The Last Samurai

I LOVED this movie. It was very beautiful, had TONS of action, wasn't predictable, and had enough sword action for the biggest of enthusiasts! However when people have asked me about it, I've likened it to Braveheart, only even more impressive. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you, but if you've seen Braveheart, you'll notice some very similar aspects between the two films (which I'm sure don't have a thing to do with one another). Something that surprised me about this movie was the writers incorporation of humor. It's something that I just didn't expect in a movie of this type, but didn't detract from it... rather it added to it. It was just simply an incredible movie.

Any other opinions?

It had some VERY predictable moments, especially if you're familiar with Kurosawa's samurai movies from the 40s and 50s. The story was a little cliched, if you are familiar with Dances with Wolves.

But I loved it. Beautifully filmed, reverently written, this is a film I think should be in contention for best film for the Oscars, because it had me wrapped up in the story the whole time.

The film is very well-made, but I think that the filmmakers also ignored the fact that the Japanese learned the wrong lessons from the samurai. Eventually, the Japanese would take the "no fear of death" concept on the road to killing millions of Russians, Koreans, Chinese, Indonesians, Americans, and other people in the Pacific Rim. In limiting the scope of the film's world-view, the filmmakers chose not to offend the Japanese at the expense of thematic truth. This is a huge problem, even if I do think that the movie is in the Top Ten of 2003.

I've never seen any of Kurosawa's films... they're legendary, but I've just never gotten the chance to see them. I don't see that big of a coralation with Dances With Wolves, but it's somewhat similar. But I agree, I was held by the story throughout the movie as well. That's what movies are about, getting you cought up in them... the worth while ones anyway. I agree Justin, If this one doesn't get an Oscar, they're all daft!
I'm a huge "History Channel" buff... and recently (probably having to do with the release of 'The Last Samurai') they did an in-depth documentary on Samurai, and their history. Incredibly interesting, and informative. It destroyed my romantic ideals however of the Samurai being all about honor, loyalty, and basically being sort of an army of real life super hero's. Aparantly Samurai went where the money was... pretty much sat around all day doing nothing, until there was a battle or war to be faught, and expected to be paid well for it by the surrounding villagers. If they didn't get paid, then they would go where someone would pay them. Disappointing, but truth is truth. I agree Posters... The Last Samurai (as amazing as that movie was) it holds to the romantic view vs. the historical account.

It seems like you're a reasonably well-informed person, so at least you're not easily persuaded by movies to think one thing or another. However, for most people, watching movies seems to have nothing to do with "reality", which is very dangerous. As long as viewers bear in mind that "The Last Samurai" is only a fable, then they'll at least ignore the filmmakers' self-serving and ridiculous comments about how "authentic" their movie is.

Dude, don't be afraid to get into intelligent discussions. Thankfully, we at DVD Town attract smarter-than-average readers usually, so the chat here can be illuminating.

What you just posted is great stuff, and it's that kind of cognition that leads to true perception. :)

Btw, unfortunately, a lot of people take what they see in movies as "fact" since their reasoning is, "why would the filmmakers not tell the truth?" A lot of people don't realize that even facts have to be altered in order to make a film's fictional narrative work. There's nothing wrong with making a fictional film, but there's something very wrong in people being too lazy to realize that they're watching fiction. Ugh.

Thanks for the copliment Posters. I know what you mean about people taking what they see in theaters as fact. It's sad to see, and quite honestly in certain films the writers, directors etc. tend to get a little "heavy handed" to make you see things their way, versus what may actually be fact. Examples might be "The Life Of David Gail", or "The Insider". I completely agree with you on movie makers fudging things here and there for theatrical presentation. I've mentioned it before in a nother post, that Stephen King once said "books and movies are like apples and oranges..." that said, you may have to change things a little to make it work from paper to screen. I would imagine the people "too lazy to realize that they're watching fiction" might be the same people that after seeing a "Tom & Jerry" cartoon, might try to fly off of a roof, or drop an anvil on their siblings head. I've enjoyed all of the (staff) posts I've read so far, you guys are a class act.

It's always good to hear from you guys (good or bad).

- Nachtkriechen