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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), Dolby Digital Surround, Audio Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Featurettes, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled, 2 Discs
Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.
"Two Thumbs Up" Ebert & Roeper
"Ken Watanabe - what a powerful presence! What a beautiful film." Joel Siegel, Good Morning America
"Tom Cruise is truly magnificent." Paul Clinton, CNN
Editor's Note
Edward Zwick directs this sumptuously designed, action-packed period epic that stars Tom Cruise as Captain Nathan Algren. Algren, a former Civil War hero, is adrift in 1870s San Francisco after the war, a lost soul struggling to stay afloat in a booze-soaked stupor. When he is recruited by the Japanese government to train the Emperor's army, he departs for the unknown shores of Japan and begins training the soldiers in American military tactics. But these skills are useless against a band of samurai rebels led by the proud warrior Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), and Algren is easily defeated. He is taken to a remote samurai village where he learns samurai warrior codes and ways of life, developing a deep bond with Katsumoto and sharing philosophical conversations with him. Caught between the feudal culture of the ancient samurai warriors and the encroachment of modern society, Algren is forced to choose between his own culture or Katsumoto's. THE LAST SAMURAI is lavish in its dramatic period costumes and intense performances, and will thrill fans of both historical drama and action films.
| Features | A World Of Detail: Production Design With Lilly Kilvert | | Audio: 5.1 Dolby Surround - English; 2.0 Dolby Surround Stereo - English; 5.1 Dolby Surround - French | | Edward Zwick: Director's Video Journal--Behind-The-Scenes Production Journal - Narrated By Ed Zwick And Tom Cruise | | Imperial Army Basic Training: From Soldier To Samurai: The Weapons | | Other : Japan Premieres (Tokyo & Kyoto Red Carpet) | | Silk And Armor: Costume Design With Ngila Dickson | | Widescreen Presentation | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Audio: English, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound; English Dolby Digital Stereo | | Documentaries : History vs. Hollywood: The Last Samurai (History Channel Documentary) | | Featurette : Tom Cruise: A Warrior's Journey | | Interviews : Making an Epic: A Conversation with Edward Zwick | | Audio Commentary : Commentary by Edward Zwick | | DVD ROM Features | | Deleted Scenes : The Beheading (Behind the Beheading) |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 11/10/2009 |
| Running Time: 154 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 28383 | | UPC: 00085392838325 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Japanese | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Japanese | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 16:9 Transfer |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (2004) | | | Ken Watanabe, Nominee, Best Actor in a Supporting Role | |
Golden Globe (2004) | | | Tom Cruise, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama | |
Screen Actors Guild (2004) | | | Ken Watanabe, Nominee, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"...[A] rousing, smoothly assembled historical fantasia....A handsome epic..." 12/05/2003 p.63Rolling Stone
"...Cruise plays the role with fierce energy and swings a Bushido blade like a pro..." 12/25/2003 p.118 Sight and Sound
"[With] some of the most impressively realised battles this side of Middle Earth." 02/01/2004 p.50 New York Times
"Mr. Zwick has absorbed the lethal agility of Akira Kurosawa; what registers just as powerfully as the sureness of the combatants is the ugly futility of the battles themselves." 12/05/2003 p.E1 Los Angeles Times
"THE LAST SAMURAI affords the sort of fizzy enjoyment that can come with epic movie endeavors, including a meticulously detailed world unlike our own, an excellent supporting cast and some pulse-pounding fights." 12/05/2003 p.C1 Chicago Sun-Times
"Beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic." 12/05/2003 p.39 Widescreen Review
"THE LAST SAMURAI is another stirring Civil War-era epic directed by Edward Zwick." 06/01/2006 p.61 The Guardian 6 of 10
It's a workmanlike tale told with almost enough gusto to distract you from the batsqueak of sillines - Peter Bradshaw
Rolling Stone 7 of 10
Cruise plays the role with fierce energy and swings a Bushido blade like a pro. When the script, by - Peter Travers
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
The Last Samurai breaks with the convention that the Western hero is always superior to the l - Roger Ebert
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