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"The Last Samurai" tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Cruise), an American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the government attempts to eradicate the ancient Samurai warrior class in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly affected by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.
thats a fucking awesome poster -- i am pumped for this...
pants are getting creamed!!
i too am pumped.
Who's directing?
Quote from: SoNowThenWho's directing?
Ed Zwick (Glory, Courage Under Fire, Legends Of The Fall, The Siege)
You can watch the teaser here:
http://www.joblo.com/movietrailers2L.htm
....not that cool though :(
yeah, TC is looking kind of awkward in that role.
I'm excited for this movie too, but that poster is pitiful. Its a poster trying to seem raw like Seven Samuari but comes across as dorky with the computerish look. A few months ago, I saw a novel called The Last Samurai and picked it up thinking it may be for this movie. I found out it isn't at all. I still plan to read it this summer.
~rougerum
Quote from: dufresneyeah, TC is looking kind of awkward in that role.
TC is looking pretty awkward in all of his roles lateley to me.
I don't know how you guys feel, but I find Cruise to be quite likeable on screen. Even when he's being an asshole.
I thought it was called Crouching Mission, Hidden Impossible.
I like Tom Cruise a whole lot most of the time, but I'm not a big fan of Ed Zwick. The trailer was okay....but coming right after the Kill Bill trailer, its samurai sword action seemed a bit quaint.
When I read the story outline, it sounded like "Dances With Wolves" to me.
Anyway, trailer here. (http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/the_last_samurai/)
Saw the trailer before Matrix and it wasn't very good. I am still extremely excited for this movie because of the word of mouth on it.
~rougerum
I saw the trailer on access hollywood, and i can tell you now i dont care about this film. Ive seen enough Kurosawa to know a good samurai movie when i see one. :wink:
This is TC's first film post braces.
he got braces? i knew not of that one.
Quote from: Duck SauceIve seen enough Kurosawa to know a good samurai movie when i see one. :wink:
Me too, but I'm still excited about this movie none-the-less. Looks interesting at least, which is more than I can say for most movies coming out these days =/.
Cruise needs to work on his war face. Looks to be relieving himself.
Never-Before-Seen Footage From The Last Samurai
Source: Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures has provided ComingSoon! with a first look at never-before-seen footage from Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai. You can view the 2 1/2 minute clip in QuickTime below.
After examining the ravages of 19th century America in his Academy Award-winning Civil War drama Glory, director Edward Zwick explores the birth of modern Japan in this sweeping epic set in Japan during the 1870s. Tom Cruise stars as Capt. Nathan Algren, a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.
Hi-Res (http://media.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/lastsamurai/clip_hi/clip_a.mov)
Med-Res (http://media.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/lastsamurai/clip_med/clip_a.mov)
Lo-Res (http://media.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/lastsamurai/clip_lo/clip_a.mov)
great concept, i'm gonna like it.
Saw the trailer before Matrix: Reloaded (opening night... mmmmm). It came off like they were trying to pass Cruise as an actual last Samurai. You know? One of the guys in the theater was like, "Why does it always have to be a white guy??"
So he's playing an American, eh? That makes more sense.
I'm half-interested, and half-too-entirely-obsessed-with-Rings-and-Matrix-and-Kill-Bill-to-care.
I'll see it... or I won't.
I thought it looked like a pud, but Tom's face is getting more beautiful and characterful with age, so I will be seeing that.
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HOLY SHIT!!! tom cruise really immersed himself in this samurai role, he's a sure bet for the oscar!!! at first i hardly recognized him!
He must be playing three roles, because:
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HAHAAHA!!!
FUK'D!
ahahahaha
saw my first commercial for this last night during the thursday college football game. i thought it looked pretty good. what's up with commercials for a flick that won't come out for another two months though?
..after carefull atention/reasonong/experience with films ..anfd such ..NEON MERCURY has deemed this film a bust..watch it will be as much as i think it's col to see tom cruise dress and samuri gear and prance around in battle scenes the more redicualous this seems ..iat first i thought it wqas col but now it LOOKS ABSOLUTELY SILLY...i hope bvased on the trailer i have seen this film doesm't receive well b/c it shouldn't its really cheesy looking..watch the trailer again and HONESLTLYn try not to laugh at it....I mean come on.. :roll: .tom cruise as a samuria?>>>
Quote from: NEON MERCURY-PLEASE DISREGARD ANY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THIS POST-
So should I disregard your ENTIRE post?
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*(puke.) why did they have to go preparing for the video box already? is it a rule that if his face does not cover 85% of the poster, it fails inspection?
Perhaps, but you've gotta admit. The cover looks really good... what would you have preferred?
lookz like tom got shanked in da fa$e
Quote from: Cinephilewhat would you have preferred?
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Ah, yes! I stand corrected!
yeah that second poster is the shit
new trailer is up...
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/the_last_samurai/trailer/
Why am I not interested in seeing this?
Maybe you don't like Japanese people
LOL
I think that MAY NOT be the reason.
By the way, great avatar. Gotta love Calvin & Hobbs.
:-D
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god, it just keeps getting worse and worse. although recently i saw a poster that was like the front side version of the other one i liked and he had a really crazy look on his face. i'd say thats my favorite poster. this one sucks hard.
EDIT: oh here is the awesome one...
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While watching this movie, I noticed the ultimate Kurosawa homage. The climactic battle takes place on May 25, 1877 -- exactly 100 years to the day before Star Wars opened!
It was a whole lot better than I expected. A good old Hollywood epic. Not too deep, but very engaging with some rousing action scenes. In the same class as Gladiator and Braveheart, pretty much. Tom Cruise is really good, although there's no escaping the fact that he embodies a 20th Century Boy and never completely fits into a Civil War era setting.
The best thing about this movie is that it is has a very very strong anti-gun message. That alone makes me recommend it.
From Latino Review (http://www.latinoreview.com/films_2003/wb/lastsamurai/tom-interview.html).
An Interview With Tom Cruise.
"The Last Samurai" is an epic adventure that will leave you breathless one moment, cheering the next, and admiring the enduring effect a powerful narrative with brilliant performances can have on the senses. It's beautiful to once again experience Tom Cruise in a role that makes him shine, a role that uses his acting skills to a depth we have not seen until now. Cruise is absolutely, positively, outstanding as Captain Nathan Algren.
A few weeks ago during a press conference in Los Angeles Cruise talked about the commitment he has made in the past to films and now to Samurai, "I put a lot of time into everything I do, interestingly enough. 'Rain Man' and 'Born on the Fourth' was years prepping that film. This film is different in that it took me almost a year to physically be able to make this picture. I love what I do. I take great pride in what I do. And I can't do something halfway, three-quarters, nine-tenths. If I'm going to do something, I go all the way and I didn't know if I could do it, honestly. If I could find that kind of physical elegance and movement that the Samurai have. I look at Hiro [Hiroyuki Sanada] and Ken [Watanabe] and the natural grace of these actors. It was a year preparing not only physically but it was developing the character, because the transition that the character makes--I kept copious amounts of notes so I could remember, you know, for the training sequences, where Algren starts and where we end up. And it's one of those films...when I saw 'Lawrence of Arabia,' here I am, I haven't really found or made an epic film. And I knew what Ed [director Edward Zwick] was going for with this picture, and it was very ambitious on many levels, because here we want to deliver--we both love adventure films, and yet you're looking at this time period and his particular dedication to that history. Yet in the spirit of adventure and epic films, we're imbuing it with this wonderful story...how's this all going to work out? It took that amount of time to prepare. I don't make a film unless I feel that I have that kind of time. Even 'Jerry Maguire' before I started, every film I do there's a lot of preparation. And this one in particular because I had to study the American Indian War. I'm an American. I thought I knew about the American-Indian wars and that time period in our history, but I was blown away by how little I knew. Also, the Japanese history during that time period and a little earlier, how the country came to this moment, and also I revisited the Civil War again for myself, just because Algren had lived through that time period and I had collected a small library. So I needed that kind of time to absorb the film and to work with Ed and Marshall [Herskovitz] and I enjoyed it. I loved working with Ed Zwick...Bright, sensitive artist. So it was pleasurable for me. When I work on something I'm in that fortunate position--I remember as a young actor, I thought, 'I'm used to hard work, I can bus tables, I can wait, I can wait on tables.' And I've never made a film that I didn't believe in...however the picture turns out, I've always given everything to it. That's kind of how I approach life. I can't help it. There's no part-way with me on anything in any area of my life." His hard work and philosophy is apparent in the details of this film.
Cruise goes on to say this about his fascination with the Japanese culture: "When I go to Japan, it's so enigmatic to me. It's different. The culture is different. I don't think anyone who has been to Japan or seen pictures of Japan, when I was a child, we didn't have the internet...I've just been absolutely fascinated and in awe of the culture. I find it aesthetic and the people fascinating. I wanted to know more, more about their history, how they lived, how they got to where they are today. That small island, and when you study the Sword, that is the greatest sword ever made in the history of this world, and the art of it. It is both a powerful weapon yet it's aesthetically superb. The balance, the engineering, they didn't have thermodynamics then, so when they were forging it, they would hold it up, heat up to the rising sun or the setting sun for temperature. And they knew at that point it was ready to pound and they'd fold it over and over. It's an amazing culture, but I've always been fascinated by that. One of the great things about being an actor is that I get to travel to these places. I get to learn about the people and that is the most enjoyable thing for me. To learn about the history of people and how people live and their daily lives. Also, you find a common ground. Even though the language is different and the culture is different - you find that common ground of joy, happiness, pain. And the humanity, and it really gives you a sense of hope. We're all in this thing together here, you know. So we've got to help each other out and I really enjoy that." There's also the Japanese Bushido philosophy that involves loyalty, fortitude, courage, and sacrifice that Cruise feels close to: "Those values are very important to me, very important to me. I think it's important to have in life. I look at the Samurai because they were the artists of their time. They were educated. Their main focus and they were actually, they were educated to be leaders and to lead and actually help people. And what I think struck me when I read Bushido is compassion . . . If there's no one there to help go out and find someone, to help--that hit me, because I try to lead my life like that. I think it's important. Helping someone and seeing them do better in life is the most gratifying thing in the world. And having a film where that's the value, that's what the movie's about, I connect in a very compassionate and deep way to the code of Samurai." Is there anything that surprised Cruise about the Japanese culture? Cruise: I always suspected that 'hai' did not always mean yes. You know, when they say hai, it does not always mean yes. It was an acknowledgement, but it didn't necessarily mean they agreed with me. I think that I was fascinated by the Samurai sword. There were just so many things that surprised me and engaged me. When I went to Japan, I used to go walking in the rain at night when we landed because I was jetlagged. And all the lights at night, and I saw the businessmen coming out of their meals at 2:00 in the morning. And I just felt that I wanted to get inside the culture and I feel like I really had a very good, a greater understanding from studying their history and where they are now. But I think that--I wouldn't say I was surprised. I was excited and pleased to see how much we had in common."
When recommending "The Last Samurai" what do you want audiences to know? Cruise: "Well, what I'd like them to know, that each audience walks away with an experience from the movie, whether it's a thrill ride or an epic or a romance or a thriller. I'd like them to have that feeling. They're gonna go see a different world in the same way that I did as a kid. When I go to a picture, I'm a great audience because I love movies and this movie is going to take you to a different place, a different time. Yet it's still, you realize, what I realized when I was reading not so much the history, but when I was reading diaries from people, because history books sometimes are just nice fiction. It's just good fiction, but when you start reading diaries of the Civil War or during the American Indian wars, people who had been to Japan, their personal diaries that weren't altered for social benefit. You can't help but connect. You can see yourself at times, what it's like--seeing it through their eyes. And I want them to know that that's available to them. That that's available and they're going to go to a time and it is authentic, even though the story is fiction. But the time frame in which it takes place and the humanity in the picture is real."
Cruise had to get in excellent shape for his role, and said this about the changes his body underwent: "I couldn't touch my toes when I started out. I bent down and I couldn't get my hands past my knees--with all the training and stunts that I'd done before, and I've done quite a bit of stunts. I knew that the way that I would have to move, just carrying the armor. You have to think, 50 pounds of armor doesn't seem so much but when you start lowering your center of gravity and bending your knees, it's a tremendous amount of pressure on the knees, the groin, the hamstrings. So I put on 25 pounds for the picture. I was 25 pounds of muscle heavier than I am right now. I worked with a great stunt coordinator, Nick Powell who built me up very slowly; he did all kinds of, actually Chinese sword work to build up my forearms and my shoulders in order to make that movement [rotates his arms around], the rotation. A lot of stretching and just training, doing the sequences, building it up and learning moves and working, working, working, working on it, the same Algren did in the training. I spent a year being able to do that. Now the Kata, there's a sunset shot in the movie where I do the Kata and it looks so easy. You're going: 'Oh, I can do that.' I mean the balance. I would do it and I'd be moving around. The balance was something. It took a lot of time for me to be able to do that and to move. There are certain things. When I'm working on a character and just start finding how a character moves, the amount of emotional weight he had at the beginning of the picture, and then as the film goes on, how he just moves differently. The first time when he moves in the village, and then by the end of the movie there's a grace that I was going for, where I was able to move in a different way. It took a lot of training and there was a lot of help I received and the guys that I worked with were excellent. I'm more concerned about not hurting someone else because when you're moving those swords, even though at times they weren't razor sharp but they could still cut your finger off at the speed we were traveling and those swords coming in the way they were. And I have to say that the guys I worked with were excellent. The beating that I get in the rain from Hiro, just a thrashing, you can't really tell, but it was very unstable ground, rain. He was extraordinary in that because he was bringing that sword just right there. He was very nervous about hurting me. So I said: 'Look, don't worry, don't worry. I'm okay.' He never hit me with that sword." It's shocking to hear that there weren't any injures when you see the complexity of the sword fighting. The swords are like works of moving art. Cruise later mentioned he kept one of them but has it lock away because it's so sharp.
He then went on to talk about the process in which he selects roles and how that process has evolved over the course of his career. Cruise: "In the beginning, when I started out, you know, you just want to work in the beginning. And you don't know if you are going to work. But really, after T.A.P.S., I had an extraordinary experience...But what I do is I just take my time and look at the material that is available, because I want to work. I love what I do. I have always really just thought...I read something and I just have an immediate response to it as an audience. Something I go, 'Wow, this is a great story.' Or 'This is a great character. I want to play; I want to go on that journey.' And I look for something that I feel is going to be challenging to me and an experience that I can learn from, that I can contribute to. And I look at the group that I am working with...That's really how I choose it, and what I personally respond to. And then I just jump from there. I don't take a lot of time deciding if I am going to do something...I know pretty quickly and I make very quick decisions when I read something. When I work, I work very hard. So I look to work with people who have that level of dedication, and I depend on that from everyone, from the director, to my crews that I work with. I work with, a lot of times, the same crews. And I depend on that because they help create that kind of environment that I need to work in. That I think is an ideal scene for an artist and for a film to get made. I always look, you know, when I decide to do something. I say 'Okay, what is the ideal scene? How can we best accomplish what we all want to accomplish with this film?' and then I kind of work backwards from there. As a producer I do that, but also as an actor."
When asked how he feels about the obligation of promoting films and the Oscar buzz "The Last Samurai" is receiving, he responds with, "I always feel a responsibility to promote a film, and I am just going to promote this film. I haven't opened any shopping malls...but I may. [Laughs] I do believe, like a record album, that every film has its audience. And I have made very diverse films, from 'Born on the 4th of July,' to 'Interview with The Vampire,' because as an audience I enjoy different types of movies. 'Magnolia,' even 'Rain Man,' when we were making that...you look at this movie now, and I'm very, very proud of this film, [but] you never know how a movie is going to turn out. But I'll travel around and I'll talk about the movie and do what I can to support it. So much of my life has gone into my films and I want people who want to see the movie to go see the movie. I know what it takes to make a film, and the responsibility. When I make a film, I feel responsible. The studio allows me the freedoms that I have because they know I take full responsibility for what I do. I decided to make this film. They have given me the room to make it and I've made it within certain boundaries. They allow me some breathing room. If I need extra days sometimes, we'll go through it, but they know I am very tough on myself and as a producer, I'm tough on the films, but you know when you need something you need it. And because of that, I feel a responsible to get the studio their money back, hopefully. But even more than that, I want people to see the movies. I don't make movies so they will sit on shelves. I'm very proud of what I do. Do I have any limitations? I don't know. Things that I won't do? I guess yeah, there are some things. Nothing really comes to mind at this moment but I'm sure there are some things."
Currently Cruise is filming with Michael Mann, and said this about the so called "Collateral" title: "It's Michael Mann Untitled. We're not sure about Collateral. So I don't know if it's going to be Collateral, I don't know what it's going to be. Michael is going to decide. Michael Mann, you know, I've been so fortunate to go from Ed Zwick to Michael Mann, he's a great guy and he's a great filmmaker. He's a great filmmaker. Going from Ed, who is a great filmmaker, to Michael Mann, who is a great filmmaker, both, you know, these gentlemen are on top of their game, they have total command of what they do and these two pictures couldn't be more different and unique in their characters, so I, you know when I start out I was thinking--you're thinking you're never going to work again or will I work and what's going to happen and I'm having a blast. I'm really having a blast." Are you a villain in this film? Cruise responds, "He's a contract hitman. That's pretty bad."
When Cruise is asked if there will be another installment of Mission Impossible he says, "We're still working on the script...Mission is always tough to do. It's just...That's the challenge of it. And if I don't feel I can do it...No. I hope I can because I like producing it. They are just fun to produce."
At the end of the press conference everyone rushed the stage to get tape recorders and a chance for an autograph. Out of all the press days I've attended this was the craziest I've ever seen. Tom Cruise brings out the frenzy even in journalists.
I'm not surprised I was indifferent to most of it. The film is quite romantic in objectivity to the east, but for the first half of the movie, I was able to enjoy some scenes, lightly get involved in others and even find one scene to be magnificent. The magnificent scene was where Cruise tests the hardness of a soldier to being threatened with death by shooting at him. The scene was personally shocking for me because of the casualness that began the scene and the scary realism that ended it. Thing is, a scene in great realism like that never came again. The rest was a slow decline through the rigurs of the unbearable romance novel where very little logic was evident (likely Cruise's character would go to Japan? Be accepted into the life of the samuari that way?) and drama was cheap and easy (Japanese cultural understanding in such easy dialogue? Cruise given so many scenes of glory?). By the end, the movie was just unbearable in how far it was straying from all grounds so that it could give Cruise so much acclaim. I ended up angry. The director of this film also directed Legends of the Fall, a movie that actually went twenty miles further into the same disaster. A minor relief for this film, I guess.
But, to Cruise. I don't think he was good at all. The writing certainly undermined any chance for him to really explore the character, but his approach seemed to fit the writing. His level of physical transformation is that he grew a beard but his outbursts, talk and mannerisms are him in any other starring role requiring the same things. He never becomes the emotionally crippled soldier. He is the movie star in this role where he plays every situation to how it best suits how he wants to be perceived as a star. For the pre Japan scenes in which he is to convey drunkeness, he merely acts as drunk and obnoxious as he can. When he is training the soldiers, he becomes quite hard and disciplined but still supposebly the same crippled man. When he goes to the village, he is quiet, observant, and very relaxed in standing up to others, but again the same crippled man before transformation. For none of these situations, does he feel to be carrying the same person with him. He is the movie star wanting to make the audience feel every emotion they can for him. The rule is by the end of the picture, the audience must love him and want see his next movie. 'Collateral' comes out in 2004. See ya then.
i was really looking forward to this. and today in the washington post i read a review that just fucking slammed it, and now not so much.
'The Last Samurai' Rides Lamely Into the Sunrise
"...That doesn't stop Zwick. Nothing stops Zwick. He's like General MacArthur returning. He marches through everything, immune to subtlety, nuance, sense of appropriateness. So he's got Tom Cruise, as earnest and hopeless as the day is long, as both Toshiro Mifune and Kevin Costner. And to make this travesty worse, you can feel the handsome little guy "acting" with every fiber of his being. It's kind of unsettling. He resembles Sean Penn in "I Am Sam," except he seems to be shouting "I am Samurai." His face is a perpetual mask of scorn, his body a knot of anxiety, his eyes cranked down to laser glare. He's a poster boy for the concept of "trying too hard." He's not a hero, he's the guy at the party who's so intense you want him to stay away."
that shit is harsh.
i thought this movie rocked
Ebert said that the ending swayed from the movies direction but i thought that it stayed in line and was really good, I wonder what he would rather have?
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetThe magnificent scene was where Cruise tests the hardness of a soldier to being threatened with death by shooting at him. The scene was personally shocking for me because of the casualness that began the scene and the scary realism that ended it.
Well, the thing about this scene is that it is basically a vamped up version of the one in Glory, where Matthew Broderick fires in the air next to a soldier as he tries to frantically reload his weapon, but can't, to ultimately prove the point that the soldiers aren't ready, like in the Last Samurai. So, I thought it was still a good scene, but the director needs to learn to write new material.
Quote from: The Gold Trumpet
But, to Cruise. I don't think he was good at all. The writing certainly undermined any chance for him to really explore the character, but his approach seemed to fit the writing. His level of physical transformation is that he grew a beard but his outbursts, talk and mannerisms are him in any other starring role requiring the same things. He never becomes the emotionally crippled soldier. He is the movie star in this role where he plays every situation to how it best suits how he wants to be perceived as a star. For the pre Japan scenes in which he is to convey drunkeness, he merely acts as drunk and obnoxious as he can. When he is training the soldiers, he becomes quite hard and disciplined but still supposebly the same crippled man. When he goes to the village, he is quiet, observant, and very relaxed in standing up to others, but again the same crippled man before transformation. For none of these situations, does he feel to be carrying the same person with him. He is the movie star wanting to make the audience feel every emotion they can for him. The rule is by the end of the picture, the audience must love him and want see his next movie. 'Collateral' comes out in 2004. See ya then.
Very insightful stuff, I really agree with you on this. The movie was really lacking, I don't see why critics eat this stuff up. Although, I do think the action scenes were really amazing, especially Cruise's first encounter with the samurai, very incredible, I liked see Katsumoto's reaction to this injured man fighting off his best warriors.
I tought the movie was lame. It was Braveheart without the drama and the care for any character whatsoever. It was long yet nothing happened for the most part. The fight scenes weren't even cool for the most part. And the Samurais talked and acted like americans pretending to be japanese. Weak.
Quote from: Gamblor: PrinceofDarknessQuote from: The Gold TrumpetThe magnificent scene was where Cruise tests the hardness of a soldier to being threatened with death by shooting at him. The scene was personally shocking for me because of the casualness that began the scene and the scary realism that ended it.
Well, the thing about this scene is that it is basically a vamped up version of the one in Glory, where Matthew Broderick fires in the air next to a soldier as he tries to frantically reload his weapon, but can't, to ultimately prove the point that the soldiers aren't ready, like in the Last Samurai. So, I thought it was still a good scene, but the director needs to learn to write new material.
I didn't realize that. Its been around 6 years since I've seen Glory. I think the writer of the film was the guy who wrote Gladiator, but a borrowed scene nonetheless.
I wasn't too impressed with it myself. I thought it went on too long and it just reminded me of a typical, big hollywood movie. Cruise is good here, but not great. I thought the last 30 minutes was the best thing out of the whole movie.
Quote from: The Gold Trumpet
I didn't realize that. Its been around 6 years since I've seen Glory. I think the writer of the film was the guy who wrote Gladiator, but a borrowed scene nonetheless.
Just to clarify, Zwick is credited with writing the script too.
Quote from: NEON MERCURY..after carefull atention/reasonong/experience with films ..anfd such ..NEON MERCURY has deemed this film a bust..watch it will be as much as i think it's col to see tom cruise dress and samuri gear and prance around in battle scenes the more redicualous this seems ..iat first i thought it wqas col but now it LOOKS ABSOLUTELY SILLY...i hope bvased on the trailer i have seen this film doesm't receive well b/c it shouldn't its really cheesy looking..watch the trailer again and HONESLTLYn try not to laugh at it....I mean come on.. :roll: .tom cruise as a samuria?>>>
.damn...i am so right on about this.....
*****NNOTE TO BOARDMENNMBERS:.......if you are curious as to wether or nno tto spennnd your hard earned money on a film that you desperately wannted to see by raking your grannndmothers's yard and excitedly walking down the muliplex in hopes of seeing a "good" film......STOP......NOW and PM me annnd i will let you know if you should see the ffilm in questioonnn.....save that hard earnewd money for......(thsi wonnn't cost you for this info).....SAVE IT FOR 21 GRAMS....even thoough it doesnnn't seem to "actiony"...i think you kids will enjoy it.....ta ta .... :wink:
you must be the first person in internet history to purposefully develop a stutter.
Quote from: picolasyou must be the first person in internet history to purposefully develop a stutter.
.hahahhaa.....good point ......
here's the real scoup.....
on my keyboard the "nnnn" and the "Ooo" buttonns are phucked up...if i tap it once it keeps acting like i hit it more than onnce ..but i am to lazy to go back and correct it
that VO at the end was really dumb "and so, blah blah blah"
i swear when the camera was pulling back, i was thinking "and so, tom cruise and that oriental fella agreed to be friends..." and the the narrator actually said "and so..." sigh
man people are saying some kinda harsh shit about this film
Quote from: Bankyman people are saying some kinda harsh shit about this film
People say harsh shit cause the movie was horse shit.
so should i see this thing or just wait for video?
I'd say wait for video. In fact, watch the fantastic last 30 minutes and skip the movie.
Quote from: ©bradso should i see this thing or just wait for video?
If you are going to see it at all, see it first on the big screen.
I liked the movie, but I was a little skeptical that Algren could learn so much in a few months when the samurai are immersed in this culture from childhood. But as someone who isn't an expert on Japanese culture or history, I enjoyed it. Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise, so I wonder if someone else would have imbued the role better.
man go see the move and judge it for yourself
Quote from: taz.he got braces? i knew not of that one.
leg braces -- polio -- sad state of affairs.
I've been hearing nothing but great things about this movie in real life.
Quote from: poserismsI've been hearing nothing but great things about this movie in real life.
are you implying that this isnt REAL life -- you lousy fucking scoundral.
Overall I thought it was a pretty good blockbuster epic war film... It was entertaining...
I cringed at allot of the dialogue, and a few other things.
The worst thing I thought about the film, was the ending. Edward Zwick had a great ending for Glory, not only was it moving, it was just an amazing note to end on.
spoiler.....
At the end battle scene, when The Last Samurai was barely alive (Tom Cruise), I thought the film was going to end. And if this would have happened, it would have been great. It was a very moving scene, and we see the enemy with tears in their eyes, having a great respect and maybe even feeling like they just made a grave mistake by wiping out their ancient culture. Instead, the film keeps going to a drawn out scene with the emperor and then cruise walks in, changes the emperors mind, blah blah, naration, blah blah, end credits. I thought the ending was terrible, but anyways I have this feeling that maybe the battle scene might have been intended as the ending to the movie, and maybe it was changed by the studio, director, producer, who knows, but we will find out come dvd time, if this is true.
on a side not: i didn't pay to see this, i snuck in to the theatre, i would only recommend this film if you snuck into the theatre, i knew the film wasen't worth 7 bucks, but i still wanted to see it
chris
i liked it.
My nustshell review:
The best thing about the film was the visuals (of course this is so often the case with expesive hollywood epics). Cinematography, art direction, and costumes were all incredable. There were a few obvious CGI shots, though.
As far as the story goes: I really like the concept, and the structure felt about right. The only time it drug was in the last ten minutes or so (scenes that were all unnecessary). The dialogue was pretty inconsistant but I forgave some of it because of the period setting. And what the hell was the deal with the British narrator? Why do we need that?
I thought the acting was all prety good. As lots of people have complained, it's hard to forget that Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise, but he did a nice job. Ken Watanabe(sp?) was amazing.
And for anyone who says it's not worth the money, I say the Ninja sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
I thought this movie was okay. I wish they would have ended it better, (like taking the last 30 minutes out.). I didn't like the obvious manipulation of emotions. The soaring soundtrack that basically was a cue to the audience "you're supposed to be emotionally moved right now." I was a little frustrated with that. The cinematography was really beautiful to watch. Tom Cruise was pretty good, but I don't think he will be nominated for an Oscar. All in all, I don't recomend it, but I didn't hate it.
i liked this movie. i didnt love it, but i'd give it a B. i did think the narration was a little pointless, (not to mention confusing that one guy was narrating sometimes and tom cruise other times), and the story was very familiar seeming (even though i havent even seen Dances With Wolves yet) and some of the music did seem to be really beating you over the head with "get emotional now", BUUUUT. i liked all the characters, i love tom cruises INTENSE acting, i liked that it was a movie with action but one where it wasnt meaningless 'plot' shoved inbetween the fighting scenes but characters that i cared about, and i thought some of the battle scenes were really cool, as were the settings. i was hoping it mightve been a little better, but i'd still say it was an enjoyable watch.
I had fun. Saw it for free. If you have an interest in it already, go see it on the big screen. A movie like this... it has been carefully and specifically DESIGNED so you will have an 'ideal movie experience'. Laugh, cry, cheer... you know the drill.
the guy who played the second samurai in command, the one taht kept on beating up tom cruise, was Hiroyki "Henry" Sanada. If you're a Sonny Chiba buff then you'll know this guy, he was trained by Sonny Chiba since he was a kid. He played the kid version of Sonny in Executioners. He was also in Sonny Chiba's "kage no gundan" (where the Hattori Hanzo character of kill bill originated from) in the 80s. What else, he had a pretty meaty part in Royal Warriors with Michelle Yeoh in Hong Kong. My friend just told me he was the lead in shogun assassin. I didn't even put the two and two together, but yeah, that's how badass he is.
he toured with the royal shakespeare company within the last few years and played The Fool in King Lear.
Yea, this movie was fun in theatres, and I might buy it just for the acting mainly and for the nice visuals....
chris
Quote from: ThecowgoooesmoooThe worst thing I thought about the film, was the ending. Edward Zwick had a great ending for Glory, not only was it moving, it was just an amazing note to end on.
Absolutely. Such an amazing movie. One of my all-time favorites. And every damn character gets wiped out at the end. How did he ever get that to fly with the studio?
Um, Nathan didn't die...
Pleasantly suprised. I was a bit harsh on this film upon seeing the trailers. It seemed like Tom Cruises's Gladiator to me. Having seen the film for real now, Im impressed. I'm always warmed by films about virtues such as honour, especially Japanese ones (or those set in Japan) probably because I wish that given the righ circumstances I would possess them. I thought this was a highly enjoyable film which could have been improved quite considerably if 'they'(I assume executive influence too, cowgoesmoo) had had the guts to kill Cruise. In fact my two only problems with the film are 'kill Nathan' and the 'they're not ready scene' (which could have worked if they had developed the true extent of his guilt by that point). Apart from that, I'll just say I'm really glad I saw it today.
it seems to be that i am the last to see anything (schedules here where im from really sucks) but i just had to say again...
good blockbuster movie... it such a cop out movie but the kurosawa elements made it better than other blockbuster movies... some of his use of kurosawa though didnt seem to work for me (bob, the old man watching over him, dying).
what i really liked about this movie was the pacing. this is the best thing he was able to incorporate from a kurosawa film cause it worked really well. i liked how he slowed things down just like kurosawa does.
but yeah i hate that it was such blockbuster cop out
Saw it last weekend, I wasn't expecting much so it turned out really good, it was actually the first Cruise film in years that I wasn't waiting for, mainly because of Ed Zwick, but now I'll go as far as to say it's one of the best films of the year; having said that, I still have to see Lost in Traslation, American Splendor, In America, Cold Mountain, Big Fish, Elephant, Gerry, thirteen, Monster, and the list goes on and on...
Quote from: FernandoI still have to see Lost in Traslation, American Splendor, In America, Cold Mountain, Big Fish, Elephant, Gerry, thirteen, Monster, and the list goes on and on...
yupp same here... those films you mentioned are pretty much the ones ive been wanting to see but havent, except for monster
Made me love To The White Sea even more.
Warner Home Video have just announced the region one release of The Last Samurai which stars Tom Cruise, Hiroyuki Sanada and Timothy Spall. This two disc special edition release will be available to own in seperate anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen editions from the 4th May this year. Each release should set you back around $29.95 a pop:
Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Track
French Dolby Digital 5.1 Track
English Dolby Surround Stereo Track
Audio Commentary by Director Edward Zwick
History vs. Hollywood: The Last Samurai Documentary
Tom Cruise: A Warrior's Journey Featurette
Edward Zwick: Director's Video Journal
Production Design with Lilly Kilvert Feature
Costume Design with Ngila Dickson Feature
From Soldier to Samurai: The Weapons Feature
Deleted Scenes: The Beheading & Algren and Katsumoto
Making an Epic: A Conversation with Edward Zwick
Japan Premieres {Tokyo & Kyoto Red Carpet)
DVD ROM Features: Weblink Etc
English, French, Spanish Subtitles
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i'm glad they didnt go with that cool art, that would've been too good.
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its better when they use something hideous and thrown together in 5 minutes as long as the stars face is so BIG i can see it from all the way across blockbuster video.
The acting and cinematography ARE very good. I know a lot of people are down on Tom Cruise, but his obviously amazing work ethic and desire to do more challenging work is pretty great, I think.
The only question is that the ending is such an OBVIOUS cop out (and everyone who sees it says, "It was good, 'cept for the ending."), so... what the hell was Zwick thinking? It's just too absurd that One Man (Our Hero) is the only one who doesn't die from a hail of gunfire.
But throughout the movie there were many little copouts (the whole Tim Spall character, the convienently beautiful Japanese lady who waits for him at the village, the "I only know how to be evil" Higher Ranking Officer). When I look at it, I can see how it basically followed the "Rules of Writing an Action Drama Picture" pretty much exactly.
For a lot of those reasons, I wouldn't call it one of the best of the year, but I think it was a pretty damn good movie anyway. Heh, I just had a thought that this movie is basically "The Kirate Kid," but maybe someone said that already.
This move came to my mind again recently. I was watching the extended edition of Dances With Wolves and even though it was 4 hours long, I was completely entranched in its world and actually feeling Costner's transition from average white male of the times to Sioux Indian. His anger at the end of the film to white men destroying the frontier became my own. The film had moments of over symbolism and hoakiness, but for the most part, it was an air of feeling that felt truthful. Master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa suffered from similiar problems but still made great films because of his ability to capture the feeling in a world. The Last Samuari suffers because it feels like a cliff notes. It has all the right scenes, it just has no sense of environment.
Excellent point, GT. I think a lot of 'epics' suffer from this and Im sure its down to being overly conscious of running times. As long as there's some kind of payoff - more invested time by the audience should strengthen the impression the film makes.
spoilerrrrrrrrrrs...
overall i enjoyed this film.....but what pisse me off mostr about this film was how cliched it felt...it was almost cheesy at times.....so cheesy like a episode of 'saved by the bell'......and i reall ycouldn t stand that 'comic relief' fat guy w/ took the picutres and sh*t.........he s the one who said that cheesy line when cuise was trying to sneak in a meet w/ watannabe.....he really got on my nerves............but i likes Tolls cinematog, and the score was cool.basically all the visual aspects were killer.........oh yeah. the scene near the end when cruise hands over watannabe s sword to the emporer was too phucking long and drawn out..and yes that helped raise the cheese factor even more....................but i would like to end this on a posituve note and say that watannabe was badassssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
EDIT:.the quote from the 'time' magazine critic on the dvd cover is absolutely ridiculous..........after you watch the film read it again and see how stupid it sounds........ :roll: