The Last Samurai [Blu-ray]

Director: Edward Zwick, Billy Connolly, Ken Watanabe, Timothy Spall, Tom Cruise, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shichinosuke Nakamura

Overview

Edward Zwick returned to the director's chair for the first time since 1998's The Siege with this sweeping period drama set in 19th-century Japan. After centuries of relying on hired samurai for national defense, the Japanese monarchy has decided to do away with the warriors in favor of a more contemporary military. Tom Cruise stars as Nathan Algren, a veteran of the U.S. Civil War who is hired by the Emperor Meiji to train an army capable of wiping out the samurai. But when Algren is captured by the samurai and taught about their history and way of life, he finds himself conflicted over who he should be fighting alongside. Billy Connelly, Tony Goldwyn, and Ken Watanabe co-star.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/14/2006
UPC:	0085391108092
Original Release:	2003
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:34:00
Sales rank:	8,509

Special Features

Commentary by director Edward Zwick; Deleted scenes; Edward Zwick: director's video journal; The History Channel documentary History vs. Hollywood; Tom Cruise: a warrior's journey; Makin an Epic: a conversation with Edward Zwick and Tom Cruise; A World of Detail: production design with Lilly Kilvert; Silk and Armor: costume design with Ngila Dickson; From Soldier to Samurai: the weapons; Imperial Army basic training; Japan premieres; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Cruise	Capt. Nathan Algren
Ken Watanabe	Katsumoto,Guard,Actor
Billy Connolly	Zebulon Gant
Timothy Spall	Simon Graham
Tony Goldwyn	Col. Bagley
Shichinosuke Nakamura	Emperor Meiji,Battle Corp,Actor,Actor
Hiroyuki Sanada	Ujio
Koyuki	Taka
Sosuke Ikematsu	Higen,Higen
Aoi Minato	Magojiro
Masato Harada	Omura,Actor
Togo Igawa	Gen. Hasegawa
William Atherton	Winchester Rep
Masashi Odate	Omura's Companion
John Koyama	Omura's Bodyguard
Scott Wilson	Ambassador Swanbeck
Shin Koyamada	Nobutada
Shun Sugata	Nakao
Chad Lindberg	Winchester Rep Assistant
Ray Godshall Sr.	Convention Hall Attendee
Satoshi Nikaido	N.C.O.
Shintaro Wada	Young Recruit,Soldier in Street No. 3
Seizo Fukumoto	Silent Samurai
Shoji Yoshihara	Sword Master
Kosaburo Nomura IV	Kyogen Player No. 1
Takashi Noguchi	Kyogen Player No. 2,Samurai
Noguchi Takayuki	Kyogen Player No. 3
Sven Toorvald	Omura's Secretary
Yuki Matsuzaki	Soldier in Street No. 1
Mitsuyuki Oishi	Soldier in Street No. 2
Yusuke Myochin	Sword Master's Assistant
Hiroaki Amano	Samurai
Kenta Daibo	Samurai
Koji Fujii	Samurai
Makoto Hashiba	Samurai
Shimpei Horinouchi	Samurai
Takashi Kora	Samurai
Shane Kosugi	Samurai
Takeshi Maya	Samurai
Seiji Mori	Samurai
Lee Murayama	Samurai
Takeru Shimizu	Samurai,Actor
Shinji Suzuki	Samurai
Hisao Takeda	Samurai
Ryoichiro Yonekura	Samurai
Seizo Fukomoto	Actor
Eijiro Ozaki	Actor
Teishu Kohata	Actor
Masayuki Maekawa	Actor,Actor
Takanobu Kaneko	Actor
Osamu Takahashi	Actor
Masato Tabayashi	Actor
Akihito Mimatsu	Actor
Takashi Yamaguchi	Actor,Actor
Akihiro Soen	Actor
Atsushi Ono	Actor
Toshihiko Ito	Actor,Actor,Actor
Kosuke Oda	Actor
Akira Koieyama	Actor
Takashi Maeyama	Actor
Teruhito Takita	Actor
Hidetaro Ishibashi	Actor
Toru Kadowaki	Actor
Takeyuki Hirai	Actor
Takashi Taguchi	Actor
Misao Kurata	Actor
Ken Takagaki	Actor
Matt Okui	Actor
Chris Chin	Actor
Koichi Funayama	Actor
Yuya Nakashima	Actor
Shinji Matsumoto	Actor
Naruhito Nakada	Actor
Toshiaki Ogawa	Actor
Taiga Etoh	Actor
Akira Kojima	Actor
Fred Nakanishi	Actor
Ryoga Kajiwara	Actor
Hidetomo Nishida	Actor
Furuo Geiri	Actor
James Okada	Actor
Yoshihiko Kawamoto	Actor
Yukihiro Hokke	Actor
Kazunori Yajima	Actor
Kogi Inoue	Actor
Yoshitake Kato	Actor,Actor,Actor
Takayuki Akaike	Actor
Shogo Shirasaka	Actor
Hiroshi Uenoyama	Actor
Maeda Jiro	Actor
Akihiko Nishimura	Actor,Actor
Kiyoshi Iwata	Actor
Giorgio Miyashita	Actor
Yasuhiro Koshi	Battle Corp
Daisuke Sasagawa	Actor
Brian Ho	Actor
Ryo Tanaka	Actor
Masayoshi Haneda	Actor
Masayuki Yamada	Actor
Hiromi Takatani	Actor
Mitsunori Omae	Actor
Yuichiro Sasaki	Actor
Daisuke Okano	Actor
Hiroyuki Muraoka	Actor
Kota Fukuchi	Actor
Shusuke Mitsuyoshi	Actor
Tadashi Oiwa	Actor
Yuhei Kametani	Actor
Hajime Unesa	Actor
Yoshihiro Masujima	Actor
Kenji Motomiya	Actor
TETSURO YAMAMOTO	Actor
Tomoya Abe	Actor
Kiyonori Namikawa	Actor
Raymond Chan	Actor
Hisataka Kitaoka	Actor
Joe Kitamura	Actor
Katsutoshi Uchibori	Actor
Mitsuki Koga	Actor
Masayuki Deai	Actor
Fumio Matsuki	Actor
Yuki Kawanishi	Actor
Masahiro Ogura	Actor
Masashi Shirai	Actor
Shinobu Sakurai	Actor
Nobuhiro Fujita	Actor
Kiichiro Ishitmoto	Actor
Susumu Suou	Actor
Motokuni Nakagawa	Actor
Shusei Take	Actor
Toshinobu Shigemura	Actor
Kazuma Ohuchi	Actor
Taku Shinya	Actor
Keisuke Yamamoto	Actor
Yasunari Kinbara	Actor
Naruto Shigemi	Actor
Hirokazu Miyata	Actor
Yasuhiro Koshimizu	Actor
Nobuhiro Oshima	Actor
Tomohide Tanigawa	Actor
Yasunari Akita	Actor
Yoshihisa Asai	Actor
Toru Ishida	Actor
Motohiro Okita	Actor
Satoru Shibue	Actor
Yauo Hiroki	Actor
Hidemitsu Nakadate	Actor
Masaki Sono	Actor
Yuki Tanifuji	Actor
Hiroki Hoshino	Actor
Hans Zimmer	Composer
Blake Neely	Composer
Geoff Zanelli	Composer
Drama	Actor

Technical Credits

Edward Zwick

John Logan

Marshall Herskovitz

Edward Zwick	Screenwriter,Producer
John Logan	Screenwriter
Paula Wagner	Producer
Tom Cruise	Producer
Scott Kroopf	Producer
Marshall Herskovitz	Producer,Screenwriter
Tom Engelman	Producer
Ted Field	Executive Producer,Producer
Charles Mulvehill	Executive Producer,Producer
Vincent Ward	Executive Producer,Producer
Richard Solomon	Executive Producer,Producer
Victoria Thomas	Casting
Romulo Adriano Jr.	Special Effects
Paul Lombardi	Special Effects
Jeffrey A. Okun	Special Effects
Nick Powell	Stunts
Andy Nelson	Sound Mixer
Jeff Wexler	Sound Mixer
Anna Behlmer	Sound Mixer,Sound Effects
Alistair Anderson	Special Effects
Tomoya Abe	Stunts
Christopher Assells	Sound Effects
Laura Harris Atkinson	Sound Effects
Bob Beher	Sound Effects
John Bires	Sound Effects
Sh?ji Sakai	Stunts
Koji Nakamura	Stunts,Stunts
Kenji Sato	Stunts
Dave Booth	Special Effects
Jon Sakata	Stunts
Joseph Livolsi	Special Effects
Michael Kamper	Sound/Sound Designer
David Peterson	Special Effects

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Last Samurai
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32
33. Chapter 33
34. Chapter 34
35. Chapter 35
36. Chapter 36
37. Chapter 37
38. Chapter 38
39. Chapter 39
40. Chapter 40
41. Chapter 41

Menu

Disc #1 -- Last Samurai
Languages
Spoken Languages
English 5.1
Français 5.1
Español
Subtitles
English
English (For the Hearing Impaired)
Français
Español
Off
Scene Selections
Special Features
Behind the Story
Commentary by Edward Zwick: On
Commentary by Edward Zwick: Off
History vs. Hollywood: The Last Samurai - Graphic Description of the Samurai and the Political Upheaval in Japan During the Late 1800's
Making an Epic: A Conversation With Edward Zwick and Tom Cruise - Dialog That Examinces the Origin of the Film, the Collaborative Relationship and the Progress of the Shoot
Tom Cruise: A Warrior's Journey - Tom Cruises Summary of His Character's Approach Plus His Response to the Samurai Culture and Feudal Japan
A World of Detail: Production Design With Lilly Kilvert - A Focus on Production Deisgn - Critical to Establishing and Maintaining Authenticity
Silk and Armor: Costume Design With Ngila Dickson - A Focus on Costume Design - Critical to Establishing and Maintaining Authenticity
Imperial Army Basic Training: Chronicles Extensive Training by the Warriors in the Film to Learn How to Be an Imperial Army
From Soldier to Samurai: The Weapons - Details the Multitude of Authentic Weapons Used in Filming
Edward Zwick: Director's Video Journal - Diary Highlighting the Director's Experiences During the Shoot
Additional Footage
Additional Scenes: Commentary by Edward Zwick
Additional Scenes: Play All
Additional Scenes: The Beheading
Additional Scenes: Agren and Katsumoto
Japan Premieres
Bushido: The Way of the Warrior - Defines the Seven Principles of Bushido
Trailers
Theatrical Trailer
Play Movie

Editorial Reviews

Chalk up another complex, finely detailed characterization to Tom Cruise, whose portrayal of a dissolute warrior makes this opulently mounted film one of the very best in his increasingly distinguished oeuvre. Cruise plays Nathan Algren, a Civil War hero whose battlefield excesses have driven him into a permanent state of self-loathing. Cynical and opportunistic, he accepts a lucrative commission to go to Japan and train the emperor's army for a lengthy campaign against once-loyal samurai resentful of their monarch's embrace of Western culture. Algren is forced into a premature clash with these disciplined, highly skilled fighters and is captured when his insufficiently trained men beat a desperate retreat. This is where the story actually begins: We see this able but dissipated man grow to admire his captors and embrace their philosophy, gradually regaining his honor and sense of purpose under the watchful eye of his captor, samurai leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). Algren's moral regeneration isn't accomplished overnight, and director Edward Zwick does a fine job of conveying the character's gradual transformation with pithy vignettes and relatively brief snatches of dialogue. He draws a sharp contrast between the principled, traditionalist samurai and the opportunistic Japanese businessmen who have persuaded the emperor to modernize the country and turn against the warrior brotherhood that has served the throne for hundreds of years. These machinations lead inevitably to a climactic battle that is one of the finer depictions of hand-to-hand encounters in recent memory. In fact, The Last Samurai has several such sequences, but it would be a mistake to label it an action film. Zwick and Cruise have made this remarkable story much more: a paean to honor, courage, and devotion to duty. It's a deeply absorbing and sometimes profoundly moving tale of regeneration and redemption, superbly visualized and brilliantly acted.