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Originally posted by KemisT I have read The Art of War, not just a guide for war but actually more of philosophy of politics, business, and relationships definatley a good read... Also check out A Book of Five Rings-Miyamoto Musashi, It gives a better explanation of the Samurai and where and why they originated and also explains the politics of feudal Japan at the time 16th-17th century, I had read this a few years back and could see the similarities in the movie. Yes the emporer was a wimp but that is because at that time the title was just passed down the bloodline much like the current british monarch, so there was always someone in the background controlling the puppet wether it was for his own interests or whatever.....

oh yeah, it goes way beyond just war tactics... it's incisiveness, and applications are enormous, and could be applied to virtually every problem encountered even in todays society... it's one of those books everyone should read once in their life time in my opinion... james clavell's translation into english was the most insightfull i think...

as for five rings, i've heard of it, but haven't had a chance to read it... it seems very interesting... i'll check it out, thanks for reminding me!

I saw the interview with Tom Cruise, he spent one year to get to know the martial arts, and he does a lot of moves by himself in the movie.
Pretty cool, ah?

Tom is awesome, but too short)

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Originally posted by TANYA I saw the interview with Tom Cruise, he spent one year to get to know the martial arts, and he does a lot of moves by himself in the movie. Pretty cool, ah? Tom is awesome, but too short)

As I said before, Tom Cruise's character was kinda pointless. The story would have been stronger had he not been in the way. Honestly...an American switching sides to fight with Samurai? Just a little far fetched. That said, I like Tom Cruise as an actor, but I think he was going for Oscar with this movie...and it just aint gonna happen.

On an unrelated note, Cruise might be doing another war movie soon about the Battle of Britain...he would play an American pilot (of course! ) on an officer exchange program to England. It's based on the book called "THE FEW" or something. I'm sure it will be good, but does Hollywood have to 'americanise" everything? It's called the Battle of BRITAIN for a reason. Same thing Samurai...Americans don't fit.

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Originally posted by Dj Smitty20 ) As I said before, Tom Cruise's character was kinda pointless. The story would have been stronger had he not been in the way. Honestly...an American switching sides to fight with Samurai? Just a little far fetched. That said, I like Tom Cruise as an actor, but I think he was going for Oscar with this movie...and it just aint gonna happen.

i don't see how its farfetched at all... i think he really fit nicely into the storyline... his character could definitely relate to the samurai since he had to go through the same thing as the captain in the US army fighting the indians...

as for him getting an oscar for this role, i highly doubt it... dude playing katsumoto would deserve it more than him, and i'd like to see it happen...

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Originally posted by TranceGeek i don't see how its farfetched at all... i think he really fit nicely into the storyline... his character could definitely relate to the samurai since he had to go through the same thing as the captain in the US army fighting the indians... as for him getting an oscar for this role, i highly doubt it... dude playing katsumoto would deserve it more than him, and i'd like to see it happen...

think about it for a second...an American officer fighting and dying with the Samurai? Come on now...American officers didn't even train the Japanese army...it was British and French military advisors and there certainly was never any cases of them betraying their own nations.

Last Samurai is basically Dances with Wolves (Japananese Samurai remix). I still liked it, but it's typical, predictable American Hollywood fare.

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"No offense, but you're stupid"

Well I think the whole point was that he found himself there more than anywhere else. He hated his superior officer and he was frustrated with what he has done and participated in. The story begain by saying "apparently that's all I'm fit for..."
So he just happen to relate his personal struggle to theirs and he found himself when he was with the samurai. I don't think it's really far fetched I really like Tom and I think he played really well in his role...the only thing is they let him live at the end which was a little questionable.

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^^ precisely my point

anyways, overall i really found the movie enjoyable, mainly because the storyline flowed slowly, depicting japanese culture very well, and didn't focus as much on the development of each character, as is the formula it seems in many recent hollywood films... i know i wouldn't mind seeing it again...