samurai armor from the 1100's , and the use of comic book type Ninjas among many other groan inducing portrayals.

Click to shrink...

It has lots of beautiful costumes and scenery, though. It helps pull you into the world it's painting, even if that world never existed.

 

[King Dodongo]

Underrated and timeless movie. I try to make time to watch this whenever possible.

 

[Deleted member 21339]

Also Ed Zwick is underrated.

 

[Speevy]

The thing that almost never gets brought up about depictions of history of film is that there is a discernible difference between what feels right to a mass audience and what is right to a historian.

A lot of clothing, weapons, fighting styles, buildings, hairstyles, accents, or even the motivations for the main actions of the movie can be pulled right out of history, do you think they never considered putting these things in the film? Do you think no one was around to consult on The Last Samurai and say "You know samurai used guns, right?" "You know people stopped wearing this hundreds of years earlier, right?" Of course someone said this. They had someone on the film whose job was to make a distinction to what best served the story they were telling while pulling in elements of history that would be compelling or recognizable to mass audiences.

 

[Deleted member 15227]

The score for this movie is in my opinion Hans Zimmer's best work.

 

[Reven Wolf]

Honestly the only movie that's done it is Apocalypto. Granted the movie is a historical nightmare, but it still amazes me that Mel Gibson of all people created a movie about the Mayan empire with a bunch of no name Native American actors in Yucatec Mayan? A movie about about a non-white culture from the point of view of non-white characters that's not in English? Fucking insane, and it hasn't been done since.

I mean he slipped in the end, but still...

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately he slipped more than just the end, from a historical point of view that movie is a train-wreck of inaccuracies, and while it's true it doesn't focus on a white person's perspective (which is nice) a lot of the historical errors in it are pretty damn noteworthy imo.

 

[hydro94530]

One of my favorite soundtracks and a very dope movie as well.

 

[Khamsinvera]

Loved it - and who the heck watches a hollywood samurai flick for "historical accuracy"? Come on now

 

[julia crawford]

Well there are worse choices, that's for sure.

 

[jett]

The score for this movie is in my opinion Hans Zimmer's best work.

Click to shrink...

Definitely one of his best.

Loved it - and who the heck watches a hollywood samurai flick for "historical accuracy"? Come on now

Click to shrink...

Indeed. History Buffs is one of my favorite channels on YouTube, but if historical accuracy was the basis by which I judged movies, I would barely enjoy most of these period pieces...

 

[jey_16]

Great movie, and one of the best scores ever! I think Zimmers best work

 

[Prine]

I'm with you OP. Loved the epic scale of it, loved the score, and most of all, loved the ending, it was gratifying to see "honor" restored to the Samurai (in the context of the movie universe).

Seriously, the score and shots of the landscape are so beautiful, I could play that when I. having a bad day and feel at peace.

 

[Arebours]

One thing I dislike is that it doesn't look like they are in Japan and indeed the outdoor parts were shot in New Zealand.
Overall I think Silence is about 100x better than this movie.

 

[Remember]

My main memory of this movie is that for some reason it used the silly, over-the-top pop culture depiction of ninjas in a movie that was otherwise supposed to be tonally serious.

Click to shrink...

The thing that almost never gets brought up about depictions of history of film is that there is a discernible difference between what feels right to a mass audience and what is right to a historian.

A lot of clothing, weapons, fighting styles, buildings, hairstyles, accents, or even the motivations for the main actions of the movie can be pulled right out of history, do you think they never considered putting these things in the film? Do you think no one was around to consult on The Last Samurai and say "You know samurai used guns, right?" "You know people stopped wearing this hundreds of years earlier, right?" Of course someone said this. They had someone on the film whose job was to make a distinction to what best served the story they were telling while pulling in elements of history that would be compelling or recognizable to mass audiences.

Click to shrink...

I agree with the second quote here. We shouldn't be judging The Last Samurai on the same scale as a documentary. It tells its own story and does a good job doing so, without using the white saviour trope(which people somehow placed onto this movie due to a dave chappelle skit). Here is the ninja scene in question:

 

[Afro_Ninja]

White dude train for a couple of years while recovering and smash Japanese enemies that live and breath that culture and martial arts since they are born.

He doesn't save Japan but still white power fantasy.

What about watch some Japanese samurai movies instead of this trash?

 

[Remember]

The first decade of this century was so much better for film than this decade (so far).

Click to shrink...

For big budget blockbusters, maybe. Indie films are doing way better this decade. The same goes for video games.

 

[Gaming_Groove]

It's an interesting film with a few problems. I can enjoy it, but I do have to consider some of its more problematic aspects whenever I see it.

I've also wondered how common the whole "kill the husband, win the bride" concept is in samurai films/stories. A similar idea happens in Rurouni Kenshin, which is set during essentially the same time period. It's been a long time since I've read it or watched the series or Tsuiokuhen (and I'm not sure if I will again because of the author), but I seem to recall it covering similar ground regarding the Meiji restoration and holdouts in the samurai class. I suspect these are probably tropes of the genre that romanticize the idea of samurai.

 

[Deleted member 48897]

I suppose in a way it was what the Nolan Batman movies were for that old Godfrey Ho schlock

 

[S-Wind]

Another Mighty Whitey outshines everyone else in another culture at their own culture movie.

No thanks!

 

[Bor Gullet]

The MVP of Last Samurai was Hiroyuki Sanada.

 

[Speevy]

If only they had stopped that giant machine gun from firing they would have saved Japan.

 

[gfxtwin]

I need to re-watch this movie

 

[shinobi602]

Almost a perfect movie in execution and one of the few where I teared up. Super powerful.

 

[thesoapster]

Amazing performances, cinematography, soundtrack...yeah. It ticks just about all my boxes.

 

[Cpt-GargameL]

We need more movies like this

 

[Cheapstare]

SAKEEEEEEEEEEE

 

[gfxtwin]

Also OP, check out Seven Samurai if you haven't already.

 

[VaporSnake]

Yeah I don't really see it as a white savior story in any way. Cruise's character at the start is a fucking miserable man haunted by the atrocities he and other whites had committed to native americans, this plot thread even culminates with him completely rejecting western culture in it's entirety and murdering his former commanding officer.

I don't think he really outshines everyone else either, I mean what he won a single mock duel with Sanada, confides to Katsumoto about western tactics and then survives at the end. That's about it, and regardless, the events at the end of TLS happen with or without Algren's defection.

What is it about your own people that you hate so much?

Click to shrink...

This line actually sums up my feelings on it, it's closer to the opposite of a white savior story.

 

[Skyebaron]

I enjoyed it but the Paul Mooney bit on it was spot on

Click to shrink...

I liked the movie when i saw it like... 15 years ago?.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

A great subversion of the white savior trope.

Yes it's historically inaccurate; but artistic liberties are a fact of media. What's more important is how respectful the movie handles its subject matter.

I love the movie.

 

[BabyShams]

tell me how he died

 

[Speevy]

"You want me to kill the enemies of Jappos, I'll kill the enemies of Jappos. Rebs or Sioux or Cheyenne; for 500 bucks a month I'll kill whoever you want. But keep one thing in mind: I'd happily kill you for free."

 

[Speevy]

tell me how he died

Click to shrink...

Please tell me you've had this avatar for longer than a few moments.

 

[RestEerie]

To those that complain about history accuracy, go watch a documentary...

movies are supposed to be entertainment and they more often than not, uses artistic license to stretch that. Not movie has ever classify itself as non-fiction.

about last samurai, it's merely okay to me.

 

[VaporSnake]

tell me how he died

Click to shrink...

...lmfao

 

[Frozenprince]

The History Buffs video on the film covers the inaccuracies pretty well. I liked the movie when I first watched it, but looking back I cringe a little.

Click to shrink...

Man it's never not weird to me that the silly little English dude I used to know from a teeny tiny little now long defunct video game podcast and who got riiiiiiiiiiiipped shit plastered in Austin during a pub crawl is one of the biggest youtubers around now.

Life be weird like that.

 

[Deleted member 78]

tell me how he died

Click to shrink...

I will tell you how he lived.

 

[Frozenprince]

See a straight up western backed film (I.E. a movie with a shitload of money and production talent) about the Boshin war would be inspired film making. You could easily impart it to contemporaneous culture, it's about the rise of a counter revolution against the stymied and fractured old regime based on wealth and status to wage war and make Japan its own identity in the face of encroaching western aggression that was eventually turned on itself and made, itself, an arm of western imperialism and a farce of "the old ways". How the Meiji era would, itself, come to be characterized by the westernization of Japan and it's own creation of an imperial hegemony.

You could tell some very interesting stories with that backdrop (as evidenced by all the interesting Japanese films on the subject) but unfortunately Hollywood doesn't make films like this anymore and if they went back to doing so, they sure as shit wouldn't use an all Asian, primarily if not entirely subtitled film.

 

[VaporSnake]

I will tell you how he lived.

Click to shrink...

Perfect. They... are all... perfect...