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54-457: The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic period action drama film directed and produced by Edward Zwick , who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz from a story devised by Logan. The film stars Tom Cruise , who also produced, along with Timothy Spall , Ken Watanabe , Billy Connolly , Tony Goldwyn , Hiroyuki Sanada , and Koyuki in supporting roles. Cruise portrays Nathan Algren, an American captain of

108-419: A suicidal cavalry charge on horseback. The samurai withstand an artillery barrage and break through Bagley's line. Algren kills Bagley, but the samurai are quickly mowed down by Gatling guns . The imperial captain, previously trained by Algren and horrified by the sight of the dying samurai, orders the soldiers to cease fire, outraging Omura. Katsumoto, mortally wounded, commits seppuku with Algren's help as

162-430: A sword hunt . Violators would have their swords confiscated. The Haitōrei was one of a series of steps taken by the government to abolish the traditional privileges of the samurai class. The first Haitōrei of 1870 prohibited farmers or merchants from wearing swords and dressing like samurai . This measure was in part an effort to restore public safety and order during the tumultuous period immediately after

216-466: A historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score , and an ensemble cast , which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. The term "epic" originally came from the poetic genre exemplified by such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh and

270-510: A lot of the filming of the climatic battle sequence between the Japanese army and the samurai. The film was based on the stories of Eugène Collache and Jules Brunet , both French Imperial Guard officers, who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War ; and Philip Kearny , a United States Army ( Union Army ) and French Imperial Guard soldier, notable for his leadership in

324-572: A massive scale. Biographical films may be less lavish versions of this genre. They often have a Roadshow theatrical release and are often shot on 70 mm film . Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two hours) as an epic, making the definition epic a matter of dispute, and raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all. As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence of Arabia : The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big-budget B picture . What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia

378-502: A moral revolution, not a material one, and he described his revolt as a check on the declining morality of a new, Westernizing materialism. In 2014, the movie was one of several discussed by Keli Goff in The Daily Beast in an article on white savior narratives in film , a cinematic trope studied in sociology, for which The Last Samurai has been analyzed. David Sirota at Salon saw the film as "yet another film presenting

432-572: A series of gratuitous provocations; and, though Saigō realized that Japan needed an effective standing army to resist pressure from the West, he could not countenance the social implications of the military reforms. For this reason Saigō, although participating in the Okinoerabu government, continued to exercise a powerful appeal among disgruntled ex-samurai in Satsuma and elsewhere." Saigō fought for

486-510: A skilled soldier who has become a bitter alcoholic traumatized by the atrocities he committed and witnessed during the American Indian Wars , is approached by his former commanding officer Colonel Bagley. Bagley asks him to train the newly created Imperial Japanese Army for a Japanese businessman, Omura, who intends to use the army to suppress a samurai-headed rebellion against Japan's new emperor. Despite his hatred of Bagley,

540-478: A white savior narrative and that it was a turning point for Asian representation in Hollywood. Watanabe also stated, “Before The Last Samurai , there was this stereotype of Asian people with glasses, bucked teeth and a camera,” [...] It was stupid, but after The Last Samurai came out, Hollywood tried to be more authentic when it came to Asian stories.” Epic film Epic historical films would usually take

594-472: Is a satisfying epic." At Metacritic , which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 55, based on reviews from 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic." One online analyst compares

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648-485: Is that the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor , but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not. The epic is among the oldest of film genres, with one early notable example being Giovanni Pastrone 's Cabiria , a two-and-a-half hour silent film about

702-420: Is the widow of a samurai he killed before being taken prisoner. While he is poorly treated at first, he eventually gains the samurai's respect and grows close to Katsumoto. With the help of Taka, Algren overcomes his alcoholism and guilt, learns the Japanese language and culture, and is trained in the art of kenjutsu . He develops sympathy for the samurai, who are upset that the pace of modern technology has eroded

756-614: The 7th Cavalry Regiment , whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in 19th century Japan . The film's plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion , led by Saigō Takamori , and the Westernization of Japan by foreign powers. The character of Algren is very loosely based on Eugène Collache and Jules Brunet , both French Imperial Guard officers who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in

810-750: The American Civil War , who fought against the Tututni tribe in the Rogue River Wars in Oregon . The historical roles of other European nations who were involved in the westernization of Japan are largely attributed to the United States in the film, although the film references European involvement as well. The Last Samurai: Original Motion Picture Score was released on November 25, 2003, by Warner Sunset Records . All music on

864-734: The Meiji Restoration and during the Boshin War . In 1871, the government issued the Danpatsurei Edict, allowing samurai to cut their top-knots and wear their hair in the Western manner. However, this was not required, simply allowed and encouraged. Universal military conscription was instituted in 1873, and with the creation of the Imperial Japanese Army , the samurai warrior class lost their monopoly on military service. The hereditary stipends provided to

918-564: The Punic Wars , which laid the groundwork for the subsequent silent epics of D. W. Griffith . The genre reached a peak of popularity in the early 1960s, when Hollywood frequently collaborated with foreign film studios (such as Rome's Cinecittà ) to use relatively exotic locations in Spain, Morocco and elsewhere for the production of epic films such as El Cid (1961) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The genre soon spread to other regions of

972-713: The samurai by their formal feudal lords (and assumed by the central government in 1871) were likewise abolished in 1873. The prohibition on wearing swords was controversial with the Meiji oligarchy but the argument, that it was an anachronism not in keeping with the westernization of Japan, won out. On March 28, 1876 the Haitō Edict was passed by the Daijō-kan . It prevented former samurai, now known as shizoku , from carrying swords. These changes in Japanese society and in

1026-421: The soldiers kneel in respect. Later, as trade negotiations conclude, the injured Algren interrupts the proceedings. He presents the emperor with Katsumoto's sword and asks him to remember the traditions for which Katsumoto and his fellow samurai fought and died. The emperor realizes that while Japan should modernize, it can't forget its own culture and history. He rejects the trade offer, and when Omura protests,

1080-643: The "epic" film, encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur , Gone with the Wind and more recently, 300 and the Star Wars films [...] none of these comes from literary epics per se , and there is little that links them with one another. Among those who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and ignored genres". Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state

1134-473: The Imperial Army has become a well-trained and fully equipped force led by Bagley. Katsumoto, to his dismay, discovers that the young and inexperienced emperor has become a puppet of Omura. At a government meeting, Omura orders Katsumoto's arrest for carrying a sword in public and tells him to perform seppuku the next day to redeem his honor. Meanwhile, Algren refuses Omura's offer to resume command of

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1188-495: The United States. It became the highest-grossing R-rated film there, surpassing The Matrix Reloaded . The film grossed $ 456.8 million against a production budget of $ 140 million. It grossed $ 111,127,263 in the United States and Canada, and $ 345,631,718 in other countries. It was one of the most successful box office hits in Japan , where it grossed ¥13.7 billion ( $ 132 million ). Motoko Rich of The New York Times observed that

1242-592: The Wind is the highest-grossing film ever, with two other romantic epics ( Titanic and Doctor Zhivago ) also featuring among the global top ten. So far the most Academy Awards ever won by a single film stands at eleven. This feat has only been achieved by three films: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all of which are above three hours long and considered epic films. The previous record holder

1296-400: The army. After defeating Imperial agents sent by Omura to assassinate him, Algren enlists Graham and Katsumoto's men to free their leader. During the rescue, Katsumoto's son Nobutada is mortally wounded, his sacrifice allowing the others to escape. As the Imperial Army marches to crush the rebellion, a grieving Katsumoto contemplates seppuku. Algren convinces him to fight, and pledges to join

1350-532: The basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama of their settings such as How the West Was Won or East of Eden that do not have the typical substance of classical epics but are directed in an epic style. When described as "epic" because of content, an epic movie is often set during a time of war or other societal crisis, while usually covering a longer span of time sometimes throughout entire generations coming and passing away, in terms of both

1404-418: The battlefield, Algren and Katsumoto meet with Omura and Bagley for parley ; Bagley offers terms of surrender to Katsumoto, which he refuses. The samurai use the Imperial Army's overconfidence to lure them into a trap; the ensuing battle inflicts massive casualties on both sides and forces the imperial soldiers to retreat. Knowing that imperial reinforcements are coming, and defeat is inevitable, Katsumoto orders

1458-535: The earlier Boshin War . The Last Samurai grossed a total of $ 456 million at the box office and became the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2003 . It received praise for the acting, visuals, cinematography and Hans Zimmer 's score but criticism for some of its portrayals. It was nominated for several awards, including four Academy Awards , three Golden Globe Awards , and two National Board of Review Awards . In 1876, former U.S. Army Captain Nathan Algren,

1512-490: The emperor tells him he has done enough and threatens to seize his fortune and distribute it to the people. Omura angrily protests, but when the emperor tells him to commit seppuku to prove his disgrace, he shrinks away in humiliation. After Omura accepts defeat, the emperor asks Algren how Katsumoto died, to which Algren responds that he will instead tell the emperor how he lived. While various rumors regarding Algren's fate circulate, Graham concludes that Algren had returned to

1566-449: The epic film may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an example. Stylistically, films classed as epic usually employ spectacular settings and specially designed costumes, often accompanied by a sweeping musical score, and an ensemble cast of bankable stars . Epics are usually among the most expensive of films to produce. They often use on-location filming, authentic period costumes , and action scenes on

1620-426: The epic is often credited to their ability to appeal to a wide audience. Several of the highest-grossing films of all-time have been epics. James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic , which is cited as helping to revive the genre, grossed $ 1.8 billion at cinemas worldwide to become the highest-grossing film—a record it held for twelve years. If inflation is taken into account, then the historical romantic epic Gone with

1674-402: The events depicted and the running time of the film. Such films usually have a historical setting, although speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ) settings have become common in recent decades. The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having far-reaching effects, often changing the course of history. The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution of

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1728-497: 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." Todd McCarthy , a film critic for the Variety magazine, wrote: "Clearly enamored of the culture it examines while resolutely remaining an outsider's romanticization of it, yarn is disappointingly content to recycle familiar attitudes about

1782-485: The film – working in development on it for nearly four years and after approaching several directors, including Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Weir , until he became interested with Edward Zwick . The film production went ahead with Zwick and was shot in Ward's native New Zealand. Cinematographer John Toll invited Gary Capo on the project to serve as second unit director and cinematographer. Capo specifically supervised

1836-487: The film's idealistic, "storybook" portrayal of the samurai, stating: "Our image of samurai is that they were more corrupt." As such, he said, the noble samurai leader Katsumoto "set my teeth on edge." In the United States, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 66% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 221 reviews, with an average score of 6.4/10. The site's consensus states: "With high production values and thrilling battle scenes, The Last Samurai

1890-471: The impoverished Algren takes the job for the money. He is accompanied to Japan by his old friend, Sergeant Zebulon Gant. Upon arriving, Algren meets Simon Graham, a British translator knowledgeable about the samurai. Algren learns that the imperial soldiers are simply conscripted peasants with shoddy training and little discipline. As Algren trains them to shoot, news arrives of a samurai attack on one of Omura's railroads. Against Algren's wishes, Omura sends

1944-437: The leader of the ineffective Satsuma Rebellion , who appears in the histories and legends of modern Japan as a hero against the corruption, extravagance, and unprincipled politics of his contemporaries. "Though he had agreed to become a member of the new government," wrote the translator and historian Ivan Morris , "it was clear from his writings and statements that he believed the ideals of the civil war were being vitiated . He

1998-505: The movie favorably to Dances with Wolves in that each protagonist meets and combats a "technologically backward people". Both Costner's and Cruise's characters have suffered through a series of traumatic and brutal battles. Each ultimately uses his experiences to later assist his new friends. Each comes to respect his newly adopted culture. Each even fights with his new community against the people and traditions from which he came. The film achieved higher box office receipts in Japan than in

2052-404: The nobility of ancient cultures, Western despoilment of them, liberal historical guilt, the unrestrainable greed of capitalists and the irreducible primacy of Hollywood movie stars." According to the history professor Cathy Schultz, "Many samurai fought Meiji modernization not for altruistic reasons but because it challenged their status as the privileged warrior caste . Meiji reformers proposed

2106-488: The radical idea that all men essentially being equal.... The film also misses the historical reality that many Meiji policy advisors were former samurai, who had voluntarily given up their traditional privileges to follow a course they believed would strengthen Japan." The fictional character of Katsumoto bears a striking resemblance to the historical figure of Saigō Takamori , a hero of the Meiji Restoration and

2160-401: The samurai in battle. They arrive back at the village, and Algren is reunited with Taka and her children. On the morning of the impending battle, Taka prepares Algren by carefully dressing him in her late husband's samurai armor , and Katsumoto presents him with a newly-forged samurai sword engraved with an inscription dubbing Algren "the warrior in which the old ways have joined the new." On

2214-474: The societal conflict. In its classification of films by genre, the American Film Institute limits the genre to historical films such as Ben-Hur . However, film scholars such as Constantine Santas are willing to extend the label to science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars . Lynn Ramey suggests that "Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of

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2268-434: The soldiers in pursuit of the samurai. The battle turns into a disaster as the recruits are quickly routed and flee, and Gant is killed. Algren fights to the last before he is surrounded; wounded and expecting to die, he is taken prisoner when samurai leader Katsumoto spares him. Algren is taken to Katsumoto's village and, at Katsumoto's request, is taken in and tended to by Taka, Katsumoto's sister, who Algren later realizes

2322-657: The soundtrack was composed, arranged, and produced by Hans Zimmer , performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony , and conducted by Blake Neely . It peaked at number 24 on the US Top Soundtracks chart. The Last Samurai had its world premiere in Tokyo in November 20, 2003. The film was released worldwide to theaters on December 5, 2003, by Warner Bros. Pictures. Critical reception in Japan

2376-474: The traditions of their society. Algren and Taka develop an unspoken affection for each other. One night, a group of ninja infiltrate the village and ambush Katsumoto. Algren saves Katsumoto's life, and then helps defend the village, concluding that Omura is responsible. Katsumoto requests a meeting with Emperor Meiji in Tokyo . He brings Algren, intending to release him. Upon arriving in Tokyo, Algren sees that

2430-597: The village scenes were shot on the Warner Bros. Studios backlot in Burbank, California. Some scenes were shot in Kyoto and Himeji , Japan. There were 13 filming locations altogether. Tom Cruise did his own stunts for the film. The film is based on an original screenplay entitled The Last Samurai by John Logan . The project itself was inspired by writer and director Vincent Ward . Ward became executive producer on

2484-663: The village to reunite with Taka. The producer's involvement in the film was originally developed in 1992 when Interscope Communications , a predecessor to Radar Pictures , developed the film, which was originally written by Michael Alan Eddy. Eddy sued the film's producers in 2004 claiming the WGA and Warner Bros. refused to give him credit. Filming took place in New Zealand, mostly in the Taranaki region , with mostly Japanese cast members and an American production crew. This location

2538-486: The white Union army official as personally embodying the North's Civil War effort to liberate people of color" and criticizing the release poster as "a not-so-subtle message encouraging audiences to (wrongly) perceive the white guy -- and not a Japanese person -- as the last great leader of the ancient Japanese culture." In a 2022 interview with The Guardian , Ken Watanabe stated that he didn't think of The Last Samurai as

2592-551: The works of the Trojan War Cycle . In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of many people depends. Similarly, films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic heroic figure. Common subjects of epics are royalty , gladiators , great military leaders, or leading personalities from various periods in world history. However, there are some films described as "epic" almost solely on

2646-627: The world, such as India where it's flourishing Bollywood industry produced the landmark Mughal-E Azam (1960), which is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time and a milestone in Asian epics. This boom period of international co-productions is generally considered to have ended with Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Nevertheless, films in this genre continued to appear, with one notable example being War and Peace , which

2700-402: Was Gone with the Wind (1939), also an epic, with ten awards. Haitorei Edict The Sword Abolishment Edict ( 廃刀令 , Haitōrei ) was an edict issued by the Meiji government of Japan on March 28, 1876, which prohibited people, with the exception of former lords ( daimyōs ), the military, and law enforcement officials, from carrying weapons in public; seen as an embodiment of

2754-467: Was chosen due to the fact that Egmont/Mount Taranaki resembles Mount Fuji , and also because there is a lot of forest and farmland in the Taranaki region. American Location Manager Charlie Harrington saw the mountain in a travel book and encouraged the producers to send him to Taranaki to scout the locations. This acted as a backdrop for many scenes, as opposed to the built up cities of Japan. Several of

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2808-410: 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 Edward 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." Katsuta still found fault with

2862-472: Was opposed to the excessively rapid changes in Japanese society and was particularly disturbed by the shabby treatment of the warrior class." Suspicious of the new bureaucracy, he wanted power to remain in the hands of the samurai class and the Emperor, and for those reasons, he had joined the central government. "Edicts like the interdiction against carrying swords and wearing the traditional topknot seemed like

2916-448: Was released in the former Soviet Union during 1967–1968. Epic films continue to be produced, although since the development of CGI they typically use computer effects instead of an actual cast of thousands. Since the 1950s, such films have regularly been shot with a wide aspect ratio for a more immersive and panoramic theatrical experience. Epic films were recognized in a montage at the 2006 Academy Awards . The enduring popularity of

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