The Last Samurai (2003) movie poster

The Last Samurai (2003)

"In the face of an enemy, in the heart of one man, lies the soul of a warrior."
ThumbScore
👍 85%Google users liked it ⓘ
Critics Score
🎬 60%
DramaActionWar

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Where to Watch

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Director
Runtime
2h 34m
Rated
R
Country
United States of America
Language
English
TMDB Rating
7.6/10 (7,407 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes
65%
Metacritic
55

Cast

Tom Cruise as Nathan Algren · 77% avg
Ken Watanabe as Moritsugu Katsumoto · 78% avg
Timothy Spall as Simon Graham · 69% avg
Tony Goldwyn as Col. Benjamin Bagley · 71% avg
Hiroyuki Sanada as Ujio · 74% avg
Koyuki as Taka
Shin Koyamada as Nobutada
Billy Connolly as Zebulon Gant · 73% avg

Is The Last Samurai good?

Yes. 85% of real audiences liked it, by Google's archived audience score. Critics scored it lower at 60%, but audiences disagreed.

Where it ranks on ThumbScore

Rank in its genre
#613 / 3335 · Drama
Rank in its year
#41 / 149 · 2003
Rank among its director's films
#3 / 10 · Edward Zwick

By audience score, among films with 500 or more votes.

Overview

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist. Wikipedia ↗

About the Film

The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic historical action drama directed by Edward Zwick. Tom Cruise stars as Captain Nathan Algren, a disillusioned, alcoholic Civil War and Indian Wars veteran who is hired to train the new Imperial Japanese Army in Western warfare during the Meiji Restoration. When Algren is captured by samurai rebels led by Katsumoto, played by Ken Watanabe, he gradually comes to respect and embrace their way of life, finding redemption and purpose in the discipline, honor, and beauty of samurai culture as it faces extinction in the face of modernization.

Ken Watanabe's commanding performance as Katsumoto, dignified and eloquent in both English and Japanese, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and launched his Hollywood career. The battle sequences, choreographed with historical accuracy and emotional weight, were spectacular. Hans Zimmer's score blended Western orchestration with Japanese instruments.

The Last Samurai earned $456 million worldwide on a $140 million budget.

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What Reddit Thinks

r/movies
⬆ 12,308💬 744 comments
'The Matrix 4' Adds Oscar-Winning Cinematographer John Toll -Previously Worked On 'Thin Red Line', 'Braveheart', 'The Last Samurai', 'Cloud Atlas', 'Vanilla Sky', 'Legends of the Fall', and 'Gone Baby Gone'.
Top comment: "He also did Tropic Thunder, Iron Man 3, The Adjustment Bureau, the pilot episode of Breaking Bad,..."
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