i second that. that's nitpicking. its NOT a documentary. its a romantacised samurai story BASED on a certain historical story. Don't be silly. even The Last Emporer was not THAT accurate. just enjoy the movie for what it is. you can pretend that it is fiction and pretend you look as good as tom cruise.
BWHAHAHAHAHAH
Thanks, neefo. It seems rather peculiar that you would go to a movie looking for a bone to pick rather than just enjoying it... I suppose it's how willing you are to overlook discrepancies, etc...
Joined: 17 Oct 2003 Posts: 7 Location: Japan Country:
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 1:33 am Post subject:
The Last Samurai is currently showing in the United States. I have seen it and I highly recommend it if is shown in your country. Koyuki is the widow of a samurai that Tom Cruise killed in a battle. Tom was caught as a prisoner in that battle, and was made to live in the house of Koyuki, who is the sister of the rebellion leader, Ken Watanabe. Love ultimately developed between Tom and Koyuki, but sorry guys, no torrid love scenes. The relationship between Tom and Koyuki was beautfully developed by the director and with a lot of class.
Joined: 31 Dec 2003 Posts: 210 Location: Bay Area - California Country:
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2004 1:50 am Post subject:
i saw it yesterday too. only 12 total in the theathre. so nice to see a movie and not have freaks talking thorughout the movie. ahh it was god send.
the movie was good. Battle scenes were awesome and i was thoroughly pleased. I didn't like the fact that Koyuki's character was falling for Cruise. it seemed out of place. I moaned with disgust when they kissed while putting on the armor and when he returned.
C'mon guys, you need to post up some spoiler warnings... Some folks haven't seen the flick yet...
*** MINOR SPOILER ***
The romance didn't bug me at all. It was very subtle, and in some ways considerably more sensual than having actual love scenes. It was really well done, IMO.
Thanks, neefo. It seems rather peculiar that you would go to a movie looking for a bone to pick rather than just enjoying it... I suppose it's how willing you are to overlook discrepancies, etc...
yeah. one shouldn't go watch a movie to try to pick on it. then it becomes pointless to even watch it at all, if one is just looking out for things to pick on. it really is a story written by a non-japanese. what do you expect eh? think that no one wants to diss anyone in the movie. they had to be real careful how they portrayed everyone. I'd say nice job done. If people want it to be real, that gaijin wouldn't even be there, and the real samurai rebel leader had a different name . and there were motives behind both the sides of the japanese, which i will not go into.
just enjoy the bloody mess. the fluff character koyuki protrays and the funny "Bob" character that died protecting the hairy gaijin.
nitpicking, maybe, but there are historical facts, it's just like "Gettysburg" without R. E. Lee, or a movie in WW2 without mentioning Hitler at all... *hugs James Clavell's "Shogun" for still being the best*
Amd with all due respect, movie makers are trying to do everything more and more accurate. Hell, even Master & Commander was pretty accurate concerning the ships. Take "Gettysburg", or "Gods and Generals", or the Napoleon series done by german and french TV, or "Black Hawk Down", etc etc... Even the Alamo remake looks more accurate...
It's the details that show if somebody's trying to make it accurate to dive 100% into the atmosphere, or if he's just trying to screw around a bit to make some money. Watch "Das Boot" and you can see how it should be done (*was in the original set once and it was really scarey* tincans... *shudders*)
None of those are documentaries, but still extremly accurate. Maybe it's a dedication thing... *imagines Last Samurai as a japanese production* holy... *thinks that would have rocked*
Not surprised though, it was a hollywood production after all...
*gives the japanese cast a bunch of cookies, cause they rocked*
*gives Koyuki an extra cookie*
Like I said, it's comes down to how willing you are to overlook the discrepancies and enjoy the movie... In this case, I'm more willing than you are apparently.
I enjoyed the movie a lot and I've found it very touching. Historical accuracy can result the movie as more documentary and narative, I think. And I believe what the movie is trying to convey is the heroic potrayal of the Samurai warrior and their believes, which I found very fascinating.
I hope Watanabe Ken can get the oscar for best supporting actor, he practically stole the show in that movie. Best of luck for him.
Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 182 Location: Melbourne
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:03 pm Post subject:
Finally watched the movie (just came out in Australia) and I found it disappointing. Not because of the leack of historical accuracy but because its more about Tom Cruise's character than the samurai. The beginning of the movie was great but the middle was slow because it did not extablish anything. The movie seriously needed more 'conversations' between Watanabe and Cruise.
SPOILER
I like Watanabe's view on General Custard. The movie should have more dialogues between the two of them to show the differences between Japanese and American cultures, especially regarding war. A lof of samurai stuff, especially in regards to honour and sepukku needed to be explained better. The trailer had words like honour, courage etc but the film did not explore those ideals in the samurai code enough.
In the end, the name of the movie should be 'Gaijin Samurai wannabe'.
*shrugs* I won't change my opinion though... *loves history, so... bad luck in that area*
Hey..don't worry about that.. We need a person like you to educate us abt history. The need of history is like when you've done something bad in the past at least we will not make the same mistake again.PLUS...it really gives us the need to know who we are. Just like the Emperor in "Last Samurai" said that "We could not forget who we are.."
Finally watched the movie (just came out in Australia) and I found it disappointing. Not because of the leack of historical accuracy but because its more about Tom Cruise's character than the samurai.
Heh. It is a "Hollywood" movie, so you'd expect Tom to be the center of focus, not Watanabe Ken...
Good Luck, Ken!
Actor Watanabe Ken (43) headed off for Los Angeles yesterday (1/23) to attend Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He is the first Japanese actor in 47 years to be nominated for an award. Watanabe co-starred alongside Tom Cruise and Sanada Hiroyuki in The Last Samurai, a fictional epic tale of honor lost and found in the early Meiji era. By coincidence, he shared first class with several of the cast of Lord of the Rings, in Japan on a PR trip.
I liked the movie.
I was very impressed by the scene where the Samurai were riding through the dusty forest, in their first battle. It looked so great, elegant and strong
Some kinda sad to see people fighting for their ideal until they all die.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Register
Log in
. and there were motives behind both the sides of the japanese, which i will not go into.
and the funny "Bob" character that died protecting the hairy gaijin.
