Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Last Samurai

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-06-2003, 02:34 AM:

How come nobody has posted a review of this yet?
Anyway, I like long epic movies (except for "Postman"). This one here has some kitschy moments, but overall it is a good long epic movie and has very attractive photography. The fascination that the Western World - understandably - has for Japanese culture is nicely captured in this movie. It also looks into why some people cross over into other worlds. Cruise`s character is deeply troubled because he has done bad things to the Indians (sorry, Native Americans), and he redeems himself by doing good things for other people. Why not?
A lot of careful preparation went into this movie. Cruise speaks good Japanese (not really fluent, but exactly how you would somebody expect to speak after a couple of months) and is a very agile swordsman (at 41!). The historical background is very interesting and believeable. The forced opening of Japan to the West in the 1860s, after more than 2 1/2 centuries of isolation, and the clash of East and West must have been even more drastic than in the 16th century. In that era, Westerners (as seen in "Shogun") played a significantly smaller role and most of their influence vanished during the subsequent isolation. In the latter period, Japan was changed forever. You can still see how much the old and the new world had collided - a lot of the old Samurai castles were destroyed to weaken the old families. Now nothing is left except for the bases, broad flat hills.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 12-06-2003, 02:54 AM:

The scenery and coustumes were amazing in this movie. I would not have been disappointed if they added another 30 minutes to it.

Great.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-06-2003, 04:41 AM:

I haven't had the time to sit down and write a review on this one yet, but I agree with the comments above. Although I walked into this movie thinking it would be a terrible way to kill 2 1/2 hours, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Definitely recommended.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 12-06-2003, 12:47 PM:

This movie was awesome!

And it has ninjas in it - WOW!

But seriously, this movie was tremendous. I enjoyed every minute of it, and I will see it again.

Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 12-06-2003, 01:48 PM:

Perhaps this one should have been called "Dances With Samuri". It is so obvioulsy a remake that Kevin Costner ought to have demanded credit for original story idea.

Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 12-06-2003, 03:21 PM:

I screened this Thursday. While I'm not big Cruise fan, I must say that this film was very well done indeed. The story told in the movie is, IMO, what made the film. I think the gentleman who played Katsumoto did as good in his role as his counterpart.

The trailer did nothing for me but the fact that everyone I spoke to at our sneak had praised the movie made me want to see it. I'm glad I did. It didn't seem like it was 3 hours long. It all flowed well and the action/fight sequences were very well done, IMO. I also loved Katsumoto's temple. The architecture behind the temple(s) of that style entrigue me for some reason or another.

I don't generally do 'epic' style films, but this one that will come with high recommendations.

Two [thumbsup]

for this film!

Posted by Dennis M Dow Jr (Member # 1970) on 12-06-2003, 09:01 PM:

Tom Cruise makes me [puke]

.... That said, I still enjoyed this film... The scenery was outstanding and the story was one of interest.. Thought Billy Conolly's (sp?)Character was underutilized and Cruise's overshot. Battle scenes were first rate
3 out 4

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-07-2003, 08:01 PM:

Today, 11:50AM, Regal Cinema World 8, Eugene OR, House #3, DTS sound (ES? Seemed like it might be). Attendance about 35. Except for a few nasty lab splices, this movie looked fantastic: very sharp, bright, steady, etc. Rich saturated colors, deep blacks, loaded with detail. Xlnt DTS sound. I noticed 2 flashes of crap code in reel 2, but at least they made an attempt to hide it at scene transitions.

What everyone else has said. I don't think this is Tom Cruise's best work, but he was very good and so was everyone else in it. The story arc and fascinating characters are the thing here, along with the beautiful cinematography and scenery etc. An excellent film. There was even spontaneous applause from the small crowd as the credits rolled. [thumbsup]

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 12-08-2003, 02:10 AM:

I liked the movie and it met my expectations. The Ninja attack scene was the best part of the movie. However, I too agree that this is not Cruise's best work even if he acted pretty decently. He just looked too contemporary in some scenes, especially his first meeting with the Japanese where he is in his smirky "Cocktail" mode. But compared to the Bride, the other white movie character of 2003, Cruise holds the sword more credibly and his Japanese seemed easier on the ears(By many accounts, Uma's Japanese supposedly was pretty bad).

The movie can be pretty much summed as Dances With Wolves with a Braveheartish finale and a tiny dose of the Man From Okinawa Kill Bill segment mixed in between.

Wantanabe will be predictably touted for supporting actor nods though he should be respected as one of the leads in this movie. I wish the director went even further and gave Wantanabe a showcase sequence like Tarantinto gave to Sonny Chiba in the sword presentation scene in Kill Bill where Chiba was able to sound majestic by speaking non stop in Japanese over a great music track instead of having to mix broken English into the serious dialogue. It seemed like the director had to put Cruise in almost every scene when Wantanabe's character demanded undivided screen time. If you want to enhance the majesty of a character, let him speak uninterrupted in his native tongue for a while.

I did like the fact that swords were not all super shiny like they were part of a display case at a shopping mall and seemed more rugged suitable for the characters of this movie.

The ending seemed a little too pat. Then again, I never read the book. So the movie just may have been faithful to what was written.

Music by Hans Zimmer didn't hurt my ears and was an improvement over his horrible score for Black Rain.

Oh, the good news is that the CRAP CODE must have been discrete because I didn't really remember seeing it.

While the cinematography was no slouch, I think more credit should be given to the production designer and the location scouter.

Don't let my many quibbles stop you from seeing it. It is still one of the better hyped movies in the last two years.

Posted by Blake Zaugg (Member # 1455) on 12-08-2003, 02:24 AM:

I too thought this show was great. I am definitely not a Cruise fan, but he did well in this role. Really one of the best shows I have ever seen I think.

On a side note: I saw it at another theatre in town and right in a battle scene with flames (I don't think that is giving away anything), the print burned on screen. I couldn't believe it! The very first showing of it and they wreck the print. Unfortunately we have come to expect their lack of care from this theatre and when something from them is available for us to pick up, 3/4 of the time we end up asking for a print from somewhere else.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-08-2003, 03:07 AM:

quote:
By many accounts, Uma's Japanese supposedly was pretty bad

No, it was decent. Whoever gave you that opinion probably just wanted to show off that he could also say good morning and good night in Japanese. Also check F-T fellow and Japanese linguist Paul Mayer for his opinion.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 12-08-2003, 03:44 AM:

That's good to hear Michael since I liked her in it but I had to go by what I read on some accounts of Japanese audience comments and some web postings by other random folk. I wonder what Paul thinks of Cruise's Japanese in case he saw The Last Samurai.

P.S.: Did you lose your Firestarter powers?

Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 12-08-2003, 04:03 PM:

Michael has lost his super powers because he (as a musically educated person) did not warn us that this film has another [puke]

Hans Zimmer score. Hope he gets his flame power back soon so that he can join the Fantastic Four movie.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 12-08-2003, 05:44 PM:

Haven't seen this one yet--will have to come up with an excuse for a service call and arrange for a test run or screen check after finals are over next week. [Big Grin]

Until then, I'm in shiken jigoku (examination hell), both giving and taking. [evil]

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 12-08-2003, 06:49 PM:

Definitely one of the best films of the year, if not the best of the year thus far. Great performances, story, cinematography, and sound. I did notice the CAP code a little, but it wasn't blatantly obvious as on Freddy vs. Jason or Master and Commander. Ken Watanabe definitely stole the show and gave a breathtaking performance. He makes you really see the way of the Samurai and why it is important to Japan. What I really loved was that the film really championed the basic lives of the Samurai. We are so entrenched in technology and advance ways of living, yet it seems that things would be better if things were more simple. The cinematography helps here in that it shows the lands of the Samurai in such a beautiful way. It was a reminder of the way things used to be and maybe that we should think about where we're going and remember our past. I can't wait to see this one again and again.

AJG

Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 12-09-2003, 06:31 PM:

I just saw it today. I guess the commercials were right... It has alot of quality to be I guess Oscar worthy. The battle scenes were awesome and the acting was good.

Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 12-10-2003, 09:26 PM:

Saw it tonight at our Mugs & Movies auditorium. DTS Sound was superb!

This was one of the best that I have seen this year. I now have a much greater respect for the Samurai way of life and war.

Tom Cruise was perfect in this and I was gasping at some of the final battle scenes. Absolutely Incredible!!

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-11-2003, 08:51 PM:

I thought it was the best film out this year. A true epic and you couldn't ask for any thing more except for it to last longer. This film grabbed me like L.O.A. did and didn't let go till the last credit. I hope it does well in the awards department, it deserves to.

Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 12-29-2003, 09:55 PM:

Finally caught this one. I wasn't quite as impressed as some of you have been with this one, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I cracked up when Himeji Castle showed up in what is supposed to be Edo/Tokyo (Himeji is about 400 miles/644 km west of Tokyo). Oh well, lots of films goof up on basic geography--at least Himeji was listed as a shooting location. [Smile]

Regarding Cruise' Japanese, it is as Michael described it--about what one could expect from a good student after a few months of total immersion study. Definitely a non-native accent, but still quite understandable. If my first-year students sounded like Tom (or Uma in Kill Bill) I'd be fairly satisfied.

* * * * *

Century Suncoast, Monday 3:50pm matinee, $5.75, screen #8 (about 400 seats), slightly curved scope screen, common width, about 20 in attendance.

Some dirt and backing scratches on the print. Two lab splices, one reel splice that looked like it was done with an ax, big fingerprints. Long automation cue tapes placed to show in the frame and also mute the digital sound. Framed a little high.

Focus. Out of focus. Just like the other three films I've seen in town this month. I swear no one running a booth here (Century Suncoast or Brenden Palms) knows how to focus or how to check focus. Very annoying.