Last Samurai

[Cranky]

I thought that this would be a stupid Cruise as "hero" movie but it's deeper then that. The Japanese actor steal much of the scenes and makes the movie very interesting. It's bloody but not gory. It has a love story but it does not detract into sappiness.


Actually Cruise pulls off the 'drink my sorrows away" drunken, disenfranchised Civil War hero with a very good performance.

I suspect this movie will getting a lot of Acadamy Awards votes for best picture, best Supporting Actor and best costumes.

Three thumbs up!

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Good to hear, HA. I like movies that have different ideas and this one looks like it may be another one of those.

I heard a critic liken this one to a Dances With Wolves type of story line. Regardless of what we think of the movie, you know how successful it was and still is today. Fabulous show.

One movie I regret not seeing on the big screen is Gangs of New York. I remember you being somewhat passionate about that one as well.

Still, that aside, I'll be in the theatres on the weekend of the 17th for the final battle in the Lord of the Rings. This, and Last Samurai are on my list. Nothing like the big screen.

Cheers.

[seventeen]

Watched "Master and Commander" couple of weeks ago. Good use of time. Lots of examples of great leadership, and issues that leaders face. I think Mr Crowe will be competing with Mr Cruise for some of those Oscars.

Already have my ticket for Return of the King. Wonder how it ends? IlliteratesRus.

[Cranky]

seventeen said:

Watched "Master and Commander" couple of weeks ago. Good use of time. Lots of examples of great leadership, and issues that leaders face. I think Mr Crowe will be competing with Mr Cruise for some of those Oscars.

Already have my ticket for Return of the King. Wonder how it ends? IlliteratesRus.

Bah......one thumb up.

Crowe's staccato delivery of his lines is getting old. He reminds me of Captain Kirk of the USS Humpalot.

“To go................

.......where………<br>
………no man has gone before”.

HA--->ZZZZzzzzzzzzzz………………….

[Cranky]

Disgruntled70sHab said:

Good to hear, HA. I like movies that have different ideas and this one looks like it may be another one of those.

I heard a critic liken this one to a Dances With Wolves type of story line. Regardless of what we think of the movie, you know how successful it was and still is today. Fabulous show.

One movie I regret not seeing on the big screen is Gangs of New York. I remember you being somewhat passionate about that one as well.

Still, that aside, I'll be in the theatres on the weekend of the 17th for the final battle in the Lord of the Rings. This, and Last Samurai are on my list. Nothing like the big screen.

Cheers.

Of the uber'hero gender, two movies come to mind:

Last Mohican and Gladiator....and you can throw Last Samurai in there.

Thank GOD Arnie and chop-chop VanBoring are gone from the scene!

[Rimmer]

seventeen said:

Already have my ticket for Return of the King. Wonder how it ends?

yeah, I've read The lord of the rings several times and know it almost by heart, but after what they did to the Two Towers, I'm beginning to wonder if Sauron will be defeated at all

R.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

HabsAddict said:

Of the uber'hero gender, two movies come to mind:

Last Mohican and Gladiator....and you can throw Last Samurai in there.

Thank GOD Arnie and chop-chop VanBoring are gone from the scene!

The Last Mohican was so different from anything else I had seen reference the time period that it is also up there with HA. Mrs Dis even liked Gladiator mainly because of the way the movie stayed with the one thing Maximus wanted; peace and home. It's also a part of our collection.

I wasn't able to see tonight's game against Dallas; it wasn't on the tube. And, with Dis Jr. gone to his buddy's for a sleepover, Mrs Dis and I went to see The Last Samurai tonight.

It had me from the beginning. Awesome movie! Well casted; well scripted; and, like The Last Mohican, unique. I honestly believe that if anyone tries to film something similar it just won't have the impact. So little has been attempted about this period of time that the movie itself held my attention from the beginning. Mrs Dis understood the entire concept, the persona if you will, of the Samurai, or at least what the producer and director wanted to convey. When the Emperor offers the sword to his advisor, the movie completes itself.

The only thing I could possibly question would be, how an American soldier could so quickly adapt to the Samurai way of life. I hope I got my timeline down. In the movie I think he wintered with them for six or seven months. But in order to properly put that into perspective I think they'd have to break the film down into parts similarily the way they did with The Lord of the Rings triology.

Having said that though, I don't know how many awards the film will win. But to shut it out completely would be an injustice. Best costume design? Best supporting actor in the character Katimoto? Best Actor? That one might be tough especially with some of the other performances out there. Sometimes, in other films, he looks like Tom Cruise acting out a part; I got that impression possibly once right at the very beginning, but for the most part he's strong in this performance.

Anyway, I won't say any more on the film other than, I hope it is well received by historians; especially in Japan. Fabulous attempt; I hope they got it right. A must see.

Cheers.

[seventeen]

I'll have to get around to seeing that. The Lord of the Rings was, as expected, excellent. I read the silly thing often enough that there weren't any surprises, and that was one of my compliments...they didn't change anything or take artistic licence. They just executed it very well. There are years like this, where there are 2,3 or 4 movies who would win the Best Picture award in almost any year, except they all get made in one super year...like the 79 draft.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Another thing about The Last Samurai. In the past most of Tom Cruise's movies have been mainly about selling he and his charisma. You always asociate Cruise with kicking butt and getting the girl; not so in this movie. While he wields a fine sword, his character learns to respect all that makes life worth living. You'll see what I mean if and when you see the movie.

Another thing I liked about it was the ending. It's not like some other movies where it seems the producer says, "... let's wrap this up in a week... chop, chop!" The movie completes itself with the ending.

A must see for the big screen, guys.

Cheers.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

HabsAddict said:

I thought that this would be a stupid Cruise as "hero" movie but it's deeper then that. The Japanese actor steal much of the scenes and makes the movie very interesting. It's bloody but not gory. It has a love story but it does not detract into sappiness.


Actually Cruise pulls off the 'drink my sorrows away" drunken, disenfranchised Civil War hero with a very good performance.

I suspect this movie will getting a lot of Acadamy Awards votes for best picture, best Supporting Actor and best costumes.

Three thumbs up!

I was doing some poking around and was curious about the timelines in the movie itself. I think they mentioned that it takes place in the mid-to-late-1870's. When you have some time, here's a web site that details the Samurai fall from grace so to speak.

www-personal.umich.edu/~malokofs/SCA/Persona/History/samurai.html

I was concerned as to whether or not the producer(s) had done their research. Well, if you look at the chronological sequence of events, they sure did. I find that important. Adds a lot of credibility to the film.

Cheers.