As vividly as the Samurai code is expressed by Katsumoto and his brethren, it is also evident in Katsumoto’s sister, the young war widow Taka, who finds herself pressed into close quarters with Algren through the most bitter of circumstances. Taka, played by Japanese actress Koyuki, conducts herself with such strict composure that the American stranger does not suspect the complex and powerful emotions she feels towards him until he realizes that she is just as much a Samurai as her male counterparts.
Producer Paula Wagner, who, with Cruise, oversees Cruise/Wagner Productions, notes that Cruise’s enthusiasm for the film and his intense connection to and collaboration with Zwick and Herskovitz has much to do with Zwick’s unique, fervent vision of the project and the character Captain Nathan Algren. "Ed was able to combine the story’s epic sweep and action with the intimate, heroic journey of this powerful character," she says. She adds that the film’s complexity appealed to Cruise/Wagner Productions, which has developed and produced an eclectic array of motion pictures, noting that, "This film works on many levels. The Last Samurai offers rich and layered characters, great action and adventure and, specifically in Captain Algren, a person who travels a great distance, literally and figuratively, to find himself and his values."
The film had its genesis with a project at Radar Pictures in the early 90s about an American traveling to Japan in a similar time period. "We were struck by the parallels between the taming of the American West and the westernization of traditional Japan," explains Radar Pictures’ Scott Kroopf, "and knew that there was a story to be told about how modernization diminished the two vastly different cultures."
"We brought in Ed Zwick," says Tom Engleman, also with Radar Pictures at the time, "whom I had known for years as a friend and neighbor. He was clearly the perfect guy to do it, because of his body of work and his interest in looking at the heroes of the American West from an entirely new perspective." Subsequently, Kroopf continues, "Ed suggested bringing in John Logan and it turned out that John, like Ed, was a student of the fall of the Samurai. In the end, our patience with the project was rewarded not only by the great screenplay but also by Ed’s incredible skill at mounting the movie."
Zwick and Logan, Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Gladiator, agreed that the 1876-1877 Samurai revolt would be an exciting and provocative historic reference point for the film. "Developing the protagonist with Ed," Logan remembers, "was one of the most challenging elements of the story. As we worked, the character of Captain Algren emerged as a truly tormented figure; a man who has lost his faith. Ed, Marshall and I wanted him to be an extremely vulnerable figure, not a stock movie hero. We tried to write him as a lost soul, searching to find his way. Only through his interaction with the Samurai and his growing respect for their warrior code does he find his proper place in the world."
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