The Last Samurai is unamerican. Do not rent/purchase...

First, the movie in question stars notorious america hater Tom Cruise. As if that wasn't enough the movie continues the Hollywood tradition of showing native americans as peaceful people that our troops killed ruthlessly. Our troops can do no wrong. Thus, this never happened or is a massive exaggeration. And even if it DID happen, native americans were godless savages that needed to be killed so that our blessed nation of white christians could expand westward to the Pacific. Perhaps worst of all the movie promotes the idea that community and harmony with nature are preferable to western consumerism. If our young people see this, obviously, UN endorsed PC bullshit they may be brainwashed into believing that they don't have to own a $400,000 home far away from the mud races and 5 SUVs. What will happen to our society then? How soon until God smites us for turning our backs on the system that he blessed us with? Again, do not rent or buy The Last Samurai. You have been warned.

Thank you,

Reichsminister of Informtation

it wasn't that bad. Kind of Braveheart meets Dances with Wolves.

that wouldn't be bad?

Is what I call it.

Change the setting and it was pretty much the exact plot of "Dances With Wolves".

I liked it anyway, though. Fine for a Friday night rental. Beautiful setting, wonderful costumes, lovely women, cute kids, clash of cultures, manly bonding, big battle to the death, sappy ending. All fine.

I got a kick out of Crusies incredible speed mastering the Samurai sword...

n/t

how about unjapanese! totally revisionist. Japanese from that era would be shocked and offended by it.

the mentality of people in this country who only look to see if americans are offended. i've seen non-satire that said stuff to the same as the posted piece effect about the last samurai.

n/t

I like cream filled.

is put up in the home of the samurai he killed? I've never understood that part, either.

The movie is based to a certain extent on historical events, although the names of places and people were changed. The actual battles were fought in Kyushu Island (where there is very little snow in winter), not in the mythical province of Yoshino. Samurais were still rebelling against the new government, although their leader was not named Katsumoto, but rather Saigo Takamori (who, by the way, did not need the help of an American to perform seppuku on the battlefield). Tom Cruise's Japanese language ability in the movie is what one could expect of a linguist spending several months immersed in the language, although it is doubtful he could have mastered calligraphy in such a short time as to be able to draw a perfect character for "Samurai".

In addition, the new Meiji government, which had just come into power 8 years earlier (and the Meiji emperor was quite young at the time), was seeking technology transfers from the West, including the US. I don't know to what extent American military people were invited to Japan. At any rate, the Meiji government began to favor Britain, and, ultimately, Germany.

n/t

They were enslaved by a concept of non-unity. Leaderless, they had to be liberated from that leaderlessness and given a clear set of laws to follow and subjugate themselves to, so they could be free. The land they claimed was their greatest dictator, so we had to free them from it, too.

And those ingrates hated us for our freedoms. As we excercised that freedom, as we spread out into the lands occupied by those ingrates, as we enslaved their men and raped their children, thus providing them with a better life, they fought us, killing us in the most horrific ambushes, unwilling in their cowardice to face our guns with their knives. They did not fight back fairly, but used whatever unfair advantage they could to kill us, even while we were following the rules of engagement and war as we slaughtered their children. Their hatred of our freedoms to slaughter them was cause enough for them to die.

Very similar to Afghanis and Iraqis. Ingrates.

Everybody! Sing along!

And I already corrupted my Republican dad by seeing it with him. Worst of all, we both liked it.

I however think that it would have been a much better movie if you cut the Tom Cruise character and stuck with the Samurai.

I expected a lot of Tom Cruise bashing, as this happens quite a bit on this forum. He is a wonderful actor who seems to attract alot of vitrol. It makes me wonder why? Because he is quite good-looking with a great smile does negate his talents.

And the movie, while it may not be entirely accurate, is just that, a move. If you want real accuracy, go read a history book.

Oops, this was not intended as a response to the previous poster. Sorry.

But would you have acclaim for a movie about the Civil War in which the leader of the Confederate forces was not a man named Lee but rather a guy named, say, Stitchwell? And the final surrender occurred not a place called Appomattox but rather at a place called, say, Bear Valley, in the mythical state of Delmarva?

...but i suppose western audiences need a "witness" who they understand to introduce them to the subject...

...its not anti-American if anything is an attempt at critique the rush to modernization in all nations at the cost of older values and traditions worldwide not just in the west...

..Native American did get their land stolen but so have many people throughout history its horribly unfair but the Germans got pushed out of the Ukraine by the Huns and the Lombards got pushing to Italy because of the Germans moving into southern Germany and that was a thousand years ago...

...that said the deceit perpetrated by the US government toward the Native Americans was apauling... but they fought well and you have to admire that... "the black flag"... but it was not simply the pressure of "man" but the pressure of capital and wealth and the desire to expand by these forces the same forces that crushed the Confederacy, the Boer Republics, the Chinese Empire, The Kurds and on and on until the present day... sad but true

Tom Cruise plays a drunk washed up indian killer who winds up in a village of samurai where he quickly winds up an expert swordsman and leads the samurai in a glorious charge against machine gung fire where everybody gets mowed down and killed. Except for Tom Cruise, he's fine.