This movie is inspired by multiple events that took place over a 100 year period if I remember right. Algren, Tom Cruise’s character, is based on a French soldier named Jules Brunet. As much as this movie is inspired by true events though, a lot of it is fictionalized as well. The Samurai did actually use firearms for example. And the Japanese absolutely love this movie. They actually created “Tom Cruise Day” in Japan partially because of this movie. The Last Samurai even made more money in Japan than it did in the United States.
It's specifically inspired by the Satsuma rebellion led by a Samurai named Saigo Takamori(Katsumoto). Saigo was one of the Three Great Nobles, leaders of the Boshin War that overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate and restored the emperor, in theory, back to supreme power but he wasn't happy with the way the new Meiji government, now led by another one of the Three Great Nobles named Okubo Toshimichi(Omura), was eroding the wealth and unrestricted authority the Samurai class had previously held and rebelled. There's a LOT more to it than just that but yeah, it's incredibly interesting stuff and if you're into history I'd strongly recommend looking into it further as there's too much to just cover in a RUclips post lol.
@@jeremygilbert7989 this. Also the Shogunate before the restoration was also engaging in modernization. Both sides were well aware of the way the world was going and that Japan needed modern technology. The Meiji restoration meanwhile began on the sentiment of REMOVING Western influence, which is quite ironic considering how everything turned out. Saying all that both sides fought with modern ships, modern guns, etc, though the Restorationists ultimately had the better armed and organized Western style army, due to the more effective British support of the Imperial forces while the French support for the Shogunate was a little more lacklustre.
The Sargent was played by the famous Sir William (Billy) Connolly CBE, a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and television presenter.
“We will show you no quarter.” He’s not talking about money in this context. Showing or giving “quarter” in battle means showing mercy or taking captive. He basically saying we will kill you with the rest of the samurai.
@@thevanillagorilla1665I friggin hate that emoji, and I hate the internet for giving people a safe haven for talking shit. Why do you have to be smarmy, dude? Internet muscles. Okay, buddy
@@cygil1Cause a movie has to be historically accurate to be loved by people... just like Star Wars 🙄 Just because a movie is based on actual events doesn't mean it has no allowance to add fiction to it.
@@cygil1 Movie never presented its self as a historically accurate or true events. In the same way Braveheart and Gladiator don't claim to be historically true. Its about enjoying the story which is why they are so popular. Its when movies claim to be accurate that run into issues, like Woman King, Cleopatra, or newer Viking shows that take liberties of what could have happen but have no proof and claim it true any ways.
Mine is te full arch of "You could spend your entire life searching for the perfect flower and will not be a wasted life" and then "they are all perfect" . The moment he realises that every single imperfection within us and within everything is what makes it all perfect. A great balance between our demons and our enlightment. That is why you should rejoyce of feeling angry and happy. crying and laughing. Loving and hating. Through many cultures the symbolism of duality is what brings peace to our minds. The Ying and Yang is a perfect representation of how not only light and dark are meshed in a whole but the dots within mean that there is a bit of darkness within light and there is a bit of light within the darkness. Baphomet as an ancient pagan crhistian divinity does this as well (no, is not Lucifer. Is just a lie from the Catholics to destroy such beliefs with the Holy Inquisition) Is the prefect description of Captian Algren's Journey. A way to find balance within himself to trully find peace. Sometihing we all seek but a few of us ever find. Cheers! XD
When he was yelling for sake it's because he's drank so much for so long to forget his past that he's now addicted physically. He was essentially detoxing going sober, and detoxing from alcohol can be fatal if cut off completely.
Am an ex amerivan solder who’s also an alcoholic, not that the first part really matters but excuse a bastard his self projected relevance. Going cold Turkey after drinking all the time is painful in a way I cannot describe fully. I can absolutely beleive that one can die from it. I’m fighting it myself best I can, I’m do where I’ll drink several gallons of beer a day. That used to be several liters of whiskey and rum per day. I’ll take progress where I can
@@cyberus1438 One of my childhood friends died from going cold turkey. He was 40 years old. It's not safe to do if you have drunk your whole life. The best way is in a detox facility with nurses and doctors.
@@scratchpennylast time I detoxed, they had to administer 10mg of Valium via IV every four hours. Unfortunately, I relapsed, and I’m doing a home taper. I’d rather be dopesick, honestly. Alcoholism sucks
But of course this person is a fictional character, so the real reason he called for Sake is because a script writer wrote it into the fictional script, nothing more.
"Perfect. They are all perfect." - Katsumoto. To me it means every day is perfect, stop chasing perfection when it's right in front of you. Same as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Legacy, but Katsumoto's analogy is beautiful while Kevin is more to the point and says it straight out.
Probably the best encapsulating line. But for me personally, I have always loved... "I killed her Husband?" "It was a good death" ... Considering how much I enjoyed the more intimate and clumsy arc of the story between Taka and Nathan that immediately follows.
"Tell me how he died" "I will tell you how he lived" The sheer depth of those words are truly inspiring and have become more powerful to me as time passes.
In the modern military, there would be medics and Graves Registration/Mortuary Affairs personnel who would go out and removed the bodies. Back then, it would have just been medics. The Samurai may or may not have had "medics" per se. More than likely, every able bodied man would have helped remove them.
There are some things you just missed. When the Emperor "if your shame is too unbearable I offer you this sword" he is saying that the way of the Samurai will live. He admits he had forgotten what Japan was and to Katsumoto's death made him realise that he needs to lead, he is the emperor after all and people are willing to give their lives for him. "If the emperor wishes my death he has but to ask" "Your Higness, if you believe me to be your enemy, command me and I will gladly take my life" Also, Algren is a linguist, or at least a self-proclaimed one, so he has an interest in languages to begin with, which enables him to learn languages faster. PS: This movie is "up there", absolutely one of the most beautiful movies and both Ken Watanabe and Tom Cruise play excellently off of each other. Hiroyuki Sanada is great in everything he's in, so that's a given. He plays Ujio, "the teacher" aka the second guy i charge and the single best warrior.
@@anyone9689 Yes, which is their culture, to seppukku when shamed to regain honor. It's The Emperor's way of saying "we will remember who we are", just like what Algren said about Katsumoto "he had hoped you would remember the Ancestors that held this sword and what they died for".
It was quite a brutal expansion of the western United States, which is why the Captain feels guilty and stays drunk. A good movie that’s actually similar to this but Native Americans instead of Japanese is “Dances with Wolves.”
@@Movie.Munchies In particular they mentioned Gettysburg and Little Bighorn, which explains why he would be suffering from PTSD. -Gettysburg was a pivotal battle of the American civil war and also one of the bloodiest, tens of thousands of men on both sides died every day of the battle. -Little Bighorn was after the Civil War when the US Army turned to suppressing all native tribes. Colonel George Custer and the 7th Cavalry were sent to defeat the Lakota Sioux but the Sioux chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse successfully united the Sioux, and in a brilliant series of coordinated feints and ambushes slaughtered the 7th Cavalry. Afterwards the US Army cavalry would return in force and take some terrible vengeance upon the Sioux. Both terrible and extraordinarily violent battles, our main character having involvement or even just knowledge of them explains why he would be haunted so terribly...
If you'd like to learn more about Native Americans like the people that Nathan Algren was having flashbacks about killing, there's a movie called Dances With Wolves that has this same type of story. Actually, The Last Samurai borrowed a lot from that movie. They even speak the Lakota language in a lot of the movie so it may be your only opportunity to hear what the language sounds like.
This takes place during the Meiji Restoration when Japan was trying to force itself to modernize and industrialize in order to remain strong and independent, unlike most of the rest of Asia and the world which had been colonized already by Europeans. They thought the best way to do this was to abandon their old ways and culture and quickly adopt Western styles of dress, industry, military, et cetera. They really did bring in foreign experts from all over the world to advise on pretty much everything, from military training and technology to civil engineering to fashion... so, although Nathan Algren is a made-up character, it's possible someone similar to him found himself in Japan performing a similar function. There were American experts there. Though, at the time, the foremost experts in the world on military training were the Prussians (precursors to the modern German state), and the Japanese relied mostly on them to modernize their military training.
It's crazy how fast Japan adapts. They were essentially the same cultural and technological country for over 1000 years, but in the last 150 years they've become one of the most advanced countries in the world; transportation, electronics, vehicles, urbanization. They are a people truly driven towards a singular goal. They're a shining example of what a country can do on the world stage when they are united and put the country's prosperity over one's own.
The rebellion portrayed in this movie was based on real events. Some of the characters were fictionalized for the movie. This is one of my favorite movies. The Last Samurai is one of the very few movies that I get emotional over. I am happy to know that both of you loved the movie.
Just to let you know: the samurai are a caste in Japan. You need to be born into it to become samurai. 29:45 Oh, yes, he can. Katsumoto may be Taka's brother, but he is also, technically speaking, her liege lord, and in Samurai society, what the leige lord says, goes. A liege lord, for example, can order a married couple to be divorced, and no matter what that couple's feelings for each other, they will be divorced. 34:45 All samurai women carried knives. They did so to fight or, more likely, to kill themselves (jigai) if they were in danger of being captured. Great reaction!
The Last Samurai is a motion picture adaption and a blend of two separate but _real_ historical people and events. A Japanese Samurai, Saigo Takamori, who this movie portrays as the character Katsumoto Moritsuga; and a French Soldier, Jules Brunet, who this movie portrays as the character Nathan Algren. Great choice.
After the Civil War, 80% of all soldiers lost their jobs. So, the professional soldiers became mercenaries if they had no other job skills. Algren has PTSD, also.
They cut off his top knot because of the power they suddenly have as former peasants. Most Samurai treated peasants as 2nd class citizens. It was a form of revenge. Though it's wrong under any context.
good post. this one good samurai endured embarrassment for the bad behavior of some past samurai, while the soldiers made fools of themselves for believing all samurai were bullies. in our current politics, we must remember that we have more in common than we differ, lest the bullied become the bullies.
@@jwoellhof consider the context of this regime/cultural change. There was a similar regime change in Europe, the French Revolution, where "committees" of former peasants gained political control and started executing the French aristocrats via guillotine. The bullied becoming the bullies. I'd say much of these executions were from jealousy rather than true "crimes against the People". There WAS quite a bit of corruption and abuse of the common person BY the aristocracy, no doubt there.
@@jwoellhof exactly right. It's why tyrannical revolution led peasants or a former peasants can be just as cruel and deadly as traditional power structures.
To react is instinctual, it's not something one "can do". If a bird flies past you, you react, it's survival. Imagine if humans didn't react to new information when presented to us, we wouldn't make it past 1 generation.:D
This movie is an Master piece. thank you for reacting. I can't count how many time I have watched this movie. Everything is perfect the story (even if it's little bit different from the real one), the music, the actor, the speech, landscape❤❤❤❤. I always had tears in this movie. I'm in Love with it. Samouraï never died Thank you again for your reaction
@@schawk8709There has not been vikings for a thousand years. They were destroyed by Christianity. Their gods, their music, their customs are mostly unknown today. There never was the blond haired, blue eyed warriors either, of course, as the vikings was very diverse, some because of mating with people from other countries, a bit by the fact that it was vikings in other countries than Scandinavia too. Viking is just a job description. It's not a people. Be proud of your native ancesters. You are from the Brythonic celts? I'm not really proud of my ancesters bloody jobs like waging wars and taking slaves. But I admire them for their arts and bravery. Now we are pussy-cats.
@@lillia5333 Vikings were not destroyed by christianity. They became christians in time not by external brute force, they mainly just converted by themselves.
Hi Movie Munchies!! Love your reactions! Keep watching these great movies. Love your movie choices, keep watching these classic action and drama movies. Have a great day, beautiful ladies!!
23:20 - In Samurai culture, the right to hold a sword is earned. It is considered a great disrespect for a non-Samurai like Algren to hold a sword without permission, even a bokken (wooden training sword), and the other guy is forcibly stripping him of a weapon he has no right to hold. Watch what he does to the bokken each time he defeats Algren: he knocks the bokken from his hand every time. Algren makes it much worse for himself by repeatedly picking it back up, defying the Samurai and bringing even more force down on himself. Eventually, the other guy just takes it away and returns it to its proper owner.
I’m half Japanese and there are still samurai families. I am from a samurai family on my mother’s side. I still do train with my sensei in kenjutsu. I try to not let tradition die. In my mind my family are still samurai just not how most people intend it.
The movie romanticizes things a lot. In real life, the samurai rebels ALSO had guns, they didn't fight with just swords and bows against guns and cannons (they weren't stupid). And their motivation was more to keep their status as an elite aristocratic class with special privileges. Japan's move to a large modern army made up of regular civilians threatened to make the samurai class obsolete and the samurai hated this.
Truth. The Patriot was also full of inaccuracies but still a good movie. If a British officer committed the atrocities Tavington committed irl he would’ve been court martialed and sentenced to death by hanging or firing squad. Especially burning down a church during the reign of King George III. Under Henry VIII it would’ve been different. And a British officer who killed a minor definitely would’ve been court martialed and hanged. Cornwallis and King George had no tolerance under any circumstance for British officers who practiced brutality or barbarism
And the romanticizing of Samurai and the Bushido code (evident throughout this movie, but especially in the words and actions of the emperor at the end) didn’t really happen until after WW1. Up until that time, the Japanese were sincerely trying to emulate the Western Great Powers as closely as they could. They had an expectation that if they proved themselves as sufficiently Westernized, then they must also be accepted as an equal Great Power. When that didn’t happen even after they were allied with the victorious side in WW1, but instead they were still treated as a second rate power and race, disallowed in the post-war naval treaties to build a comparable fleet, etc., then they abandoned the goal of becoming just like the West and started to romanticize the Samurai period and to redefine what it meant to be Japanese as a separate and superior race and culture. In other words, the romanticism in this movie fits right in with the interwar definition and rise of fascist Japan and the motivation of the Pacific War.
@@BoaConstrictor126 Merely doing these things is bad enough but especially given that the British position was that the Americans were rightful British subjects protected by the Crown and Bill of Rights, Tavington would have been punished extremely harshly
@@BoaConstrictor126yeah, you’re right, but Tavington was based on Banistare Tavington, who by all rights was extremely cruel to both soldiers and civilians, but not propaganda levels like in the film
Not to mention the fact the US did not play that large a role once the Great White Fleet convinced Japan they needed a technological catch up, although the French and Europeans did.
This beautiful movie was directed by Edward Zwick. He also directed the incredibly powerful movie Glory which is amazing and with an awesome group of actors including Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.
I competed in HEMA(Historical European Martial Arts) with a Longsword for 10 years. I wish we got a movie like this that made people fall in love with European martial swords and weapons. I own an Italian fencing manual from the 1400s called Fior di Battaglia(The Flower of Battle), it shows all the different stances and guards. I relied heavily on something called The Window Guard. If anyone is interested there are videos about it on yt.
Those films are out there, though; no doubt about it. I’ve loved the longsword as a weapon ever since LotR debuted, though 2022’s _The Northman_ really ignited an interest in traditional European sword and shield techniques in me. Very different fighting system, but I’ve developed an appreciation for it nonetheless.
One of the problems with HEMA and relying on incredibly vague codexes like Fior di Battaglia is that you have no real idea if your fighting styles are at all representative of the actual fighting style at the time outside of comparing yourself to very poorly drawn pictures with no perspective. There has been no serious culture passed down on old european martial arts outside of fencing. With Japanese fighting, they maintained a tradition of martial arts and training in all their techniques by passing them on from students to teachers.
@@Null_Experis There's more to European martial warfare than one Italian book. Sorry but presenting your opinions as fact is a great way to get yourself blocked and ignored. Goodbye. Katana swordplay was not passed down through every single Japanese generation like some monolith of knowledge. Stop spreading lies. So sickening.
Its not a damn documentary. It's historically accurate ENOUGH. Algren was based off an actual Man, who fought in Japan during the civil war. But just because he was French in real life, instead of American, people throw tantrums saying it's not "hISTORIcAllY aCCUrAte"
One thing that I love calling reactor's attention to with this film is Seizō Fukumoto, the actor who played the silent samurai Bob. He had a career on more than 50 years of playing samurai on screen. In fact he was what they call a kirareyaku, an actor who specializes in portraying the LOSER of a samurai duel. It is estimated that Fukumoto died 50,000 times on the silver screen. I don't know how much you have been about the american wars with the autochthonous tribes, but I would like to give a little context to Algren and Bagley. General George A. Custer was a cavalry officer in the union army during our civil war. What he is most famous for, however, is the event Algren relates to Katsumoto, in which he arrogantly attacked an encampment of Lakota, Cheyanne and Arapaho indians, not realizing how badly outnumbered he really was. Custer became known for his last stand at the little bighorn, on a hilltop, surrounded by opposing forces. None of his men survived the final assault on the hill. The US Army was well known during this conflict for taking punitive measures against native americans regardless of whether that particular group was in actual armed conflict WITH them. This is what is depicted on screen when Bagley and his cavalry swoop in and kill a bunch of women and children in retaliation for some unnamed event. Algren disagreed with this act and hated Colonel Bagley ever after.
This one really hits close to home, honestly had a similar journey of being miserable, disillusioned and filled with anxiety, and through consumption of Japanese media finding my peace to truly appreciate life.
Samurai warriors have always been a source of inspiration to me along with Vikings, Spartans, and the Zulu warriors. I will always shield and fight for others who are unable to defend themselves
This movie is not about actual events, but it is set during an actual stage of Japan's history, called Meiji restoration. Japan used to be closed to the world and ruled by local lords called Shogun, where the emperor was a symbolic figure with no power. When the US forced Japan to open to the world through the hand (and weapons) of Commodore Perry, Japan realized to survive they needed to present a unified country, so everybody lined up behind Emperor Meiji, who was not as young as they represent him in this movie, but the young age of the actor represents well the inexperience Emperor Meiji actually had in governing. At that point they unified a central army and passed laws against tribal samurai, tried to modernize clothes, culture, etc. They really hired foreign experts to train their armies and their students and their worker force. Japan had to enter trade agreements with European countries and with the US, so the details of the story might be just a story, but the actual period in the history of Japan seems to be very well represented. I guess that's why the movie was very well received in Japan.
The thing about the scene where he spars with the little boy and then gets beaten by the other samurai that is very sad and unbearable for Taka. Is that she sees him defeated so easily. To her, her husband was a strong and honorable warrior. But to see the man that killed her husband get beaten the way that he did caused her to doubt her late husbands' strength. This is, of course, a horrible thing to doubt. Which is why you see the pain in her eyes. Japanese women in those times believed in honoring their husbands above all else even long after their deaths. But in just that moment, she felt she had dishonored him. Only later, when she realized how strong and honorable the captain actually was did she see that her husband had died a good death and therefore could forgive him for killing her husband. His honor validated her husband's. Hence why in the ended she offered him to wear her husbands armor as an honor to her family.
Ujio was their battlemaster, no one is expected to defeat him in single combat, or even have a chance against him. I mean, later, they even take bets not on who will win between Ujio and Algren, but on just how badly Ujio was going to embarrass Algren. For this fight, that act was way beneath Ujio to fight against someone so completely unskilled and untrained that he's treating the bokken like it's a stick. Ujio was making a statement. "Know your place, prisoner. You should be dead." That's why the reactions from everyone that were looking on. They couldn't understand why Algren continued to stand. He was beaten and should submit, that is their way. He has no chance, yet for reasons beyond their understanding, he continues to fight and Ujio continues to punish him for it. Until even the swordmaster reaches the point of just staring on like, "What the hell, man? Just... lay down. Enough. Please."
Actually I think you missed it. Samurai cannot stand defeat. The would rather die. Tom cruises character never admitted defeat and got up regardless of the superior foe until he could not. Even then he had to be disarmed for they knew he would get up and go again. At this point he proved to everyone his Samurai spirit. And they trained him.
@dootdoot1867 Oh, there is that, too, but that's the obvious message of the scene. The message I'm talking about in this scene "For Taka," is all I was referring to and what "I" think people miss in this scene. Both messages exist in the scene. At least the way I understood it.
@rcslyman8929 This is all valid, but I'm only speaking on Taka's perspective. I'm sure she is aware that Ujio is their best warrior, and of course, biasly, they don't expect Aldren to win. But for her, the fact that Aldren killed her husband would suggest, again to her, that he had some prowess of fighting skills. Again, only speaking from her perspective.
In order to get a deeper appreciation of Japanese Samurai culture, you must begin with the masterpiece "The Seven Samurai" directed by the master Akira Kurosawa.
Movie Munchies, You have a wonderful channel to watch movies. Even though you don't completely understand the history of Japan or early American history, you have a deep understanding of the human spirit and all of the emotions being conveyed by all the characters. I'm your loyal fan and subscribed to channel. Also, you ladies are kind and sincere and very lovely! 🙂
My all-time favorite movie. I'm glad you reacted to it and enjoyed it. One of the few movies that makes me cry when I watch it. The music is fantastic and of course done by none other than Hans Zimmer. He also did music for movies like inception, batman begins, the dark knight and many others. Good work with your reactions!
Captain Algren fought in one of the darkest and most brutal chapters of American history: the Indian Wars. And it's a thing we should remember: whenever the Indians raided us (mainly settlers traders to the point of inflicting torture of all manner and slaving), we responded with a policy of overwhelming force with no quarter given because they gave no quarter. It was ugly and it is not anything to be proud of but it is the manner of history. Two powers clash and all it comes down to is which is the most powerful. The only silver lining is for every Indian tribe that we brutalized, we had other tribes that chose to assimilate and ally with us. There's a lot of nuance involved in the whole picture but Algren saw the worst of it. This isn't all that far removed from any brutal internal wars that have raged throughout the ages. We profess that we should be above such things, but we humans are apex predators and thus will act as such, even among ourselves on a regular basis. Edit: when he described in brutal detail what scalping involves, that was standard practice for all men captured by Indians. The women saw their children murdered and then were taken off as War Wives by the warriors who captured them. The concept is simple: men are a threat and to be eliminated, the children are a burden and should be eliminated unless they can be raised in a new culture. The women are important as they are breeding stock for our side. This is very much the rule of nature and we can look to lions for these kinds of practices. If a male lion leading a pride loses a battle against another male lion, the loser either dies or is driven off while all his cubs are wiped out to the last by the winner so the lionesses will become receptive to breeding in short order. And I do hold out some hope for humanity in that we are horrified when we revert to those mandates.
It was a pleasure to watch the reactions of two beautiful ladies to this great movie! I'm subscribed now, and look forward to following you for future movies.
The Japanese had access to firearms as early as the 1580's which they got from the Portuguese. There's a Netflix docu-drama called "Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan" about the Samurai of this time period that covers this. They were so many firearms in Japan that it became illegal for commoners to possess a firearm. The Japanese elites feared the commoners would rise up against them.
@@theplan-m6cno, they provided more of a historical context with details which was interesting to read and also recommended a docu-drama so that anyone else who was interested in your point could find out more.
Apparently Japan is notorious in the film industry for its difficult bureaucracy. There are a lot of restrictions and permissions that have to be hashed out in order to film. That’s why the new Shogun adaptation is not filmed in Japan either unlike the 1980 series.
@SgtWicket it helped that Mt Taranaki looks like Mt Fuji and NZ has a lot of open space that they could build the village and have the battlefield. The first training scene is at the New Plymouth domain's sports field.
Algren mocked the Japanese for wearing "dresses"... But soon discovered the freedom, not being restricted by tight ass frekkin jeans, by... wearking... a "dress". xD
I love when , especially during war, you show the humanity on both sides. Not every person wants to kill or hurt other innocent people. Humanity just wants freedom and understanding. No one wins in war, and everyone loses a piece of them. Customs are precious to everyone, and it can change your entire world view to be among people you don’t understand. We are all just people
I love this film. You guys have the best reactions and the best most intelligent commentary. You actually comment on the meaning and the subtleties. Subscribed. 🙂
For one thing the samurai actually adopted guns as soon as it arrived in Japan, not just adopting it,they really mastered its use. Also, to give context, the time period in which the movie is set is the Meiji restoration when Emperor Meiji consolidated imperial power after centuries of rule by the Shoguns. During the shogunate period the emperor was just a puppet and Japan followed an isolationist policy. During the 19th century Western nations forced Japan to abandon the isolationist policy. And soon the position of the Tokugawa Shoguns started to crumble with various political issues including increasing foreign intervention, civil strife and such and Emperor Meiji took the opportunity to consolidate his power over the governing of Japan. During the Meiji era Japan introduced western model Armed Forces, the samurais who provided military services to Japan exclusively, found the loss of their elite status to commoners in the army rebelled. But they were defeated. Then Japan went into modernisation in almost all sectors. The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces were a superpower of its time and went on to defeat the Russian Empire,thus becoming the first Asian nation in modern times to defeat a European power.
Since you're wondering about it, the " real " story isn't about an american captain but a french one. His name was Jules Brunet and he even won a medal from the emperor after figthing against the emperor's regime.
52:20 Algren was in the US army, he knows the range of the cannons being fired, and how far he should be away from them to be safe. this is a great movie, glad you watched it! another great reaction! 👍
This is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. So many people dismiss this and Dances with Wolves as “White Savior” movies but they’re actually the opposite. They save Nathan by giving him a life of peace, serenity and purpose. He helps by telling them the enemy strategies but that’s about it. Ken Watanabe should’ve gotten an Oscar for this movie, I cry every time I hear him say “They are all perfect”.😭😭 Not to mention Hans Zimmer gives us one of the most beautiful and underrated scores in film history, I listen to the track “A Way Of Life” during meditations. Also the scene in which he ends the duel with Ujio with a draw by completely clearing out his mind is a real life technique. It’s called Mushin or No Mind, the best way to describe it is that it’s exactly like Ultra Instinct from Dragonball Super. Or like Spider-Man’s Spider Sense, you let your body move on it’s own. I felt it myself when I was training in Kenpo Karate as a teenager, my sensei and his other instructors swore by The Last Samurai and told me to pay attention to that scene specifically.
I enjoyed watching their reactions. They were so cute and funny. And they are very pretty. I loved spending time with these intelligent adorable girls.
By the 1870s , the era of the shogun was over in Japan . The Meiji was restored in 1868 , and this marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate . The Meiji was Emperor Meiji , and he reigned from 1868 to 1912 . The restoration led to major reforms and also marked a period of aggressive modernization efforts in Japan . One of the key reforms was the abolition of the feudal system and the disbanding of the Samurai class . Foreign influences , like Commodore Mathew Perry's arrival in Tokyo Bay in 1853 may have provided the catalyst for this social upheaval in Japan , but the change was primarily driven by forces internal to Japan . Reformists and revolutionaries within Japan sought to modernize and strengthen the country and to put Japan on an equal footing with the rest of the world .
“We will show you no quarter”. Quarter, in this instance, means housing, usually safe housing and is most often an institutional term, especially military. He was saying-“you have no privilege, safety against us in this battle.” I am quite confident the character would have known this without it being said, it was a statement of arrogance, presumed victory before the fight.
TIEN, you really showed how well in-tune you were with this movie, summed up beautifully by your comment: "This is his 'good' death." And your reaction during that scene was absolutely perfect: 46:28-47:16.
The beating in the rain was to show Alrgren just does not stop fighting until his body fails him. The Samurai respect that kind of spirit and determination. Algren was outmatched because he was using his limited skills with the saber against a master of the katana (all officers in the Western militaries got a general rundown on the use of the saber but their main weapons were their own troops and then their pistols). It isn't that he is worthless as a warrior, but he's trained very differently and his training isn't up to facing a true swordsman. And what's more is that he took the beating with grace without complaint but just lost because he just didn't measure up despite his will to keep going. During World War II, it was a thing where the Japanese would show respect to men like that such as when a ship that had no business attacking the Japanese Battle Fleet not only attacked them head on and took out a ship much more powerful than it should have but kept fighting until the ship itself broke in half and slipped into the depths. It was a hopeless fight and the crew knew it but they fought anyways and punched way above their weight class as a result. This was impressive enough that the cruiser that killed the destroyer escort (a glorified tin can suited only for hunting submarines and yet killed a heavy cruiser and inflicted serious damage on other much larger ships) had its crew man the rails (line up on the side of the ship) and give a salute to those brave enemies in recognition of their bravery.
Thank you for your reaction to this movie, I really enjoyed it 🙂. I remember watching this film at the movies and hearing the majority of people crying at the end. I bought a copy on video and watched it every week for a year. Thinking about it now, I can’t really think of movie that was so well acted by everyone. Main actors, supporting actors, oldest, youngest, eastern and western they all put in so much effort and it really showed. Thank you again ❤.
54:36 They mention the "Warriors at Thermopylae" which is portrayed in a separate movie, 300. Granted that movie is not 100% accurate, and is spiced up for the big screen. Still a really cool story, a badass movie, definitely one you should react to! I love how Tien always gets brought in for the really sad movies. She winds up sobbing half the time. 😅
When this came out on DVD. I took it to my mothers home to watch. She when did he become one of them. I told her he was always one of them he was samurai. The white tiger whos eyes are like my own. Just like the vision in the beginning. That is some deep meditation.
Thank you soo much for watching this movie 😍😍, this is one of my all time favourites along with Troy which you have both watched and another film which is Blood Diamond are in my top 10 films.
Samurai WERE respected, but some were feared. Living off of a stipend from the government, some lost purpose and fell to drinking and debauchery. In some instances this lead to the death of the peasantry, which were defenseless both physically and legally. A samurai had the right to kill a peasant who they felt insulted them and the word of a samurai was always held to be true. This lead to resentment and anger toward the samurai. With the industrialization of Japan, many peasants joined the constabulary. This gave them power over the samurai and with Imperial edict going against the samurai, they often took pleasure in "disciplining" the samurai who had once abused them.
Uhm, your average samurai couldn't go around killing peasants cause he felt like it. It would need to be a clear insult and at least 1 other witness was required, even if those were peasants. The samurai would also be detained for a duration while the investigation was conducted. If it was found that the samurai didn't have a good right to slay the peasant (or any lower rank person), he was required to do seppuku. Could high ranking samurai get away with it? Probably did. But it's not like most samurai could just kill for the heck of it.
The movie depicts Zanchin. A samurai principle which means that a samurai should be able to see the enemies moves before they happen. There is a legend that says that there was a time two samurais met each other in fight. And they stared at each other for hours, with swords drawn. And then they sheathed their swords and declared a draw... as noone of them could see the move which would kill the other... Very deep meaning. The movie shows it twice... Algreen developes Zanchin...
I think the reason Algren was laughing at the first meeting was because the Colonel was bragging about Algren's part in the conflict and making him sound righteous and noble.
Girls, i love that you have such real reactions full of heart and emotion. Anytime i watch an emotional movie with you, i end up crying like a baby. Youre so sweet! :)
Although the film changes a lot of historical facts, it embellishes an aspect of Japanese culture that the Americans sought to erase after the Second World War. The movie also addresses the issue of ethnic cleansing of Native Americans. Somehow it is a symbol of the repentance of Western imperialism. One point that I could criticize about this masterpiece : the Japanese imperial cult which existed at that time brought very bloody wars to Asia. I was in a relationship with a Chinese woman, she remembers her grandparents' stories about the horrors committed by Japanese soldiers. I think that imperialism is a scourge no matter where it comes from.
These are the things that stay in a warrior's mind, man, woman, or boy on the battlefield you fight for women and children at home. We recall true stories, like Thermopylae and they embolden us. If you truly believe your cause is just you'll keep fighting until you're unable to. While this movie is mostly fictional the feeling behind it is something almost volunteer soldier feels. A conviction to fight for all those beside you on the line and all those at home, especially those who you love. Commitment to a cause is a powerful thing, commitment to a cause and fighting for those you love is more powerful than any force. It's a man's and a son's duty and honor to protect his family and home, I know I always will. This movie is a pretty good peek into a warrior's mind and why we do what we do.
Katsumoto was the Emporor's teacher, he knew him well. But he became the ruler of all Japan as a child. He was used and manipulated until he found his own voice.
The character Katsumoto was really named Saigo Takamori, he was the last samurai. This is history mixed with a lot of Hollywood. They have combined elements of the Boshin Wars from the 1860s with the Satsuma Rebellion of the very late 1870s which was the end of samurai. It maybe interesting to note for some who are interested that the samurai's final battle occured in Kagoshima city at the ruins of the castle at Shiroyama. You may visit there today and witness the shell scared walls of thr castles ruins where the samurai made their final stand. The wives and daughters of the samurai proudly met the modern Imperial Japanese Army at the stone bridge leading into the city and were slaughtered there before the srmy continued on to kill their husbands and sons. You may still see the old stone bridges at a park in Kagoshima. Satsuma has a very interesting history. I am so in love with Hella, she is just gorgeous.
Tom Cruise was so good in this film credit to him, he actually does know japanese in real life & every October 10th is "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan he is very popular there.
This movie is inspired by multiple events that took place over a 100 year period if I remember right.
Algren, Tom Cruise’s character, is based on a French soldier named Jules Brunet.
As much as this movie is inspired by true events though, a lot of it is fictionalized as well. The Samurai did actually use firearms for example.
And the Japanese absolutely love this movie. They actually created “Tom Cruise Day” in Japan partially because of this movie. The Last Samurai even made more money in Japan than it did in the United States.
Yea on the DVD the interviews with the Japanese actors how happy a good story of thier history. The bravery honor sprit of the warriors.
It's specifically inspired by the Satsuma rebellion led by a Samurai named Saigo Takamori(Katsumoto). Saigo was one of the Three Great Nobles, leaders of the Boshin War that overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate and restored the emperor, in theory, back to supreme power but he wasn't happy with the way the new Meiji government, now led by another one of the Three Great Nobles named Okubo Toshimichi(Omura), was eroding the wealth and unrestricted authority the Samurai class had previously held and rebelled. There's a LOT more to it than just that but yeah, it's incredibly interesting stuff and if you're into history I'd strongly recommend looking into it further as there's too much to just cover in a RUclips post lol.
Play total war shotgun pc game its good
@@jeremygilbert7989 this. Also the Shogunate before the restoration was also engaging in modernization. Both sides were well aware of the way the world was going and that Japan needed modern technology. The Meiji restoration meanwhile began on the sentiment of REMOVING Western influence, which is quite ironic considering how everything turned out. Saying all that both sides fought with modern ships, modern guns, etc, though the Restorationists ultimately had the better armed and organized Western style army, due to the more effective British support of the Imperial forces while the French support for the Shogunate was a little more lacklustre.
@@jediknight73I loved that game , want to get a laptop just to play it again. Maybe they fixed the glitches I used to abuse
The Sargent was played by the famous Sir William (Billy) Connolly CBE, a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and television presenter.
31:35 "he teach them Football, yea he teach them Basketball" xD
ALMOST
Ball is Ball 😂😊
😂😂😂😂
“We will show you no quarter.” He’s not talking about money in this context. Showing or giving “quarter” in battle means showing mercy or taking captive. He basically saying we will kill you with the rest of the samurai.
I'll look for you on the field
@@TheRoleplayer40k😂
Yep or housing of troops. But this case no mercy. To be fair the captain did say I gladly kill you for free first to the Col.
@@thevanillagorilla1665I friggin hate that emoji, and I hate the internet for giving people a safe haven for talking shit. Why do you have to be smarmy, dude? Internet muscles. Okay, buddy
@@mikeydubbs8565 🤫
Oh this movie is great. When it was released in 2003, I was stationed in Japan. My Japanese friends loved it as much as American audiences.
Also a hit in New Zealand as a lot of was filmed there. Mt Taranaki looks like Mt Fuji (same sort of volcano), with a lot of countryside around it.
I'm really surprised about that, it's about as historically accurate as "Star Wars."
@@cygil1Cause a movie has to be historically accurate to be loved by people... just like Star Wars 🙄
Just because a movie is based on actual events doesn't mean it has no allowance to add fiction to it.
@@cygil1 Movie never presented its self as a historically accurate or true events. In the same way Braveheart and Gladiator don't claim to be historically true. Its about enjoying the story which is why they are so popular. Its when movies claim to be accurate that run into issues, like Woman King, Cleopatra, or newer Viking shows that take liberties of what could have happen but have no proof and claim it true any ways.
"But I like to think that he found some small measure of peace; that we all seek and few of us ever find." one of my favorite lines of the movie.
And may small nations be free
Pray? No I’ll never have peace until my end.
Mine is te full arch of "You could spend your entire life searching for the perfect flower and will not be a wasted life" and then "they are all perfect" .
The moment he realises that every single imperfection within us and within everything is what makes it all perfect. A great balance between our demons and our enlightment. That is why you should rejoyce of feeling angry and happy. crying and laughing. Loving and hating. Through many cultures the symbolism of duality is what brings peace to our minds. The Ying and Yang is a perfect representation of how not only light and dark are meshed in a whole but the dots within mean that there is a bit of darkness within light and there is a bit of light within the darkness. Baphomet as an ancient pagan crhistian divinity does this as well (no, is not Lucifer. Is just a lie from the Catholics to destroy such beliefs with the Holy Inquisition)
Is the prefect description of Captian Algren's Journey. A way to find balance within himself to trully find peace. Sometihing we all seek but a few of us ever find.
Cheers! XD
PTSD always goes hand in hand with severe depression and extreme self hate.
It´s pure hell.
Amen.
Yep!
When he was yelling for sake it's because he's drank so much for so long to forget his past that he's now addicted physically. He was essentially detoxing going sober, and detoxing from alcohol can be fatal if cut off completely.
Am an ex amerivan solder who’s also an alcoholic, not that the first part really matters but excuse a bastard his self projected relevance.
Going cold Turkey after drinking all the time is painful in a way I cannot describe fully. I can absolutely beleive that one can die from it. I’m fighting it myself best I can, I’m do where I’ll drink several gallons of beer a day. That used to be several liters of whiskey and rum per day. I’ll take progress where I can
@@cyberus1438 Slow progress is still progress!
@@cyberus1438 One of my childhood friends died from going cold turkey. He was 40 years old. It's not safe to do if you have drunk your whole life. The best way is in a detox facility with nurses and doctors.
@@scratchpennylast time I detoxed, they had to administer 10mg of Valium via IV every four hours. Unfortunately, I relapsed, and I’m doing a home taper. I’d rather be dopesick, honestly. Alcoholism sucks
But of course this person is a fictional character, so the real reason he called for Sake is because a script writer wrote it into the fictional script, nothing more.
"I will miss our conversations." That line always gets to me when I watch this movie.....
"Tell me how he died."
"I will tell you how he lived!"
"Perfect.
They are all perfect." - Katsumoto.
To me it means every day is perfect, stop chasing perfection when it's right in front of you.
Same as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Legacy, but Katsumoto's analogy is beautiful while Kevin is more to the point and says it straight out.
Probably the best encapsulating line. But for me personally, I have always loved...
"I killed her Husband?"
"It was a good death"
... Considering how much I enjoyed the more intimate and clumsy arc of the story between Taka and Nathan that immediately follows.
When I first saw this, I thought he was going to say "with honor". But I liked what I got so much better.
I will miss our...conversations
He was the emperor's teacher so he would have known him longer than Tom, so of course he knew how he lived
"Tell me how he died"
"I will tell you how he lived"
The sheer depth of those words are truly inspiring and have become more powerful to me as time passes.
"I belong to the warrior, in who the old ways have joined the new."
"Who is gonna clean all of this?" I never thought of that.
In the modern military, there would be medics and Graves Registration/Mortuary Affairs personnel who would go out and removed the bodies. Back then, it would have just been medics. The Samurai may or may not have had "medics" per se. More than likely, every able bodied man would have helped remove them.
No one ever does....
Reminds me of the ending of Thirteen Ghosts where the maid character was complaining and said, "I'm not cleaning any of this shit up."
There are some things you just missed.
When the Emperor "if your shame is too unbearable I offer you this sword" he is saying that the way of the Samurai will live.
He admits he had forgotten what Japan was and to Katsumoto's death made him realise that he needs to lead, he is the emperor after all and people are willing to give their lives for him.
"If the emperor wishes my death he has but to ask" "Your Higness, if you believe me to be your enemy, command me and I will gladly take my life"
Also, Algren is a linguist, or at least a self-proclaimed one, so he has an interest in languages to begin with, which enables him to learn languages faster.
PS: This movie is "up there", absolutely one of the most beautiful movies and both Ken Watanabe and Tom Cruise play excellently off of each other.
Hiroyuki Sanada is great in everything he's in, so that's a given. He plays Ujio, "the teacher" aka the second guy i charge and the single best warrior.
i felt when emperor offered the sword he was inviting him to kill himself - thats what japanese did when shame was too unbearable
真田広之が英語を喋りACTIONで目立つのを嫌がったトム・クルーズ。
毎度の事らしいが。一番いい役。
@@anyone9689 Yes, which is their culture, to seppukku when shamed to regain honor.
It's The Emperor's way of saying "we will remember who we are", just like what Algren said about Katsumoto "he had hoped you would remember the Ancestors that held this sword and what they died for".
He fought the natives in America. Then was hired to fight the Samurai in Japan.
Ok thank you 🙏 ☺️
It was quite a brutal expansion of the western United States, which is why the Captain feels guilty and stays drunk. A good movie that’s actually similar to this but Native Americans instead of Japanese is “Dances with Wolves.”
@@Movie.Munchies In particular they mentioned Gettysburg and Little Bighorn, which explains why he would be suffering from PTSD.
-Gettysburg was a pivotal battle of the American civil war and also one of the bloodiest, tens of thousands of men on both sides died every day of the battle.
-Little Bighorn was after the Civil War when the US Army turned to suppressing all native tribes. Colonel George Custer and the 7th Cavalry were sent to defeat the Lakota Sioux but the Sioux chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse successfully united the Sioux, and in a brilliant series of coordinated feints and ambushes slaughtered the 7th Cavalry. Afterwards the US Army cavalry would return in force and take some terrible vengeance upon the Sioux.
Both terrible and extraordinarily violent battles, our main character having involvement or even just knowledge of them explains why he would be haunted so terribly...
It's a fiction based on the story of a pair of French Imperial guard officers who fought alongside the samurai during the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion.
@@Movie.Munchies more than fighting the natives. He found beauty in their culture and came to respect them just like he did in Japan.
If you'd like to learn more about Native Americans like the people that Nathan Algren was having flashbacks about killing, there's a movie called Dances With Wolves that has this same type of story. Actually, The Last Samurai borrowed a lot from that movie. They even speak the Lakota language in a lot of the movie so it may be your only opportunity to hear what the language sounds like.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is good, too.
The amazing actor that played Ujio, is Lord Toranaga in Shogun series ❤
Also brilliant in John Wick Chapter 4 and The White Countess.
Hiroyuki Sanada
And Torunaga is based on Ieyasu Tokugawa himself by James Clavell.
"STOP HIM AAAARGH! God, you're so slow."
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 her reaction to him was hilarious.
This takes place during the Meiji Restoration when Japan was trying to force itself to modernize and industrialize in order to remain strong and independent, unlike most of the rest of Asia and the world which had been colonized already by Europeans. They thought the best way to do this was to abandon their old ways and culture and quickly adopt Western styles of dress, industry, military, et cetera. They really did bring in foreign experts from all over the world to advise on pretty much everything, from military training and technology to civil engineering to fashion... so, although Nathan Algren is a made-up character, it's possible someone similar to him found himself in Japan performing a similar function. There were American experts there. Though, at the time, the foremost experts in the world on military training were the Prussians (precursors to the modern German state), and the Japanese relied mostly on them to modernize their military training.
明治維新当時に植民地化していた？ 最初の一文でそれ以降を読む価値が無いのが分かったw 植民地支配を受けた事など一度もないぞ😂 日本人の気質だけ見ても分かるだろw このドラマだけ見てても分かるぐらい簡単な事なのにw
I believe he's based loosely on a French officer who helped train the Japanese imperial army
It's crazy how fast Japan adapts. They were essentially the same cultural and technological country for over 1000 years, but in the last 150 years they've become one of the most advanced countries in the world; transportation, electronics, vehicles, urbanization. They are a people truly driven towards a singular goal. They're a shining example of what a country can do on the world stage when they are united and put the country's prosperity over one's own.
@@TheRoleplayer40k Very loosely. This is about as accurate in regards to history as Braveheart. As in, it isn't.
@@incoherentturdAnd before that, they destroyed China's navy in the first Sino-Japanese War.
I love the calm chatting during the non fighting parts and the absolute PANIC talking during the fights scenes 🤣
The rebellion portrayed in this movie was based on real events. Some of the characters were fictionalized for the movie. This is one of my favorite movies. The Last Samurai is one of the very few movies that I get emotional over. I am happy to know that both of you loved the movie.
The word 「侍」at 42:23 is the Kanji of Samurai, and the meaning is 'to serve'.
It's a smoke screen to screen their movements and obscure enemy visibility
He's seeing the civil war and it is weighing on him. Parallel to the us civil war
Just to let you know: the samurai are a caste in Japan. You need to be born into it to become samurai.
29:45 Oh, yes, he can. Katsumoto may be Taka's brother, but he is also, technically speaking, her liege lord, and in Samurai society, what the leige lord says, goes. A liege lord, for example, can order a married couple to be divorced, and no matter what that couple's feelings for each other, they will be divorced.
34:45 All samurai women carried knives. They did so to fight or, more likely, to kill themselves (jigai) if they were in danger of being captured.
Great reaction!
Loved the heart felt review❤ Great movie filmed here in New Zealand. The actor that played Katsumoto, learnt English for his role 💕
The Last Samurai is a motion picture adaption and a blend of two separate but _real_ historical people and events. A Japanese Samurai, Saigo Takamori, who this movie portrays as the character Katsumoto Moritsuga; and a French Soldier, Jules Brunet, who this movie portrays as the character Nathan Algren.
Great choice.
You are exactly right
After the Civil War, 80% of all soldiers lost their jobs. So, the professional soldiers became mercenaries if they had no other job skills. Algren has PTSD, also.
私は一人の日本人男性である。昔の南北戦争の話を細かく知れたことは良い！
40:28 samurai hair/topknot is a symbol of honor. Those soldier thought if they cut his hair, it will bring shame to samurai
I liked that Capt. Algren brought up the Battle Of Thermopylae. One of the most epic battles in history!
They cut off his top knot because of the power they suddenly have as former peasants. Most Samurai treated peasants as 2nd class citizens.
It was a form of revenge. Though it's wrong under any context.
good post. this one good samurai endured embarrassment for the bad behavior of some past samurai, while the soldiers made fools of themselves for believing all samurai were bullies. in our current politics, we must remember that we have more in common than we differ, lest the bullied become the bullies.
@@jwoellhof consider the context of this regime/cultural change. There was a similar regime change in Europe, the French Revolution, where "committees" of former peasants gained political control and started executing the French aristocrats via guillotine. The bullied becoming the bullies. I'd say much of these executions were from jealousy rather than true "crimes against the People". There WAS quite a bit of corruption and abuse of the common person BY the aristocracy, no doubt there.
@@jwoellhof exactly right. It's why tyrannical revolution led peasants or a former peasants can be just as cruel and deadly as traditional power structures.
Best Dressed Reactors 🏆
22 weeks in a row
You are so nice and support us always 22 weeks in a row! THANK YOU!
@@Movie.Munchies we didn't even _have_ a best dressed reactors catagory until you arrived. 😉
@@YoureMrLebowski at which point it became obligatory! for the record, love what you do too.
To react is instinctual, it's not something one "can do".
If a bird flies past you, you react, it's survival.
Imagine if humans didn't react to new information when presented to us, we wouldn't make it past 1 generation.:D
@@davidperkins6752 thanks david!
This movie is an Master piece. thank you for reacting. I can't count how many time I have watched this movie. Everything is perfect the story (even if it's little bit different from the real one), the music, the actor, the speech, landscape❤❤❤❤. I always had tears in this movie. I'm in Love with it.
Samouraï never died
Thank you again for your reaction
Yes, we do paint our faces before going into war, and we wear Eagle feathers because they hold great power.
Parts of Cherokee, Osage and Creek here. Heinz 57 Native American mix along with a mix of European. Couldn't blend me much more.
@@tonyharmon8512 I am Choctaw and Navajo.
@@Phillip-f8z I'm Celt, Viking, and Cherokee. Talk about a wild mix!
@@schawk8709There has not been vikings for a thousand years. They were destroyed by Christianity. Their gods, their music, their customs are mostly unknown today. There never was the blond haired, blue eyed warriors either, of course, as the vikings was very diverse, some because of mating with people from other countries, a bit by the fact that it was vikings in other countries than Scandinavia too. Viking is just a job description. It's not a people. Be proud of your native ancesters. You are from the Brythonic celts?
I'm not really proud of my ancesters bloody jobs like waging wars and taking slaves. But I admire them for their arts and bravery. Now we are pussy-cats.
@@lillia5333 Vikings were not destroyed by christianity. They became christians in time not by external brute force, they mainly just converted by themselves.
Hi Movie Munchies!! Love your reactions! Keep watching these great movies. Love your movie choices, keep watching these classic action and drama movies. Have a great day, beautiful ladies!!
Thank you thank you!
@@Movie.MunchiesNo, thank YOU!
23:20 - In Samurai culture, the right to hold a sword is earned. It is considered a great disrespect for a non-Samurai like Algren to hold a sword without permission, even a bokken (wooden training sword), and the other guy is forcibly stripping him of a weapon he has no right to hold. Watch what he does to the bokken each time he defeats Algren: he knocks the bokken from his hand every time. Algren makes it much worse for himself by repeatedly picking it back up, defying the Samurai and bringing even more force down on himself. Eventually, the other guy just takes it away and returns it to its proper owner.
I’m half Japanese and there are still samurai families. I am from a samurai family on my mother’s side. I still do train with my sensei in kenjutsu. I try to not let tradition die. In my mind my family are still samurai just not how most people intend it.
The movie romanticizes things a lot. In real life, the samurai rebels ALSO had guns, they didn't fight with just swords and bows against guns and cannons (they weren't stupid). And their motivation was more to keep their status as an elite aristocratic class with special privileges. Japan's move to a large modern army made up of regular civilians threatened to make the samurai class obsolete and the samurai hated this.
Truth.
The Patriot was also full of inaccuracies but still a good movie.
If a British officer committed the atrocities Tavington committed irl he would’ve been court martialed and sentenced to death by hanging or firing squad. Especially burning down a church during the reign of King George III. Under Henry VIII it would’ve been different. And a British officer who killed a minor definitely would’ve been court martialed and hanged. Cornwallis and King George had no tolerance under any circumstance for British officers who practiced brutality or barbarism
And the romanticizing of Samurai and the Bushido code (evident throughout this movie, but especially in the words and actions of the emperor at the end) didn’t really happen until after WW1. Up until that time, the Japanese were sincerely trying to emulate the Western Great Powers as closely as they could. They had an expectation that if they proved themselves as sufficiently Westernized, then they must also be accepted as an equal Great Power. When that didn’t happen even after they were allied with the victorious side in WW1, but instead they were still treated as a second rate power and race, disallowed in the post-war naval treaties to build a comparable fleet, etc., then they abandoned the goal of becoming just like the West and started to romanticize the Samurai period and to redefine what it meant to be Japanese as a separate and superior race and culture. In other words, the romanticism in this movie fits right in with the interwar definition and rise of fascist Japan and the motivation of the Pacific War.
@@BoaConstrictor126 Merely doing these things is bad enough but especially given that the British position was that the Americans were rightful British subjects protected by the Crown and Bill of Rights, Tavington would have been punished extremely harshly
@@BoaConstrictor126yeah, you’re right, but Tavington was based on Banistare Tavington, who by all rights was extremely cruel to both soldiers and civilians, but not propaganda levels like in the film
Not to mention the fact the US did not play that large a role once the Great White Fleet convinced Japan they needed a technological catch up, although the French and Europeans did.
This beautiful movie was directed by Edward Zwick. He also directed the incredibly powerful movie Glory which is amazing and with an awesome group of actors including Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.
Thanks, I didn't connect the directors. Glory is a stunning presentation.
I competed in HEMA(Historical European Martial Arts) with a Longsword for 10 years. I wish we got a movie like this that made people fall in love with European martial swords and weapons. I own an Italian fencing manual from the 1400s called Fior di Battaglia(The Flower of Battle), it shows all the different stances and guards. I relied heavily on something called The Window Guard. If anyone is interested there are videos about it on yt.
Those films are out there, though; no doubt about it. I’ve loved the longsword as a weapon ever since LotR debuted, though 2022’s _The Northman_ really ignited an interest in traditional European sword and shield techniques in me. Very different fighting system, but I’ve developed an appreciation for it nonetheless.
The Mask of the Zorro has destreza. It's probably the most similar movie with western martial arts.
Those films exist. But there should be more.
One of the problems with HEMA and relying on incredibly vague codexes like Fior di Battaglia is that you have no real idea if your fighting styles are at all representative of the actual fighting style at the time outside of comparing yourself to very poorly drawn pictures with no perspective. There has been no serious culture passed down on old european martial arts outside of fencing.
With Japanese fighting, they maintained a tradition of martial arts and training in all their techniques by passing them on from students to teachers.
@@Null_Experis There's more to European martial warfare than one Italian book. Sorry but presenting your opinions as fact is a great way to get yourself blocked and ignored. Goodbye. Katana swordplay was not passed down through every single Japanese generation like some monolith of knowledge. Stop spreading lies. So sickening.
The Last Samurai may not be historically accurate or an Akira Kurosawa style film. But it is an amazing and adventurous movie to watch and enjoy.
And which how i understand it, Japanese ppl like it too.
Its not a damn documentary. It's historically accurate ENOUGH.
Algren was based off an actual Man, who fought in Japan during the civil war. But just because he was French in real life, instead of American, people throw tantrums saying it's not "hISTORIcAllY aCCUrAte"
One thing that I love calling reactor's attention to with this film is Seizō Fukumoto, the actor who played the silent samurai Bob. He had a career on more than 50 years of playing samurai on screen. In fact he was what they call a kirareyaku, an actor who specializes in portraying the LOSER of a samurai duel. It is estimated that Fukumoto died 50,000 times on the silver screen.
I don't know how much you have been about the american wars with the autochthonous tribes, but I would like to give a little context to Algren and Bagley. General George A. Custer was a cavalry officer in the union army during our civil war. What he is most famous for, however, is the event Algren relates to Katsumoto, in which he arrogantly attacked an encampment of Lakota, Cheyanne and Arapaho indians, not realizing how badly outnumbered he really was. Custer became known for his last stand at the little bighorn, on a hilltop, surrounded by opposing forces. None of his men survived the final assault on the hill.
The US Army was well known during this conflict for taking punitive measures against native americans regardless of whether that particular group was in actual armed conflict WITH them. This is what is depicted on screen when Bagley and his cavalry swoop in and kill a bunch of women and children in retaliation for some unnamed event. Algren disagreed with this act and hated Colonel Bagley ever after.
This one really hits close to home, honestly had a similar journey of being miserable, disillusioned and filled with anxiety, and through consumption of Japanese media finding my peace to truly appreciate life.
Samurai warriors have always been a source of inspiration to me along with Vikings, Spartans, and the Zulu warriors. I will always shield and fight for others who are unable to defend themselves
3:13 "is he gonna shoot?" -hella
the concern. 😆
This movie is not about actual events, but it is set during an actual stage of Japan's history, called Meiji restoration.
Japan used to be closed to the world and ruled by local lords called Shogun, where the emperor was a symbolic figure with no power.
When the US forced Japan to open to the world through the hand (and weapons) of Commodore Perry, Japan realized to survive they needed to present a unified country, so everybody lined up behind Emperor Meiji, who was not as young as they represent him in this movie, but the young age of the actor represents well the inexperience Emperor Meiji actually had in governing.
At that point they unified a central army and passed laws against tribal samurai, tried to modernize clothes, culture, etc. They really hired foreign experts to train their armies and their students and their worker force. Japan had to enter trade agreements with European countries and with the US, so the details of the story might be just a story, but the actual period in the history of Japan seems to be very well represented. I guess that's why the movie was very well received in Japan.
Love you Ladies, Hella ❤❤❤...
His friend with the grey hair "Zebulon Gant" is the famous british comedian and actor Billy Connoly.
25:33 if you girls want to know more about general Custer there's a black and white movie called They died with their boots on. It's pretty good.
The thing about the scene where he spars with the little boy and then gets beaten by the other samurai that is very sad and unbearable for Taka. Is that she sees him defeated so easily. To her, her husband was a strong and honorable warrior. But to see the man that killed her husband get beaten the way that he did caused her to doubt her late husbands' strength. This is, of course, a horrible thing to doubt. Which is why you see the pain in her eyes. Japanese women in those times believed in honoring their husbands above all else even long after their deaths. But in just that moment, she felt she had dishonored him. Only later, when she realized how strong and honorable the captain actually was did she see that her husband had died a good death and therefore could forgive him for killing her husband. His honor validated her husband's. Hence why in the ended she offered him to wear her husbands armor as an honor to her family.
Well said.
Ujio was their battlemaster, no one is expected to defeat him in single combat, or even have a chance against him. I mean, later, they even take bets not on who will win between Ujio and Algren, but on just how badly Ujio was going to embarrass Algren. For this fight, that act was way beneath Ujio to fight against someone so completely unskilled and untrained that he's treating the bokken like it's a stick. Ujio was making a statement. "Know your place, prisoner. You should be dead." That's why the reactions from everyone that were looking on. They couldn't understand why Algren continued to stand. He was beaten and should submit, that is their way. He has no chance, yet for reasons beyond their understanding, he continues to fight and Ujio continues to punish him for it. Until even the swordmaster reaches the point of just staring on like, "What the hell, man? Just... lay down. Enough. Please."
Actually I think you missed it. Samurai cannot stand defeat. The would rather die. Tom cruises character never admitted defeat and got up regardless of the superior foe until he could not. Even then he had to be disarmed for they knew he would get up and go again. At this point he proved to everyone his Samurai spirit. And they trained him.
@dootdoot1867 Oh, there is that, too, but that's the obvious message of the scene. The message I'm talking about in this scene "For Taka," is all I was referring to and what "I" think people miss in this scene. Both messages exist in the scene. At least the way I understood it.
@rcslyman8929 This is all valid, but I'm only speaking on Taka's perspective. I'm sure she is aware that Ujio is their best warrior, and of course, biasly, they don't expect Aldren to win. But for her, the fact that Aldren killed her husband would suggest, again to her, that he had some prowess of fighting skills. Again, only speaking from her perspective.
“What a mess”
- Hella
Hella is the one liner master. 😅😂😊
In order to get a deeper appreciation of Japanese Samurai culture, you must begin with the masterpiece "The Seven Samurai" directed by the master Akira Kurosawa.
This is my all time favorite movie! I could watch it 1000 times and still not be sick of it.
Movie Munchies, You have a wonderful channel to watch movies. Even though you don't completely understand the history of Japan or early American history, you have a deep understanding of the human spirit and all of the emotions being conveyed by all the characters. I'm your loyal fan and subscribed to channel. Also, you ladies are kind and sincere and very lovely! 🙂
My all-time favorite movie. I'm glad you reacted to it and enjoyed it. One of the few movies that makes me cry when I watch it. The music is fantastic and of course done by none other than Hans Zimmer. He also did music for movies like inception, batman begins, the dark knight and many others. Good work with your reactions!
I have already +1, for this and another. Zimmer's scores can be sublime! Christopher Nolan knows how to get the best for audio immersion.
Hans Zimmer music was EPIC in this movie
I had never thought of this till now; the Captain would also feel compelled to help this village who does have barely any men to protect them as well!
Captain Algren fought in one of the darkest and most brutal chapters of American history: the Indian Wars. And it's a thing we should remember: whenever the Indians raided us (mainly settlers traders to the point of inflicting torture of all manner and slaving), we responded with a policy of overwhelming force with no quarter given because they gave no quarter. It was ugly and it is not anything to be proud of but it is the manner of history. Two powers clash and all it comes down to is which is the most powerful. The only silver lining is for every Indian tribe that we brutalized, we had other tribes that chose to assimilate and ally with us. There's a lot of nuance involved in the whole picture but Algren saw the worst of it. This isn't all that far removed from any brutal internal wars that have raged throughout the ages. We profess that we should be above such things, but we humans are apex predators and thus will act as such, even among ourselves on a regular basis.
Edit: when he described in brutal detail what scalping involves, that was standard practice for all men captured by Indians. The women saw their children murdered and then were taken off as War Wives by the warriors who captured them. The concept is simple: men are a threat and to be eliminated, the children are a burden and should be eliminated unless they can be raised in a new culture. The women are important as they are breeding stock for our side. This is very much the rule of nature and we can look to lions for these kinds of practices. If a male lion leading a pride loses a battle against another male lion, the loser either dies or is driven off while all his cubs are wiped out to the last by the winner so the lionesses will become receptive to breeding in short order. And I do hold out some hope for humanity in that we are horrified when we revert to those mandates.
It was a pleasure to watch the reactions of two beautiful ladies to this great movie! I'm subscribed now, and look forward to following you for future movies.
YESSSS!!! Can’t wait to watch later. This is in my top 10 movies ever. Thanks for reading the comments and considering our requests!
That Samurai actually did use guns during this time and before.
The Japanese had access to firearms as early as the 1580's which they got from the Portuguese. There's a Netflix docu-drama called "Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan" about the Samurai of this time period that covers this. They were so many firearms in Japan that it became illegal for commoners to possess a firearm. The Japanese elites feared the commoners would rise up against them.
@@adamcollazo8228 I know that's what I said.
@@theplan-m6cno, they provided more of a historical context with details which was interesting to read and also recommended a docu-drama so that anyone else who was interested in your point could find out more.
This was filmed in New Zealand. Not sure why they didn't film in Japan
Apparently Japan is notorious in the film industry for its difficult bureaucracy. There are a lot of restrictions and permissions that have to be hashed out in order to film. That’s why the new Shogun adaptation is not filmed in Japan either unlike the 1980 series.
@SgtWicket it helped that Mt Taranaki looks like Mt Fuji and NZ has a lot of open space that they could build the village and have the battlefield. The first training scene is at the New Plymouth domain's sports field.
"So maybe one survives".
Oh, kiddo, you're going to need a hug at the end of this one.
These girls are awesome...1:00:48 when she hands her the tissue is gold!
Algren mocked the Japanese for wearing "dresses"... But soon discovered the freedom, not being restricted by tight ass frekkin jeans, by... wearking... a "dress". xD
“They are all perfect”-that is the end of the poem
I love when , especially during war, you show the humanity on both sides. Not every person wants to kill or hurt other innocent people. Humanity just wants freedom and understanding. No one wins in war, and everyone loses a piece of them. Customs are precious to everyone, and it can change your entire world view to be among people you don’t understand. We are all just people
i love Taka role in this film. she's also beautiful and pure of heart . best scene is when Nathan apologized for killing her husband.
I love this film. You guys have the best reactions and the best most intelligent commentary. You actually comment on the meaning and the subtleties. Subscribed. 🙂
For one thing the samurai actually adopted guns as soon as it arrived in Japan, not just adopting it,they really mastered its use.
Also, to give context, the time period in which the movie is set is the Meiji restoration when Emperor Meiji consolidated imperial power after centuries of rule by the Shoguns. During the shogunate period the emperor was just a puppet and Japan followed an isolationist policy. During the 19th century Western nations forced Japan to abandon the isolationist policy. And soon the position of the Tokugawa Shoguns started to crumble with various political issues including increasing foreign intervention, civil strife and such and Emperor Meiji took the opportunity to consolidate his power over the governing of Japan. During the Meiji era Japan introduced western model Armed Forces, the samurais who provided military services to Japan exclusively, found the loss of their elite status to commoners in the army rebelled. But they were defeated. Then Japan went into modernisation in almost all sectors. The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces were a superpower of its time and went on to defeat the Russian Empire,thus becoming the first Asian nation in modern times to defeat a European power.
Well that's a WIN WIN for *Capt Nathan Algren* he goes back to a village, full of now *lonely widows.* tee hee!!
Since you're wondering about it, the " real " story isn't about an american captain but a french one. His name was Jules Brunet and he even won a medal from the emperor after figthing against the emperor's regime.
52:20 Algren was in the US army, he knows the range of the cannons being fired, and how far he should be away from them to be safe. this is a great movie, glad you watched it! another great reaction! 👍
This is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. So many people dismiss this and Dances with Wolves as “White Savior” movies but they’re actually the opposite. They save Nathan by giving him a life of peace, serenity and purpose. He helps by telling them the enemy strategies but that’s about it. Ken Watanabe should’ve gotten an Oscar for this movie, I cry every time I hear him say “They are all perfect”.😭😭 Not to mention Hans Zimmer gives us one of the most beautiful and underrated scores in film history, I listen to the track “A Way Of Life” during meditations.
Also the scene in which he ends the duel with Ujio with a draw by completely clearing out his mind is a real life technique. It’s called Mushin or No Mind, the best way to describe it is that it’s exactly like Ultra Instinct from Dragonball Super. Or like Spider-Man’s Spider Sense, you let your body move on it’s own. I felt it myself when I was training in Kenpo Karate as a teenager, my sensei and his other instructors swore by The Last Samurai and told me to pay attention to that scene specifically.
I enjoyed watching their reactions. They were so cute and funny. And they are very pretty. I loved spending time with these intelligent adorable girls.
By the 1870s , the era of the shogun was over in Japan . The Meiji was restored in 1868 , and this marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate . The Meiji was Emperor Meiji , and he reigned from 1868 to 1912 . The restoration led to major reforms and also marked a period of aggressive modernization efforts in Japan . One of the key reforms was the abolition of the feudal system and the disbanding of the Samurai class . Foreign influences , like Commodore Mathew Perry's arrival in Tokyo Bay in 1853 may have provided the catalyst for this social upheaval in Japan , but the change was primarily driven by forces internal to Japan . Reformists and revolutionaries within Japan sought to modernize and strengthen the country and to put Japan on an equal footing with the rest of the world .
“We will show you no quarter”. Quarter, in this instance, means housing, usually safe housing and is most often an institutional term, especially military. He was saying-“you have no privilege, safety against us in this battle.” I am quite confident the character would have known this without it being said, it was a statement of arrogance, presumed victory before the fight.
This movie has always been one of my favorites. Really happy to see you two enjoy it.
TIEN, you really showed how well in-tune you were with this movie, summed up beautifully by your comment: "This is his 'good' death." And your reaction during that scene was absolutely perfect: 46:28-47:16.
The beating in the rain was to show Alrgren just does not stop fighting until his body fails him. The Samurai respect that kind of spirit and determination. Algren was outmatched because he was using his limited skills with the saber against a master of the katana (all officers in the Western militaries got a general rundown on the use of the saber but their main weapons were their own troops and then their pistols). It isn't that he is worthless as a warrior, but he's trained very differently and his training isn't up to facing a true swordsman. And what's more is that he took the beating with grace without complaint but just lost because he just didn't measure up despite his will to keep going.
During World War II, it was a thing where the Japanese would show respect to men like that such as when a ship that had no business attacking the Japanese Battle Fleet not only attacked them head on and took out a ship much more powerful than it should have but kept fighting until the ship itself broke in half and slipped into the depths. It was a hopeless fight and the crew knew it but they fought anyways and punched way above their weight class as a result. This was impressive enough that the cruiser that killed the destroyer escort (a glorified tin can suited only for hunting submarines and yet killed a heavy cruiser and inflicted serious damage on other much larger ships) had its crew man the rails (line up on the side of the ship) and give a salute to those brave enemies in recognition of their bravery.
Thank you for your reaction to this movie, I really enjoyed it 🙂.
I remember watching this film at the movies and hearing the majority of people crying at the end. I bought a copy on video and watched it every week for a year.
Thinking about it now, I can’t really think of movie that was so well acted by everyone. Main actors, supporting actors, oldest, youngest, eastern and western they all put in so much effort and it really showed.
Thank you again ❤.
Thank you thank you!☺️
The Samurai brought swords to a gun fight. Game over.
54:36 They mention the "Warriors at Thermopylae" which is portrayed in a separate movie, 300. Granted that movie is not 100% accurate, and is spiced up for the big screen. Still a really cool story, a badass movie, definitely one you should react to!
I love how Tien always gets brought in for the really sad movies. She winds up sobbing half the time. 😅
Well, at least she shares her box of Kleen-ex!
When this came out on DVD. I took it to my mothers home to watch. She when did he become one of them. I told her he was always one of them he was samurai. The white tiger whos eyes are like my own. Just like the vision in the beginning. That is some deep meditation.
Thank you soo much for watching this movie 😍😍, this is one of my all time favourites along with Troy which you have both watched and another film which is Blood Diamond are in my top 10 films.
I saw this in the cinema. It made me quite emotional . In my top 5 favourite Cruise movies.
Samurai WERE respected, but some were feared. Living off of a stipend from the government, some lost purpose and fell to drinking and debauchery. In some instances this lead to the death of the peasantry, which were defenseless both physically and legally. A samurai had the right to kill a peasant who they felt insulted them and the word of a samurai was always held to be true. This lead to resentment and anger toward the samurai. With the industrialization of Japan, many peasants joined the constabulary. This gave them power over the samurai and with Imperial edict going against the samurai, they often took pleasure in "disciplining" the samurai who had once abused them.
Uhm, your average samurai couldn't go around killing peasants cause he felt like it. It would need to be a clear insult and at least 1 other witness was required, even if those were peasants. The samurai would also be detained for a duration while the investigation was conducted. If it was found that the samurai didn't have a good right to slay the peasant (or any lower rank person), he was required to do seppuku.
Could high ranking samurai get away with it? Probably did. But it's not like most samurai could just kill for the heck of it.
Nobutada is Katsumoto's son which is why he had such a strong reaction to his being shot running across the bridge
U girls have a unique personalities; very expressive and fun to watch ❤🎉
They live happily ever, and he change the DNA code of that village forever :))))
This movie is the best.. probably the best one i've ever watched of this kind ❤❤❤ gives you so much joy, and (mostly) sorrow watching it.. 😭
The movie depicts Zanchin. A samurai principle which means that a samurai should be able to see the enemies moves before they happen. There is a legend that says that there was a time two samurais met each other in fight. And they stared at each other for hours, with swords drawn. And then they sheathed their swords and declared a draw... as noone of them could see the move which would kill the other... Very deep meaning. The movie shows it twice... Algreen developes Zanchin...
I think the reason Algren was laughing at the first meeting was because the Colonel was bragging about Algren's part in the conflict and making him sound righteous and noble.
Girls, i love that you have such real reactions full of heart and emotion. Anytime i watch an emotional movie with you, i end up crying like a baby. Youre so sweet! :)
Although the film changes a lot of historical facts, it embellishes an aspect of Japanese culture that the Americans sought to erase after the Second World War.
The movie also addresses the issue of ethnic cleansing of Native Americans.
Somehow it is a symbol of the repentance of Western imperialism.
One point that I could criticize about this masterpiece : the Japanese imperial cult which existed at that time brought very bloody wars to Asia.
I was in a relationship with a Chinese woman, she remembers her grandparents' stories about the horrors committed by Japanese soldiers.
I think that imperialism is a scourge no matter where it comes from.
You dont see the big picture here, 99% dont do. and thats what makes this sutch a great movie!
These are the things that stay in a warrior's mind, man, woman, or boy on the battlefield you fight for women and children at home. We recall true stories, like Thermopylae and they embolden us. If you truly believe your cause is just you'll keep fighting until you're unable to.
While this movie is mostly fictional the feeling behind it is something almost volunteer soldier feels. A conviction to fight for all those beside you on the line and all those at home, especially those who you love. Commitment to a cause is a powerful thing, commitment to a cause and fighting for those you love is more powerful than any force. It's a man's and a son's duty and honor to protect his family and home, I know I always will.
This movie is a pretty good peek into a warrior's mind and why we do what we do.
Katsumoto was the Emporor's teacher, he knew him well. But he became the ruler of all Japan as a child. He was used and manipulated until he found his own voice.
The character Katsumoto was really named Saigo Takamori, he was the last samurai. This is history mixed with a lot of Hollywood. They have combined elements of the Boshin Wars from the 1860s with the Satsuma Rebellion of the very late 1870s which was the end of samurai. It maybe interesting to note for some who are interested that the samurai's final battle occured in Kagoshima city at the ruins of the castle at Shiroyama. You may visit there today and witness the shell scared walls of thr castles ruins where the samurai made their final stand. The wives and daughters of the samurai proudly met the modern Imperial Japanese Army at the stone bridge leading into the city and were slaughtered there before the srmy continued on to kill their husbands and sons. You may still see the old stone bridges at a park in Kagoshima. Satsuma has a very interesting history.
I am so in love with Hella, she is just gorgeous.
Tom Cruise was so good in this film credit to him, he actually does know japanese in real life & every October 10th is "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan he is very popular there.
To 'show no quarter' is a military term that means that the losing soldiers will not be shown any mercy, but they would be killed. No prisoners.
I love this channel for so many reasons