The Last Samurai (DVD 2004)

Saw ths in the cinema whn it first came out and loved it.
I must say that the first part of the film does drag a little but don't be put off by that, you soon forget about it when the plot gathers momentum. It makes up for it so well that i'm still going to give this an excellent rating.
Buy it!!

This is not the film that it thinks it is, nor is it the film it obviously wants to be. There is no hidden meaning to this movie, no depth, no underlying current. And it could of been a much better film if Cruise had been replaced with an actor of more gravity and presence as, in my opinion he is too much of an all American pretty boy to carry off the role of a hard bitten warrior. But all that said. This is a good watch. Lots of yelling and spinning round with swords causing arterial spurts from all the surrounding combatants. Some good old fashioned baddies, some honorouble renegade good guys, a bit of buddhist chanting and some unrequited love. Its all perfectly acceptable. My only gripe is that in the pivotal scene where Cruise, predictably, struts out in his special armour, he looks more like one of the Time Bandits than he does a Samurai. But it's all worthy of a viewing.

After seeing the adverts I always wanted to watch this film - thinking
"My god that looks good" I personally really enjoyed it after finally buying it. Especially for someone like me who admires Samurai and martial arts. There are some great action scenes and also increased some of my japanese vocabulary - woo! Very interesting story line too - I liked the reference to the "Kappa" where the main hero is out of his water (The USA) and he's in Japan.

Fully reccomend this film!

Excellent film. Gripping from start to finish. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Tom Cruise at his best. If you like a story that keeps your interest all the way through then this is the film for you.

this is a great movie up there with the best ie rambo, platoon , i watch the film at the cinmera and brought the dvd but it got scatch so glad ebay came to the rescue, well worth a watch very entertaining and has a great storyline. tom cruise is brillant and rehearse his role very well

Im not a great lover of Tom Cruise films but this movie is more about the Samurai Tradition than an ego trip for Tom , the stunning visuals enhance the dramatic story line. A great movie

Tom Cruise plays Civil War hero Capt. Nathan Algren, who comes to Japan to fight the Samurai and ends up pledging himself to their cause.
Ken Watanabe (Acadmy Award nominee) plays Katsumoto, a Samurai leader facing a vanishing way of life, whose destiny becomes intertwined with that of the American captain.
Edward Zwick directs this sweeping and emotional epic tale of the birth of modern Japan.

A very good film, which focuses on the Samurai people, and way of life, rather than just the warrior sterotype we normally here about.
Tom Cruise is very good in this, with good supporting roles.
A worthy DVD for your collection.

Overall,a great film, but maybe a little too muh emphasis on graphic violence, but this is probably balanced by some scenes of philosophical enlightenment. It shows an interesting change from 'old world' values and principles, such as courage, integrity, humility and honour, which are swept away in favour of 'modern' financial and political interests.
Good music, a running time of 148 minutes makes this an epic, and emotional film.

I enjoied the dvd it was a good old yarn. I bought it because i hadn't seen it and heard good reviews

A fantastically captivating action drama that I actually fell asleep watching the first time! Not because the movie was boring though! Second time around, I realised what I was missing. I became deeply engrossed into Captain Algren's battle with himself, and the way be interacts with his Samurai counterparts after his defeat. You fall in love with the characters, you sympathise, even embrace the way of the Samurai, and their fight against de-culturization. With the arse-licking, cowardly western trade supporters contaminating Japan as it moves towards the future, Algren joins the Samurai in it's final hour of glorious battle. Topped off with a fantastic musical score, The Last Samurai is on a very short list of movies (3) that have literally brought me to tears. One of my all time favourites and an underrated classic of our time...I would almost go so far as to call it a masterpiece...almost.