DVD Review HTF REVIEW: The Last Samurai (RECOMMENDED). (1 Viewer)

[Michael Osadciw]

I've got an advanced copy of this film as well and it does look and sound as good as Herb says.

Great review Herb.

TTYL!
Mike

 

[Shane Martin]

I can't imagine this film looking soft coming from Warner. I plan to pick this up blind.

 

[Brandon A]

Hrm, I just got to see it a second time. It was screened at my school from a film projector. This time I didn't notice any issues with soft shots, but its also not the best projection, so the whole thing could have been off a little.

However, following the film was a Q&A with Hans Zimmer. That was quite nice, very inspiring. Did you know he was a part of the Buggles... and made the first music video to air on MTV?

 

[Gary->dee]

I saw this movie on the plane headed over to London. I liked it. My problem is not with Tom. It's the way filmmakers portray or to be specific let the camera linger on Tom Cruise for extended amounts of time. I understand he's the main character, he's a star, etc. However, I do get tired of what I call "glory shots" of Tom. Basically I think the camera spends too much time on Tom Cruise and usually with close-ups at that.

Another thing pertaining to the above- something this film wouldn't dare do: put a samurai mask on Tom. While earlier in the movie a lot of the samurai wore their fierce warrior masks into battle, it figures that they wouldn't put one on Tom when it came time for him to wear the samurai armor. There's a line the filmmakers won't cross and that deals with clearly being able to identify their big name star in the movie. I think it would have been a good plot point to have Tom wear the warrior mask, ride into battle as this mysterious warrior and then be unmasked during battle thus revealing his true identity to the Emperor's army.

 

[Kevin Grey]

I have a hard time believing anything filmed by John Toll could have poor cinematography. I saw the film in the theater and recall no issues with softness or the cinematatography in general. Fantastic-looking film and I can't wait for the DVD.

 

[Tim Glover]

You make some good points GaryDee. While I loved the film, I have to agree that there were a few times when the camera was a bit too much on Tom or at least it appeared to be too obvious.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

First-class review Herb.

I hadn't put this DVD on my radar but not it just might get ordered. Thanks!!!

dave

 

[CoreyII]

I saw this film in the theaters and found it enjoyable from beginning to end.

I respectfully disagree with the reviews of such people as Lou Systma, Herb Kane, and Brandon A. there was nothing wrong with the ending and Tom Cruise performance was excellent.

I know everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it seems this forum has a serious hard on for slamming anything that Tom Cruise does. It's as if many of you will look for any little thing to put him down.

Now if Tom Hanks or a less popular actor like Michael Madsen had performed the film the same way Cruise did Im pretty positive none of you would have had a problem with it.



These same glory shots were done on Tom Hanks in the Road to Perdition but none of you seem to have a problem with Tom Hanks. Tom Cruise like Tom Hanks is a star, the camera lingers on them for a reason they are box office draws and people like myself pay to see the star.

Cruise performance was just as good as Ken Wantanabe's. As a matter of fact, Wantanabe's character is as much of a cliche as Cruise character and the films ending. The misunderstood leader of a misunderstood group who is really a really good guy. Come on, that archetypical character has been in films forever.

The Last Samurai's ending is no more a cliche than the ending of Gladiator or Matrix Revolutions, afterall, who couldn't see the writing on the wall when it came to those two film's endings. If a film doesn't have an ending like Gladiator or Seven then many of you come down on the movie. I swear today's moviegoers are so jaded.

If anything is a cliche it's this forum's continuous Cruise bashing which I've noticed everytime a new film of his is being reviewed. And I've been on this forum for almost five years.

 

[Gary->dee]

Well I certainly don't consider myself a Cruise basher. As I said my issue is with how directors film him. In Road To Perdition the majority of the film was Hanks' character and his son on the road. When 2 characters are being focused on for most of the movie as they were in Perdition it's only natural for the camera to stay on them and for that matter, the father as played by Tom Hanks. For what it's worth I did not notice an over-abundant focus on Hanks in Perdition. I thought the camera did a wonderful job of focusing on various other characters such as John Rooney, his sinister son Daniel Craig, Mike Sullivan, Jr., Annie Sullivan, the wonderful locations and sets and so on. Besides that, Hanks was playing a character he seldom does in movies: a killer. So even if the camera lingered on him for too long I probably didn't notice because I was intently focused on his character, such as the scene in which he tells Rooney's man to give Rooney a message- camera dollies up to Hank's stern face-BAM! That was brilliant.

So for me it's really apples and oranges. Besides screentime, my issue was the fact that Cruise's character would gaze upon that beautiful suit of armor with mask and helmet included and yet when it came time for him to don the armor for the final battle the mask and helmet were no where to be seen. I personally think with a lesser-known actor that there perhaps would have been more chances taken in the character's portrayal.

Aside from all that, which I consider minor issues(and I didn't even go into the cliche ending that others have problems with), I like the movie. So I'm not crapping on it. Just giving my opinion.

 

[Hank]

I will be picking this up too. I still have not yet to get Master And Commander.

 

[Nate Anderson]

Actually, in the original script,

Tom Cruise's character dies as well.

 

[TonyD]

i just watched it and i didnt have
a problem with the ending.
although i would have liked
the suggested ending from those here, much more.

i didn t notice anything about closeups being soft.
i did notice no edge enhancement.
except in maybe two places.
around the tops of a head with a sky in the backround.

the usual easy place to spot ee is
around the titles/ letters at the
beginning of the movie and i didnt see any.
the japanese subs are burned in.
great movie.

 

[Tim Glover]

Thanks for the review TonyD and :p) to you and others who got their copy early!

 

[TonyD]

:p) right back atchya.

actually i work at a BIG Blue Video store so i get to waTch them sometimes 1 or 2 weeks before street.

peter pan looks great too.
:p)

take a look at my sig link and you will see most of the titles in red are before street date.

it's the only reason i keep this little part time job.

 

[Sean Scott]

i'm buying this blind also. I heard good things and im such a collector freak. I fall for any 2 disc sets and I love Epic films so my money will go for this and peter pan on tuesday. About Master & Commander I loved the film I ended up buying the 2 disc collector's set for $28.87.

 

[ethan_l]

I was kinda hoping for a DTS version of this movie
any idea if it'll be released in DTS in other regions?

 

[Kyle Richardson]

What a wonderful film! I agree with others about how it should have ended but it still did not take away any of my enjoyment by the way it actually ended.

 

[Max Leung]

Anyone think the History channel "History versus Hollywood" documentary sucked howitzer fodder?

It has an in-your-face style, with annoying background music and quick and pointless camera cuts, with goofy over-exposure effects "to make a point". Ugh. And history? It hardly said anything at all - nothing about the real-life samurai leader (Sato? Or is it Saito?) who was the inspiration for Katsumoto.

Well at least it mentioned Perry, and a brief one-liner about how the conscripts were actually the "good guys". And how Japan was rapidly modernizing...and...and...geez, that's pretty much all they said! The 'minidoc' could be shrunk down to the size of this post, without wasting your time. :rolleyes

BTW, they failed ot mention that it is within a Samurai's right to kill those who do not show proper deference to them (see the deleted Beheading scene). Also, there are actually two kinds of Samurai - the military samurai and the worker/trade Samurai. In Bablyon 5 terms, think of the Minbari worker caste versus the Minbari military caste.

 

[BillGo]

I had not seen The Last Samurai. However, I picked up the DVD at Best Buy yesterday. AT $15.99 less my Reward Zone $5 coupon, I figured it was worth the risk, given the many endorsements in this thread.

Although I did enjoy the film after watching it yesterday, I did agree with TV Guide's assessment:

"The power of several stunning action scenes is diluted by the sheer ponderousness of Tom Cruise's Japanese adventure."

I was a bit disappointed in the "Hollywood happy ending".

Having spent 2 1/2 years in Japan, the film did raise my curiosity about how much of this was based on real historical situations or events. I will have to watch the extra materials to get some perspective on it and maybe do some research.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Yeah, I wasn't too thrilled with the History Channel documentary, the one I thought would have more substance. But a good movie still.