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By
WAYNE KLEIN
The Samurai led by Katsumoto
(Ken Wantanabe) begin destroying local railway
stations. As a result Algren and his men get
called into action before they are truly ready.
Overwhelmed and frightened by the samurai,
Algren's troops panic and retreat leaving him to
fight off a group of samurai by himself. Impressed
by his bravery and sense of honor, his life is
spared and he's taken in by the samurai as a
prisoner.
A marvelous, epic and vivid film of the sort David
Lean might have made if he were American, "The
Last Samurai" deals in many of the same themes
that fascinated Lean; the adoption of foreign ways
by a westerner and a fascination with the culture
clash when west meets east. Although it's doesn't
quite capture the power and majesty of "Lawrence
of Arabia," director Edward Zwick's sweeping
direction has the right moves and, like his film
"Glory," offers much promise for future efforts.
The screenplay by John Logan ("Gladiator," "The
Time Machine," "Star Trek: Nemesis") with Zwick
and his frequent collaborator Marshall Hersovitz
creates memorable characters whose sense of
nobility and purpose are weakened only by their
character flaws.
This is the type of sweeping, powerful filmmaking
that, sadly, has gone by the wayside. The few
attempts to revive the epic grandeur "The Last
Samurai" aspires to usually fail. Although it's a
flawed film, "The Last Samurai" carries on a
powerful tradition; it has depth, something to say
and is enormously entertaining. Although the film
dips into the "noble savage" cliché a bit too much
when discussing Indians, the racist views are more
accurate than the 20th century revisionist
thinking of accepting cultural diversity. Still,
the Algren's journey from burned out war hero to
enlightened guardian of the samurai way is
believable the way it is portrayed on screen.
While historically inaccurate in many areas, it'll
keep your attention throughout its two hour plus
running time.
The crisp, vivid DVD transfer beautifully
compliments the layered cinematography by John
Toll. There's a depth and detail captured in this
DVD missing from much of the transfers out there.
The overall sound quality matches the mythic
photography with a musical score by Hans Zimmer
that manages to be both light and large at the
same time. Sadly, the soundtrack on this
particular DVD was marred by distortion
particularly during the first major battle
sequence between the soldiers and the samurai. The
distortion seemed particularly noticeable when the
score and action raged out of control.
The two DVD set has so many extras on the second
disc, you'll feel the need to strap in for a wild
ride. The "Director's Journal" provides a
marvelous, inside view on the difficulties and
challenges facing a film director when tackling
such a large canvas to tell his story. "Tom
Cruise: A Warrior's Journey" discusses the intense
training that the actor had to undergo to prepare
for such a difficult and demanding part. "Making
an Epic: A Discussion with Edward Zwick and Tom
Cruise" focuses on the lost tradition of epic
storytelling and the odds against creating a
successful film. It's a bit self serving and seems
designed to massage Cruise's ego more than provide
any insight into the film and the bit of history
that Zwick twists into his epic adventure.
For fans fascinated with the weaponry of the time,
there are a couple of strong featurettes that
focus on recreating a lost world and way of life.
"Silk and Armor: Costume Design with Ngila
Dickson" takes a peak in the closet and allows us
to see the difficulties in recreating the past.
Unlike, say, a science fiction epic, a historical
action epic like "The Last Samurai" demands visual
accountability to history. Again, the challenge is
being creative in the shadow of the past.
"Imperial Army Basic Training" and "From Soldier
to Samurai: The Weapons" aggressively yanks into a
past world where two cultures collided in real
life and the difficulties in translating that to
the screen. The weapons featurette in particular
marches us into a world where skills with a sword
were far more important than the blunt force of a
rifle or pistol.
"A World of Detail: Production Design with Lilly
Kilvert" allows us to witness creation or, in this
case, recreation. Kilvert uses historical
references to recreate a past witnesses by few.
The production design of a film touches on
everything from costumes, weaponry to optical
effects. Also included is a documentary that aired
on the History Channel but really is little more
than a commerical for the film. While it does
provide a bit of background on the real historical
events that inspired the film, it only touches on
the important events of the time. It's a pity as
it offered more potential but just doesn't have
the breadth or depth necessary to make it
worthwhile.ight have been a distraction as part of
the commentary track. Having Zwick alone allows
the film to shine and his observations as director
aren't filtered by having to share the stage with
his star.
A grand, powerful and epic story of progress,
honor and the chance for redemption, "The Last
Samurai" holds its own in the company of classic
films such as David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia."
Director Zwick ("Glory" and the television series
"Thirty Something") and his frequent collaborator
Herskovitz have crafted a powerful and
entertaining motion picture. The DVD transfer,
despite some minor flaws, is stunning. Prepare to
get sucked into the past and spent two and a half
hours living there with Cruise, Watanabe and the
other actors in this fine sweeping historical
drama. |
