The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai

Promotional Poster by Olga Kaljakin
Directed by Edward Zwick
Produced by Edward Zwick
Tom Cruise
Tom Engelman
Marshall Herskovitz
Scott Kroopf
Paula Wagner
Associate producer:
Michael Doven
Starring Tom Cruise
Ken Watanabe
Tony Goldwyn
Shin Koyamada
Timothy Spall
Billy Connolly
Hiroyuki Sanada
Koyuki Kato
Shun Sugata
Music by Hans Zimmer
Cinematography John Toll
Editing by Victor Du Bois
Steven Rosenblum
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) December 5, 2003
Running time 160 minutes
Country United States
Language English / Japanese
Budget US$ 140 million
Gross revenue US$ 456 million[1]

The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by John Logan.

The film was inspired by a project developed by writer and director Vincent Ward. Ward became executive producer on the film – working in development on it for nearly four years and after approaching several directors (Coppola, Weir), he interested Edward Zwick. The film went ahead with Zwick and was shot in Ward’s native New Zealand.

The film stars Tom Cruise (who also co-produced) in the role of American soldier Nathan Algren, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in the Empire of Japan in 1876 and 1877. Other actors include Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Timothy Spall, Shin Koyamada, and Billy Connolly

The film's plot is inspired by the 1876 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and also on the story of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War. The historical roles of the British Empire, the Netherlands and France in Japanese westernization are largely attributed to the United States in the film. These details, characters in the film and the real story are simplified for plot purposes; the film does not seek to duplicate history.

The Last Samurai was well received upon release, with a worldwide box office of $456 million. In addition it was nominated for several awards, including the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the National Board of Review.

Contents

Plot

The film begins in the summer of 1876, introducing Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a disenchanted ex-United States Army captain and an alcoholic, who is traumatized by his past transgressions against Native Americans during the Indian Wars. In the years following his army service, Algren makes his living by relating war stories to gun show audiences, an experience which further hampers his mental state. Fed up with Algren's perpetual drunkenness, his employer fires him, forcing Algren to accept an invitation by his former commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwyn), whom Algren deeply hates and blames for his waking nightmares. Bagley approaches him with an offer on behalf of a Japanese businessman, Mr. Omura (Masato Harada), to help the new Meiji Restoration government train the new Western-style Imperial Japanese Army. Assisting them are Algren's old army colleague Sergeant Zeb Gant (Billy Connolly) and Simon Graham (Timothy Spall), a cynical British translator with a deep interest in the samurai.

Under the command of Bagley, Algren trains a conscripted army of peasants in handling a rifle. Before they can be adequately trained, Algren is ordered to take them into battle against a group of samurai rebels led by samurai Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) to protect Omura's investment in a new railway. During the battle, the conscripted peasants ignore their commanding officers and fire too early, and thus their shots fall short. Samurai swarm the wholly-unprepared army, routing them in seconds, killing Gant and forcing Bagley to withdraw from the field. Algren is able to cut down several samurai using his experience as a cavalry trooper with the sabre and revolver until he is knocked off his horse when he is distracted by a samurai on horseback charging at him whilst a foot soldier with a spear advances on his horse causing it to fall. But he refuses to give in and manages to fend off several samurai with a broken spear embroidered with a flag depicting a white tiger. The flag on the spear reminds Katsumoto of a vision he experienced during meditation, of a white tiger fighting off his attackers. Katsumoto's brother-in-law, the red-masked samurai Hirotaro who shortly before gave the killing blow to Gant, prepares to deliver a killing blow to the fallen Algren; however, Algren refuses to yield and picks up a spear, fatally stabbing Hirotaro through the neck. Believing what he has witnessed to be an omen, Katsumoto prevents his warriors finishing off the wounded Algren and takes him prisoner. Algren is taken to an isolated village, where he gradually recovers in a house belonging to Hirotaro's family, including his widow Taka, her two sons, and Katsumoto's son, Nobutada (Shin Koyamada).

Over time, Algren overcomes his alcoholism and sharpens his mind through practice of bushido, the way of the samurai. He confides to his journal that he has never felt as entirely at peace as he has among Katsumoto and his people. Despite lingering fidelity to Hirotaro, Taka develops romantic feelings for Algren, particularly when she notices his budding fatherly relationship toward her children. Algren studies swordsmanship under skilled swordmaster Ujio (Hiroyuki Sanada) and becomes fluent in Japanese by conversing with the local residents; in doing so, he earns their respect. One night, as the people watch a comic play, a group of ninja assassins attack the village. Algren wins the respect and admiration of the samurai by saving Katsumoto's life when the assassins fire crossbow bolts and shuriken at Katsumoto, killing the actor next to him. The samurai succeeding in defeating the ninjas, but with many losses. Though Katsumoto does not confirm it, Algren deduces that the attack was ordered by Omura.

In spring, Algren is taken back to Tokyo. There he learns that the army, under Bagley's command, is now better organized and outfitted with howitzers and Gatling guns from the United States. Omura offers to place Algren in command of the army if he agrees to crush the samurai rebellion, but Algren declines. In private, Omura orders his men to kill Algren if he attempts to warn Katsumoto of their intentions. At the same time, Katsumoto offers his counsel to the young Emperor, to whom he was once a teacher. He learns that the Emperor's hold upon the throne is much weaker than he thought, and that he is essentially a puppet of Omura. When Katsumoto refuses to observe new laws that forbid samurai to publicly carry swords, he is arrested and confined to his quarters in Tokyo. Anticipating an assassination attempt on Katsumoto, Algren heads directly for his quarters but is ambushed by Omura's men; Algren narrowly escapes death through judicious use of the martial arts he learned in Katsumoto's camp. With the assistance of Ujio, Nobutada, and Graham, Algren frees Katsumoto from custody. During their flight, Nobutada is mortally wounded and stays behind to aid his father's escape; Algren looks on as a mortally wounded Nobutada charges their foes, only to be cut down by volleys of gun fire.

Katsumoto is still mourning the loss of his son when he receives word that a large Imperial Army unit, commanded by Omura and Bagley, is marching out to engage the samurai. A counter-force of samurai, numbering only 500, is rallied. Algren makes a reference to the Battle of Thermopylae in which a small army of 300 Spartans fought against a much larger opposing force of roughly over 250,000 Persians (Algren claims it was against 1 million) by using the terrain and the enemy's overconfidence to their advantage; Algren surmises that a similar tactic would reduce the effectiveness of their enemy's artillery. On the eve of battle, Algren is presented with a katana of his own. Taka also gives him her dead husband's armor, and they kiss just before Algren leaves.

When the Imperial Army confronts the samurai's rebel forces, the samurai fall back to higher ground, preventing the Imperials from using their superior firepower. As expected, Omura immediately orders the infantry to pursue the samurai into a trap. Setting fires to cut the enemy's immediate fighting strength in half, the samurai then unleash volleys of arrows on the infantrymen. Drawing their swords, the samurai, Algren and Katsumoto amongst them, charge the confused and wounded infantrymen. A second wave of Imperial infantry follows behind, as does the samurai cavalry, and a savage melee ensues that leaves many dead on both sides before the Imperial soldiers finally retreat.

Realizing that fresh Imperial forces are coming and that defeat is inevitable should a second battle occur, the surviving samurai resolve to make a final, fate-charged mounted assault. During the battle, Bagley shoots Katsumoto in the shoulder, but before he can finish off the samurai, Algren throws his sword at Bagley, killing him. On approaching the Imperial rear line and progressing far enough to scare Omura, the samurai are finally cut down by Gatling gun fire. Overcome by the sight of the dying samurai, an Imperial lieutenant originally trained by Algren orders the Gatling guns to cease fire against Omura's wishes. Katsumoto, observing bushido, asks Algren to assist him in performing seppuku; Algren obeys, ending Katsumoto's life. The Imperial troops show their still-lingering respect for the old order by bowing before the fallen samurai.

Later, as American ambassadors prepare to have the Emperor sign a treaty that would give the US exclusive rights to sell firearms to the Japanese government, Algren offers Katsumoto's sword as a present to the Emperor. The Emperor understands the message and tells the American ambassador that his treaty deal is not in the best interests of Japan. When Omura objects, the Emperor, realizing that he need not be ruled by Omura, confiscates his estates and fortunes. When Omura tries to protest, the Emperor then offers him Katsumoto's sword to commit seppuku if the dishonor is too great to bear. Omura merely lowers his head and walks away.

The movie ends with Algren - under a narrative provided by Simon Graham - returning to the samurai village and to Taka. Graham philosophically concludes Algren has found a measure of peace "that we all seek, and few of us ever find."

Cast

Production

Filming took place in New Zealand, with Japanese cast members and an American Production crew. Views of Mount Fuji were superimposed using CGI of Mount Fuji as seen from Yokohama. Several of the village scenes were shot on the Warner Brothers Studios backlot in Burbank, California.

Soundtrack

The Last Samurai
Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer
Released November 25, 2003
Label Elektra Records

All music by Hans Zimmer. Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony, conducted by Blake Neely.

  1. "A Way of Life" 8:03
  2. "Spectres in the Fog" 4:07
  3. "Taken" 3:36
  4. "A Hard Teacher" 5:44
  5. "To Know My Enemy" 4:49
  6. "Idyll's End" 6:41
  7. "Safe Passage" 4:57
  8. "Ronin" 1:53
  9. "Red Warrior" 3:56
  10. "The Way of the Sword" 7:59
  11. "A Small Measure of Peace" 7:59

Reception

The film achieved higher box office receipts in Japan than in the USA.[2] Critical reception in Japan was generally positive. Tomomi Katsuta of The Mainichi Shinbun thought that the film was "a vast improvement over previous American attempts to portray Japan", noting that director Zwick "had researched Japanese history, cast well-known Japanese actors and consulted dialogue coaches to make sure he didn't confuse the casual and formal categories of Japanese speech." However, Katsuta still found fault with the film's idealistic, "storybook" portrayal of the samurai, stating that "Our image of samurai are that they were more corrupt." As such, he said, the noble samurai leader Katsumoto "set (his) teeth on edge."[3] The Japanese premiere was held at Roppongi Hills multiplex in Tokyo on November 1, 2003. The entire cast was present; they signed autographs, provided interviews and appeared on stage to speak to fans. Many of the cast members expressed the desire for audiences to learn and respect the important values of the samurai, and to have a greater appreciation of Japanese culture and custom.

In America there were numerous unflattering comparisons to Kevin Costner's film Dances with Wolves. Motoko Rich of The New York Times observed that the film has opened up a debate, "particularly among Asian-Americans and Japanese," about whether the film and others like it were "racist, naïve, well-intentioned, accurate – or all of the above."[3] However Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying it was "beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic."[4]

The film currently has a mixed rating on Metacritic of 55 out of 100.[5] Rotten Tomatoes has a rating of 65%.[6]

The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Ken Watanabe, and three Golden Globes, Best Supporting Actor for Watanabe, Best Actor - Drama for Tom Cruise and Best Score for Hans Zimmer. Awards won by the film include Best Director by the National Board of Review, Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects at the Visual Effects Society Awards, Outstanding Foreign Language Film at the Japan Academy Prize, four Golden Satellite Awards, and Best Fire Stunt at the Taurus World Stunt Awards.[7]

Historical background

The Last Samurai combines real but disconnected historical situations, rather distant in time, into a single narrative. It also replaces the key Western actors of the period (especially the French) with American ones. Finally, it portrays a radical conflict between ancient and modern fighting methods, but in reality all sides of the conflict (the Satsuma Rebellion, and before it the Boshin War) adopted modern equipment to various degrees. Indeed, firearms had been in use centuries earlier in Japan and played an important part in the civil wars that created the Tokugawa shogunate, but were later rejected as dishonorable and by the early 19th century the gunsmith's art had fallen into disuse. Many thematic, and visual elements of the film parallel the films of Akira Kurosawa, specifically Seven Samurai.

Military modernization and Western involvement

Training of the Shogunate troops by the French Military Mission to Japan. 1867 photograph.
The French military advisers and their Japanese allies in Hokkaido during the Boshin war (1868-1869). Front row, second from left: Jules Brunet, besides Matsudaira Taro, vice-president of the Ezo Republic.

The kind of military modernization described in The Last Samurai was already largely achieved by the time of the Boshin War ten years before, in 1868. At that time, forces favorable to the Shogun were modernized and trained by the French Military Mission to Japan (1867), and a modern fleet of steam warships had already been constituted (Eight steam warships, Kaiten, Banryū, Chiyodagata, Chōgei, Kaiyō Maru, Kanrin Maru, Mikaho and Shinsoku formed the core of the Bakufu Navy in 1868). The Western fiefs of Satsuma and Chōshū were also already highly modernized, supported by British interests and expertise. Even the appearance of Gatling guns in Japan goes back to that time (the Gatling guns were invented in 1861, and deployed during the 1868-1869 Boshin War by both sides, at the Battle of Hokuetsu and the Naval Battle of Miyako). Modernization had already advanced at a fast pace during the Bakumatsu period, many years before the installation of the Meiji Emperor.

Although Commodore Perry is credited with opening Japan to foreign contacts in 1854, American involvement in Japan was minimal thereafter. In-depth interaction, mainly commercial in nature, only started from 1859 with the Harris Treaty, and from 1861 American influence waned due to the demands of the American Civil War (1861–1865). The main powers involved with the modernization of Japan up to the 1868 Meiji Restoration were the Netherlands (initiation of a modern navy with the Nagasaki Naval Training Center and the supply of Japan's first modern ships, the Kankō Maru and the Kanrin Maru), France (Construction of the arsenal of Yokosuka by Léonce Verny, the 1867 French Military Mission), and Great Britain (in supplying modern equipment, especially ships, to a variety of domains, and in training the Navy with the Tracey Mission).

Meiji restoration

Reception by the Meiji Emperor of the Second French Military Mission to Japan, 1872.

Following the Meiji restoration in 1868, the early Imperial Japanese Army was essentially developed with the assistance of French advisors again, through the second French Military Mission to Japan (1872-1880). An army of conscripts, mostly peasants replacing the former samurai class, was put in place with French assistance for the first time in March 1873. These troops were further modernized and their officers trained in military academies set up by the French, and would intervene against former samurai in the Satsuma rebellion in 1877. The Haitorei edict in 1876 all but banned carrying swords and guns on streets.

The Satsuma rebellion

Saigo Takamori (seated, in Western uniform), surrounded by his officers, in samurai attire. News article in Le Monde Illustré, 1877.
Both sides used guns at the final stand of the Battle of Shiroyama.

The Satsuma Rebellion, the historical event described in The Last Samurai, was even more one-sided than in the movie, although the military techniques employed by each side were less contrasted. It occurred in 1877, ten years after the Boshin War, and ten years after the establishment of the Imperial Japanese army. The Imperial troops sent a huge force of 300,000 soldiers under Kawamura Sumiyoshi, modern in all aspects of warfare, using howitzers and observations balloons, to the island of Kyūshū to fight Saigō Takamori.

Saigō Takamori's rebels numbered around 40,000 in total, until they dwindled to about 400 at the final stand at the Battle of Shiroyama. Although they fought for the preservation of the caste of the samurai, and officers often wore samurai cuirasses, they did not neglect Western military methods: they used guns and cannons, and all contemporary depictions of Saigō Takamori represent him wearing the uniform of a Western general. At the end of the conflict, running out of material and ammunition, they had to fall back to close-quarter tactics and the use of swords, bows and arrows. In a parallel to the movie, they also fought for a more virtuous form of government (their slogan was "新政厚徳", "New government, High morality").

In contrast to the Boshin War, no Westerners are recorded to have fought on either side of the Satsuma rebellion. Specifically, Saigō Takamori did not fight side-by-side with foreign soldiers during the Satsuma Rebellion. During the Boshin War, Saigō may have been supported by British and American military advisors,[8] but the only documented case of foreigners actually fighting for a Japanese cause was that of the French soldiers supporting Enomoto Takeaki.

Although the Katsumoto character is based on Saigo Takamori, the last battle in the film is based not on his last stand but on another battle in which a group of disgruntled retainers attacked the new Imperial Army with no firearms or western weapons that took place at roughly the same time.

Further foreign assistance

A third French Military Mission to Japan (1884-1889) was later sent. However, due to the German victory in the Franco-Prussian War, the Japanese government also relied on Prussia as a model for their army, and hired two German military advisors (Major Jakob Meckel and Captain von Blankenbourg) for the training of the Japanese General Staff from 1886 to 1889. Other known foreign military consultants were the Italian Major Pompeo Grillo, who worked at the Osaka foundry from 1884 to 1888, followed by Major Quaratezi from 1889 to 1890, and the Dutch Captain Schermbeck, who worked on improving coastal defenses from 1883 to 1886.

Japan did not use foreign military advisors anymore between 1889 and 1918, until again a fourth French Military Mission to Japan (1918-1919), headed by Commandant Jacques-Paul Faure, was requested to assist in the development of the nascent Japanese airforce.

Westerners fighting alongside Japanese

Jules Brunet fought for the Shogun in 1868.
The French Navy officer Eugène Collache fought in samurai attire.

Historically, the only major case of foreigners taking an active role in a Japanese civil war (aside from a limited Dutch naval support during the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637 - 1638) is that of the French military advisers under Jules Brunet (initially members of the 1867 French Military Mission), who joined the forces favourable to the Shogun under Enomoto Takeaki, during the Boshin war. They were deeply involved in the military organization of the Shogunate's forces, and fought (several of them were heavily wounded) almost to the end of the conflict. A few days before surrender, when the situation had become desperate, they left on the French frigate Coëtlogon which had been waiting at anchor in Hakodate. Some of these French officers did wear the samurai attire (such as the French Naval officer Eugène Collache), although most officers in the armies of the Bakufu, as well as of course their French colleagues, wore French military uniforms.

The Japanese in the late 19th century did hire foreign advisers to modernize their army, but they were mostly French, not American. Ken Watanabe's character was based on the real Saigō Takamori whose exact style of death is unknown. The accounts of his subordinates claim either that he uprighted himself and committed seppuku after his injury or that he requested that a comrade assist his suicide. In debate, some scholars have suggested that neither is the case, and that Saigō may have gone into shock following his wound, losing his ability to speak. Several comrades upon seeing him in this state, would have severed his head, assisting him in the warrior's suicide they knew he would have wished. Later, they would have said that he committed seppuku in order to preserve his status as a true samurai.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lastsamurai.htm
  2. ↑ The Last Samurai (2003) : News
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yahoo! Groups
  4. ↑ The Last Samurai Roger Ebert, Retrieved on 08/08/10
  5. ↑ Metacritic score for The Last Samurai
  6. ↑ Rotten Tomatoes on The Last Samurai
  7. ↑ Awards for The Last Samurai (2003), IMDb
  8. ↑ This is a claim made by Jules Brunet in a letter to Napoleon III: "I must signal to the Emperor the presence of numerous American and British officers, retired or on leave, in this party [of the southern Daimyos] which is hostile to French interests. The presence of Occidental chiefs among our enemies may jeopardize my success from a political standpoint, but nobody can stop me from bringing to Your Majesty information he will without a doubt find interesting." in "Soie et Lumière", p.81 (French)

References

External links

Films directed by Edward Zwick
1980s
About Last Night... (1986) · Glory (1989)
1990s
Leaving Normal (1992) · Legends of the Fall (1994) · Courage Under Fire (1996) · The Siege (1998)
2000s
The Last Samurai (2003) · Blood Diamond (2006) · Defiance (2008)
2010s
Love and Other Drugs (2010)