Just saw The Last Samurai [Archive]

JesseJames

Dec 5, 2003, 05:02 PM

Saw it today. I give it 3 out of 4 stars. It was almost like 'Dances With Wolves;Japanese-style'.
Tom Cruise did a good job playing the disillusioned soldier. Ed Zwick is a good director. He has good technical ability but he doesn't have much of an artists' touch which the film really needed.
I wish Asian cinema could make movies along this line. Instead of those dumb idiotic Kung Fu flicks. Where is the next Kurosawa when we need him?

The Samurai? Man, they kicked ass. I know it was all movie swordfighting but still...it invokes a nostalgia for a lost way of life. Where honor was EVERYTHING one lived and died for.

P.S. The swordfights are very brutal.:D Not for little kids.

bousozoku

Dec 5, 2003, 05:38 PM

Have you ever watched any of Kurosawa Akira's movies? He has some of the finest battle scenes known to Japanese film along with those quiet moments that pull at your heart.

jelloshotsrule

Dec 5, 2003, 05:42 PM

Originally posted by bousozoku
Have you ever watched any of Kurosawa Akira's movies? He has some of the finest battle scenes known to Japanese film along with those quiet moments that pull at your heart.

i'd guess he has, considering he asks when we'll see the next kurosawa. ;)

the colors in kurosawa's films alone were enough to make them brilliant to watch... ahh

gwuMACaddict

Dec 5, 2003, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by bousozoku
Have you ever watched any of Kurosawa Akira's movies? He has some of the finest battle scenes known to Japanese film along with those quiet moments that pull at your heart.

very true...

and i heard that this film was nothing but a cheap knock-off... i haven't decided if i want to pay to see it or not

howard

Dec 5, 2003, 05:56 PM

i've seen a few kurosawa movies, he was pretty amazing. heck nearly every western made here was a rip off of one of his movies or another.

i'd like to see the last samurai, i was dissapointed this morning when i read a bad review of it, i was hoping it would be really good, well hopefully my tastes will conflict with the reviews and i'll like it alot

Frohickey

Dec 5, 2003, 06:05 PM

Tom Cruise? a samurai?

Don't you need to be Japanese or at least, look Japanese?

That like Jackie Chan playing a cowboy.

I think this movie is just an excuse for Tom Cruise to have a love scene with an asian. :o

JesseJames

Dec 5, 2003, 06:08 PM

Go to the bargain matinee if you can. It's like 5 bucks and change. That's what I did. It was worth that much at least.
As for Kurosawa flicks I've seen,
"Ran"
"The Seven Samurai"
I need to see more.

XnavxeMiyyep

Dec 5, 2003, 06:31 PM

Originally posted by JesseJames
Go to the bargain matinee if you can. It's like 5 bucks and change. That's what I did. It was worth that much at least.
As for Kurosawa flicks I've seen,
"Ran"
"The Seven Samurai"
I need to see more. "The Seven Samurai" is one of my favorite movies. You should see "The Hidden Fortress". Star Wars was influenced quite a bit by it.

medea

Dec 5, 2003, 09:25 PM

Originally posted by Frohickey
Tom Cruise? a samurai?

Don't you need to be Japanese or at least, look Japanese?

That like Jackie Chan playing a cowboy.

I think this movie is just an excuse for Tom Cruise to have a love scene with an asian. :o
Actually he is playing an ex-soldier from the civil war not playing a japanese man.....and the movie passes up on the chance for the love scene or touching moment with a child thing....
ok Cruise is far from being the best of actors, his roles are typical and never goes into the true character of his roles, but he has made substantial improvements since his Top Gun days so cut him some slack, as far as big time hollywood actors go there are far worse ones such as Vin Diesel.

medea

Dec 5, 2003, 09:29 PM

If your interested in Kurosawa Criterion released a 4dvd box set featuring Seven Samurai, Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo and Sanjuro and I belive you can get it for $85 from amazon now.

XnavxeMiyyep

Dec 5, 2003, 10:04 PM

G5orbust

Dec 6, 2003, 12:27 AM

WOW!

For a Hollywood movie, that was spectacular! I enjoyed every minute of it.

This movie actually renewed my confidence in Hollywood to actually create quality films. I'm sick of films that are all just some action star blowing up terrorists.

Sayhey

Dec 6, 2003, 01:43 AM

Originally posted by medea
If your interested in Kurosawa Criterion released a 4dvd box set featuring Seven Samurai, Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo and Sanjuro and I belive you can get it for $85 from amazon now.

Seven Samurai and Yojimbo are among the best movies ever made. Yes, the Magnificent Seven and A Fistful of Dollars are remakes of these movies (both Magnificent Seven and Seven Samurai are based on Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes), but as good as they are they aren't even close to Kurosawa's masterpieces.

You owe it to yourselves, if you like Kurosawa movies, to see Rashomon (a very early B/W title) and Dersu Uzala (a joint Japanese and Soviet production from the late 70s early 80s - out of this world cinematography.)

bousozoku

Dec 6, 2003, 02:03 AM

Originally posted by Frohickey
Tom Cruise? a samurai?

Don't you need to be Japanese or at least, look Japanese?

That like Jackie Chan playing a cowboy.

I think this movie is just an excuse for Tom Cruise to have a love scene with an asian. :o

There was a time when you had to be appointed or born into a samurai family.

"I'm not samurai, but I play one on screen."

If you ever saw shogun, you'd see how easily it can be trivialised. That complete mini-series was just recently released on DVD. It has some beautiful shots of Himeji castle.

pseudobrit

Dec 6, 2003, 07:17 PM

Originally posted by Frohickey
Tom Cruise? a samurai?

Don't you need to be Japanese or at least, look Japanese?

That's not quite the premise of the film, but feel free to jump to such conclusions.

I think this movie is just an excuse for Tom Cruise to have a love scene with an asian. :o

There are no love scenes.

It reminded me of Braveheart. In a good way. The end was a little too Hollywoodish, I think.

Counterfit

Dec 6, 2003, 08:33 PM

Originally posted by G5orbust
I'm sick of films that are all just some action star blowing up terrorists. Those should be reserved exclusively for James Bond movies and movies based on Tom Clancy books (unless the conversion from print to film sucks)

Maclarny

Dec 6, 2003, 09:00 PM

I haven't seen the movie yet but look forward to seeing it sometime. How's the music in the movie? Hans Zimmer is probably the best soundtrack composer out there (Gladiator, Lion King, Black Hawk Down).

pseudobrit

Dec 7, 2003, 02:08 AM

Originally posted by Maclarny
How's the music in the movie?

Sublime. I noticed it while I was watching it but it didn't register consciously until you just asked.

jefhatfield

Dec 21, 2003, 12:38 PM

one person here gave it three stars...i give it four out of four

oscar for tom cruise

he should have got it for born on the 4th of july, and jerry mcguire and rain man were not bad...top gun, cocktail, and risky business were very fun and a lot of people saw those movies, but i don't think too many people thought they were oscar material for tom