The Last Samurai (2003)
Coming Out at 5 December 2003 in theaters.
Action, Drama, War
The Last Samurai is period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz. The film stars Tom Cruise, who also co-produced, with Timothy Spall, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki, and Shin Koyamada in supporting roles.
Tom Cruise portrays a United States Captain of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in 19th century Japan. The film’s plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and the westernization of Japan by foreign powers, though in the film the United States is portrayed as the primary force behind the push for westernization. It is also influenced by the stories of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War and to a lesser extent by Frederick Townsend Ward, an American mercenary who helped Westernize the Chinese army by forming the Ever Victorious Army.
Former U.S. Army Captain Nathan Algren, a bitter alcoholic traumatized by the atrocities he committed during the American Indian Wars, is approached by his former commanding officer Colonel Bagley to train the newly created Imperial Japanese Army for a forward-thinking Japanese businessman Omura, who intends to use the army to suppress a Samurai-headed rebellion against Japan’s new emperor. Despite his hatred of Bagley for his role in the Indian Wars, an impoverished Algren takes the job for the money, and is accompanied to Japan by his old friend, Sergeant Zebulon Gant. Upon arriving, Algren meets Simon Graham, a British translator knowledgeable about the samurai.
Director: Edward Zwick
Writers: John Logan, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz
Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Timothy Spall, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki, Shin Koyamada
Cast:
| Ken Watanabe | … | Katsumoto |
| Tom Cruise | … | Nathan Algren |
| William Atherton | … | Winchester Rep |
| Chad Lindberg | … | Winchester Rep Assistant |
| Ray Godshall Sr. | … | Convention Hall Attendee |
| Billy Connolly | … | Zebulon Gant |
| Tony Goldwyn | … | Colonel Bagley |
| Masato Harada | … | Omura |
| Masashi Odate | … | Omura’s Companion |
| John Koyama | … | Omura’s Bodyguard |
| Timothy Spall | … | Simon Graham |
| Shichinosuke Nakamura | … | Emperor Meiji |
| Togo Igawa | … | General Hasegawa |
| Satoshi Nikaido | … | N.C.O. |
| Shintaro Wada | … | Young Recruit |
| Shin Koyamada | … | Nobutada |
| Hiroyuki Sanada | … | Ujio |
| Shun Sugata | … | Nakao |
| Koyuki | … | Taka |
| Sôsuke Ikematsu | … | Higen |
| Aoi Minato | … | Magojiro |
| Seizô Fukumoto | … | Silent Samurai |
| Shoji Yoshihara | … | Sword Master |
| Kosaburo Nomura IV | … | Kyogen Player #1 |
| Takashi Noguchi | … | Kyogen Player #2 |
| Noguchi Takayuki | … | Kyogen Player #3 |
| Sven Toorvald | … | Omura’s Secretary |
| Scott Wilson | … | Ambassador Swanbeck |
| Yuki Matsuzaki | … | Soldier in Street #1 |
| Mitsuyuki Oishi | … | Soldier in Street #2 |
| Jiro Wada | … | Soldier in Street #3 |
| Hiroshi Watanabe | … | Guard |
| Yusuke Myochin | … | Sword Master’s Assistant |
| Hiroaki Amano | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Kenta Daibo | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Koji Fujii | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Makoto Hashiba | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Shimpei Horinouchi | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Takashi Kora | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Shane Kosugi | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Takeshi Maya | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Seiji Mori | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Lee Murayama | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Takeru Shimizu | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Shinji Suzuki | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Hisao Takeda | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Ryoichiro Yonekura | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Ryoichi Noguchi | … | Samurai Ensemble |
| Darin Fujimori | … | Gatling Gun Operator |
| Eiji Inoue | … | Rude Man #2 |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia