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Directed by
Edward Zwick Written by
John Logan Cast
Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, William Atherton, Chad Lindberg, Ray Godshall Sr. [more]
Release Date
• USA: Dec 5, 2003
• UK: 9 Jan 2004
DVD Release Date
• R1: May 4, 2004
• R2: 7 May 2004
Budget USD 100,000,000
Official Website:
The Last Samurai Website
MPAA Rating
Rated R for strong violence and battle sequences.
Running Time
2 hours, 34 minutes
Country USA, New Zealand, Japan
Studio A Radar Pictures, Bedford Falls Productions, Cruise-Wagner Productions, Radar Pictures
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• The Last Samurai
• The Last Samurai: Bushidou
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The Last Samurai Reviews |
The film manages to entertain, but it also tells a tale of how the old school mentality of truth, honor and respect have gone out the window, only to be replaced by the dehumanization effects of technology, the arms race and the segregation of the world community. [read review] 9/10
--'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)
The Last Samurai is an epic action film that has a heart and a brain. There is intelligence, emotion, humor, and style. It slows down to let us connect with its characters, and then it throws those characters into a visual orgy of blood and carnage. The movie conveys the strength of the Samurai and the honor they live by, and the beauty of the ancient Japanese culture. Everything about this film is beautiful and I would go as far as to rank it one of the year's best films. [read review] 
--Joshua 'Clark' Bertram (MovieWeb)
Though The Last Samurai is far from excellent, there are a lot of elements found within that warrant a recommendation. The performances, the incredible set design...it's all very impressive, but never quite adds up to a story that's particularly involving. [read review] 
--David Nusair (Reel Film Reviews)
'The Last Samurai' could well be to Japan what Braveheart was to Scotland. Both are big, blustering, battlefield epics, set within genuine historical events, but at the same time contorting that history almost beyond recognition in order to meet the demands of Hollywood. [read review] 7/10
--Gary Panton (Movie Gazette)
under its beauty, its lush production values and its superficial spell of enchantment, the basic product feels lame and thin, wan and stale. It's wannabe-ism on a multimillion-dollar scale, with an icon of Japanese culture somehow crudely penetrated by an interloper and turned inside out. [read review]
--Stephen Hunter (Washington Post)
All the parts that make up a great epic are on display in “The Last Samurai,” including the obscenely, needlessly long running time. But it just doesn’t mix together acceptably, leaving all the combat, romance, enthusiasm, and history one long, faintly uninspiring experience. [read review] C
--Brian Orndorf (FilmJerk.com)
This is Old Hollywood meets Akira Kurosawa, with nods to John Ford, Rudyard Kipling and "Braveheart." Cruise isn't horribly miscast, a la Tony Curtis in "The Son of Ali Baba" or John Wayne as Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror," but he doesn't miss by far. [read review]
--Jack Mathews (New York Daily News)
“The Last Samurai” is as uninspired and superficial as it gets, with pointless narration that spells out every little thought and emotion and a Hans Zimmer score that’s good in itself but is laid thick enough to drive one nuts. [read review] 
--Kevin N. Laforest (Montreal Film Journal)
Although the story and Tom Cruise's performance lack punch, The Last Samurai makes up for its shortcomings in its grand scope, immersing the audience in another time and re-creating the ancient world of the Japanese samurai. [read review]
--Kit Bowen (Hollywood.com)
There are slow spots, but the action-less scenes are often accompanied by entertaining humor and breathtaking scenery. "The Last Samurai" is a well-made action movie and its strong message makes it that much more appealing. [read review] 9/10
--Scott Spicciati (Movie-Vault.com)
Amazing performances color the rich and mostly accurate portrayal of the last days of the Samurai. For a movie of paradoxes, it leaves one without a doubt in their mind of the strength and beauty of this culture. [read review] 
--Derek May (MovieWeb)
Beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic. Its power is compromised only by an ending that sheepishly backs away from what the film is really about. [read review] 
--Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
A lot better than both the trailer and the Dances With Wolves Meets Braveheart label would have you believe, this is well-acted, with a decent script and superb fight sequences. [read review] 
--Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
It's Dances With Wolves meets oriental classic The Seven Samurai, with the Cruiser forced to choose between his mercenary masters and the peculiar people who take him prisoner. [read review]
--Nev Pierce (BBC Films)
Tom Cruise learns about honor, twirls those pointy sticks with the poise of a drum majorette, and seeks spiritual enlightenment in this deadly boring would-be epic. [read review]
--Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)
The Last Samurai is 144 minutes of pure story - the kind of powerful mix of epic battle and human interest that so rarely shows up on movie screens these days. [read review]
--James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
It features action and drama, with well timed humour intermittently, that all comes together to produce what I will happily call the film of the year. [read review]
--Carl Lazarevic (MovieWeb)
This is a big movie, with big themes and bigger-than-life characters. The battle scenes are not only spectacular, they are also emotional. [read review]
--Paul Clinton (CNN Showbiz)
The screenplay's cliches are rendered as effectively as possible. Tom Cruise is just fine. The music by Hans Zimmer is lushly beautiful. [read review] 
--Ron Weiskind (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Great to look at and respectful of its subject matter, this is an epic with excitement, brains and heart. [read review] 85/100
--Brian Webster (Apollo Guide)
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