The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai

Summary

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Cast

Tom Cruise: Nathan Algren

Ken Watanabe: Katsumoto

William Atherton: Winchester Rep

Billy Connolly: Zebulon Grant

Tony Goldwyn: Colonel Bagley

Masato Harada: Omura

Timothy Spall: Simon Graham

Shichinosuke Nakamura: Emperor Meiji

Togo Igawa: General Hasegawa

Hiroyuki Sanada: Uijo

Koiyuki: Taka


Did You Know?
-Tom Cruise took no up front salary for this movie

-During a scene where he and actor Hiroyuki Sanada were sword fighting, when a sword blade came within inches of his neck, which would have been a fatal injury

-The Japanese character Taka 's son paints is the character for "Samurai"

-The Japanese characters on the front of the movie do not read "The Last Samurai" in Japanese, but rather "Bushido", the code of conduct in which Samurai live by

-This is the first film in which Ken Watanabe spoke English

-Tom Cruise spent almost two years training for this movie, training in the Japanese language and swordplay instruction

-Japan's actual first white Samurai was an Englishman named William Adams. He was a sailor born in Kent, England in 1564.

-The swordsmith in the village is a real life swordsmith. His name is Shoji Yoshihara. He is a "Mukansa"-level swordsmith, meaning that is one of the highest rankings in Japan

-The act of seppuku is seen in the film. In ancient Japan, for a defeated or shamed samurai to die with honor, they must commit the act of seppuku, or "ritual suicide". This involved using a short sword, called a tanto, to slice open their abdomen while kneeling. A second person, typically someone respected by the samurai, no matter whether it's enemy or friend, would behead them to guarantee a quick death. This act is also called hara-kiri, which, in Japanese, refers to "belly cut"