The Last Samurai (Full Screen Edition)

Starring:Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, William Atherton, Chad Lindberg, Ray Godshall Sr., Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Masato Harada, Masashi Odate, John Koyama, Timothy Spall, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Togo Igawa, Satoshi Nikaido, Shintaro Wada, Shin Koyamada, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shun Sugata, Koyuki, Sosuke Ikematsu
Director: Edward Zwick
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
While Japan undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernized society in 1876-77, The Last Samurai gives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced by a mercenary officer (Tony Goldwyn) to train the Japanese Emperor's troops in the use of modern weaponry. Opposing this "progress" is a rebellion of samurai warriors, holding fast to their traditions of honor despite strategic disadvantage. As a captive of the samurai leader (Ken Watanabe), Algren learns, appreciates, and adopts the samurai code, switching sides for a climactic battle that will put everyone's honor to the ultimate test. All of which makes director Edward Zwick's noble epic eminently worthwhile, even if its Hollywood trappings (including an all-too-conventional ending) prevent it from being the masterpiece that Zwick and screenwriter John Logan clearly wanted it to be. Instead, The Last Samurai is an elegant mainstream adventure, impressive in all aspects of its production. It may not engage the emotions as effectively as Logan's script for Gladiator, but like Cruise's character, it finds its own quality of honor. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Epic Action Drama. 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.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary by Edward Zwick
DVD ROM Features
Deleted Scenes:The Beheading (Behind the Beheading) Algren and Katsumoto
Documentaries:History vs. Hollywood: The Last Samurai {History Channel Documentary)
Featurette:Tom Cruise: A Warrior's Journey Edward Zwick: Director's Video Journal {Behind-the-scenes production journal - narrated by Ed Zwick and Tom Cruise A World of Detail: Production Design with Lilly Kilvert Silk and Armor: Costume Design with Ngila Dickson Imperial Army Basic Training: From Soldier to Samurai: The Weapons
Interviews:Making an Epic: A Conversation with Edward Zwick
Other:Japan Premieres {Tokyo & Kyoto red carpet)

The Last Samurai (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

The Last Samurai (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Ken Watanabe , Tom Cruise , William Atherton , Chad Lindberg , and Ray Godshall Sr.
Director: Edward Zwick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001JXOVC
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Product Description

Epic Action Drama. 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.
Running Time: 154 min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

While Japan undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernized society in 1876-77, The Last Samurai gives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced by a mercenary officer (Tony Goldwyn) to train the Japanese Emperor's troops in the use of modern weaponry. Opposing this "progress" is a rebellion of samurai warriors, holding fast to their traditions of honor despite strategic disadvantage. As a captive of the samurai leader (Ken Watanabe), Algren learns, appreciates, and adopts the samurai code, switching sides for a climactic battle that will put everyone's honor to the ultimate test. All of which makes director Edward Zwick's noble epic eminently worthwhile, even if its Hollywood trappings (including an all-too-conventional ending) prevent it from being the masterpiece that Zwick and screenwriter John Logan clearly wanted it to be. Instead, The Last Samurai is an elegant mainstream adventure, impressive in all aspects of its production. It may not engage the emotions as effectively as Logan's script for Gladiator, but like Cruise's character, it finds its own quality of honor. --Jeff Shannon

Average customer rating:

The Last Samurai [Blu-ray]
Starring: William Atherton , Sr. Ray Godshall , Tony Goldwyn , Togo Igawa , and Shane Kosugi
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000JUB7LW
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Description

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The Last Samurai [HD DVD]
Starring: Cruise , Sanada , Spall , and Goldwyn
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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ASIN: B000E5KJDO
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Product Description

HD DVD - The Last Samurai Actors: Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, William Atherton, Chad Lindberg, Ray Godshall Sr. Directors: Edward Zwick Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only) Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Studio: Warner Home Video DVD Release Date: April 18, 2006 DVD Features: Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French Available Audio Tracks: English (), French (), Spanish () 1080p High Definition 16x9 Dolby Digital-Plus English 5.1, Dolby Digital-Plus Francais 5.1, Dolby Digital-Plus Espanol 2.0 Commentary by director Edward Zwick Deleted scenes with commentary History vs. Hollywood: The Last Samurai {History Channel Documentary Tom Cruise: A Warrior's Journey Edward Zwick: Director's Video Journal Making an Epic: A Conversation with Edward Zwick and Tom Cruise A World of Detail: production design with Lilly Kilvert Silk and Armor: costume design with Ngila Dickson Imperial Army Basic Training From Soldier to Samurai: the weapons Japan premieres {Tokyo & Kyoto red carpet) Theatrical trailer

Average customer rating:

The Last Samurai (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Ken Watanabe , Tom Cruise , William Atherton , Chad Lindberg , and Ray Godshall Sr.
Director: Edward Zwick
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Release Date: 2004-05-04

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Description

Samurai - The Last Warriors (Documentary)

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Samurai - The Last Warriors (Documentary)

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Release Date: 2005-03-01

The Best of Blu-Ray, Volume Two (The Last Samurai / The Phantom of the Opera / Unforgiven / The Fugitive) [Blu-ray]

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The Best of Blu-Ray, Volume Two (The Last Samurai / The Phantom of the Opera / Unforgiven / The Fugitive) [Blu-ray]
Starring: Tom Cruise , Emmy Rossum , Clint Eastwood , and Harrison Ford
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The Best of HD DVD, Volume Two (The Last Samurai / The Phantom of the Opera / Unforgiven / The Fugitive) [HD DVD]

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The Best of HD DVD, Volume Two (The Last Samurai / The Phantom of the Opera / Unforgiven / The Fugitive) [HD DVD]
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The Last Samurai

Manufacturer: Top Ten New Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

From back cover, "Japanese multimillionaire, Yasujiro Endo journeys to Africa to find the truth about a Samuri ancestor who disappeard two centuries ago and to find the true apirit of the Samurai in himself. while on a safari with mercenary Johnny, he bumps into a business acquaintance also on safari, except he is actually in the midst of a covert arms deal. Endo and Johnny are now in the way, and must reach deep within themselves and come to terms with their personal demons to summon the strength for their fight to the finish. They confront their inner selves, and both discover their true nature is that of the Samuri."

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"Last" trip to "Troy"

Troy / The Last Samurai
Starring: Julian Glover , Brian Cox , Nathan Jones , Adoni Maropis , and Jacob Smith
Director: Wolfgang Petersen , and Edward Zwick
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Release Date: 2005-04-05

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There are many reasons to recommend Troy as a good ol' fashioned Hollywood epic, especially if you've never read Homer's The Iliad. Dispensing with Greek gods altogether, this earnestly massive production (budgeted at upwards of $200 million) will surely offend historians and devoted students of the classics (for them, there's the History Channel's Troy). But there's politics aplenty in the grand-scale war that erupts when Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) makes off with Helen (blandly beautiful German model Diane Kruger), wife of Spartan ruler Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), whose brother, the Greek king Agamemnon (Brian Cox) prods him into enraged retaliation. Greek warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) brings lethal force to his battles (and there are many of them, mostly impressive), and his Trojan counterpart, Paris's brother Hector (Eric Bana), adds even more buffed-up beefcake to a film so chock-full o' hunks that there's barely room for Peter O'Toole (doing fine work as Trojan king Priam) and even less for Julie Christie, appearing ever-so-briefly as Achilles's melancholy mother. The drama is nearly as arid as the sun-baked locations (Mexico and Malta) that stand in for the Aegean coast, and many critics suggested that Pitt (who valiantly tries to give Achilles some tormented dimension) was simply miscast. But when you consider that Wolfgang Petersen also made The Perfect Storm, there's nothing wrong with enjoying Troy as a semi-guilty pleasure with a touch of ancient class. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

"Last" trip to "Troy".......2005-06-01

Epic adventure flicks come in two varieties -- there's the "Ben-Hur"/"Lord of the Rings" type, and then there's the "Alexander" type. Sadly, two of the much-hyped adventures of 2003 and 2004 were monumental duds, both artistically and critically.

"The Last Samurai" tells the tale of a alcoholic officer-turned-mercenary (Tom Cruise), who is dragged to Japan to train the emperor's troops in Western warfare. But when he is captured by a samurai rebellion force, he begins to respect them and their way of life -- even to the point of fighting alongside them.

"Troy" goes further back in time, to ancient Greece and Troy. The beautiful, married queen Helen (pretty but wooden Diane Kruger) has run off with Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom), prompting all the Greek kings to lay siege to Troy in an effort to bring her back, with doomed hero Achilles (Brad Pitt) at the front lines.

Oddly enough, these two films suffer from opposite problems -- "Samurai" romanticizes history to the point of disbelief, while "Troy" strips away all mythological trappings. And it doesn't help either movie: the former is turned into a dewy-eyed star vehicle, while the latter loses many of its layers, and feels thin and undernourished. Achilles isn't much fun without his goddess mom and flawed invulnerability, is he?

Admittedly, the costumes and scenery for each are spectacular. "Troy" is set in an arid Mid-Eastern setting, and has some truly spectacular battle scenes between the Greeks and Trojans. And "Last Samurai" was filmed in New Zealand, which gave it plenty of green, dewy expanses and forests. Too bad each film is burdened with very clunky dialogue.

Tom Cruise plays a P.C., rather annoying version of a soldier, while Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt do seem to be giving it their all, but are hampered by their thin characters. The supporting actors are given better roles and do a better job, most notably Eric Bana ("Troy") and Ken Watanabe ("Last Samurai"), both of whom shine beside the A-listers.

"Troy" and "The Last Samurai" were attempts at modern Hollywood epics, but with difficult storylines and thin characters, neither one works. They're nowhere near as bad as "Alexander," but nowhere near good either.

Average customer rating:

The Last Samurai
Starring: John Saxon , John Fujioka , and Lance Henriksen
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