Last samurai
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Last samurai |
| Original title | The Last Samurai |
 | |
| Country of production | United States , New Zealand , Japan |
| original language | English , French , Japanese |
| Publishing year | 2003 |
| length | 154 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 16 JMK 14 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Edward Zwick |
| script |
John Logan , Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz |
| production |
Tom Cruise , Tom Engelman , Marshall Herskovitz, Scott Kroopf , Paula Wagner , Edward Zwick |
| music |
Hans Zimmer , Blake Neely , Geoff Zanelli |
| camera | John great |
| cut |
Victor Du Bois , Steven Rosenblum |
| occupation | |
| |
Last Samurai (Original title: The Last Samurai ) is a period film by the US-American director Edward Zwick from 2003 . The film is set mainly in the Japanese Empire at the time of the uprisings of the former Bushi between 1868 and 1877; the main roles are Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe .
action
The Civil War hero Captain Nathan Algren is since the great Indian campaign of General Custer one plagued by guilt wreck. Only with the help of alcohol can he suppress the screams of the women and children he co-murdered. Worn out, he ekes out his life as an advertising character for Winchester Repeating Arms Company , a manufacturer of repeating rifles . After he lost this job because he was drunk and slurping at the furnishings of the sales room in front of prospective buyers, his former comrade-in-arms and instructor Sergeant Gant approached him and made him an offer. He is supposed to modernize and train the weak Japanese army, as the samurai rise up against the modern influences of the western world and against the advisers of the emperor under the leadership of the regional prince Katsumoto . His former superior Colonel Bagley, under whom Algren had to carry out many atrocities against the Indians, is also present. On arrival, Algren also meets Simon Graham, who came to Japan years ago with the British trade mission. Graham introduces Algren to Japanese culture and gives him an initial overview of the nature of the samurai. While training the inexperienced Japanese soldiers, Algren realizes that nothing has been learned from the Little Bighorn massacre . The threat posed by the samurai is not taken seriously, as they do not use firearms and, like the Indians in the past, appear to be easy to defeat.
After the samurai attack a railway line, the army is mobilized. Algren speaks out against it, since the soldiers are far from ready for a battle. He orders a soldier to fire at him and threatens to shoot him if he doesn't. The soldier is so scared that he can hardly load his musket, let alone fire it accurately. Nevertheless, the march is ordered.
The imperial army of Katsumoto's troops confronts them in a forest . The battle ends in a devastating defeat, in which the imperial forces are worn out, Sergeant Gant is killed and Algren is badly wounded. After defending himself against a dozen samurai with just a lance and killing a famous warrior, Katsumoto gives the order not to kill Algren, but to take him prisoner. Over the winter, struggling with his addiction, Algren now stays in the Japanese village of the Daimyo Katsumoto and is cared for there by Taka, Katsumoto's sister, whose husband he killed in the battle. Since he is ultimately deterred by alcohol, he is plagued by the most severe withdrawal symptoms. Eventually, however, he is "dry" and is slowly recovering from his injuries. Katsumoto always tries to talk to Algren with stoic calm because he wants to learn from him. Little by little, Algren settles into the community. By observing and listening, he learns the language and sheds his alter ego more and more. He also begins to learn the philosophy of the samurai, and thus can forgive himself for what he did in the Indian Wars. Finally he also learns the sword fighting technique . Ujio, who initially met him with massive rejection, trains him. Over time, Algren begins to understand and understand the samurai. Ultimately, he not only shows great consideration, but also learns their way of life. In the event of a ninja attack, Algren Katsumoto and his family finally saved their lives and gained the respect of the samurai.
At the beginning of spring, Katsumoto brings Algren back to Tokyo personally . While Algren finds a new and much better army with modern weapons in Tokyo, Katsumoto seeks out his master, the Tennō . Despite his resistance, Katsumoto's deference to his master is extremely high, as prescribed by the Bushidō . Katsumoto does not fight for personal reasons, but to protect the Japanese people from too many and too rapid changes. He wants to preserve Japanese culture. But the emperor is weak and the real ruler is Omura, who benefits massively from the changes. B. builds the railroad, which would accelerate the economic development in Japan enormously. Omura wants to get the leader of the samurai out of the way and plans his assassination. However, Algren can prevent this. With Graham's help, he gains access to Katsumoto, frees him and persuades him to flee. However, Nobutada, Katsumoto's son, is killed in the process.
Algren now finally joins the samurai, especially since he has also grown fond of Taka and her sons since his stay in Katsumoto's village. Together they prepare for the hopeless battle against the imperial soldiers. In this battle, all samurai are killed in Gatling rifle and gunfire, only Algren survives seriously injured. He helps the seriously wounded Katsumoto commit seppuku . Thereupon he goes to the young emperor Mutsuhito , gives him Katsumoto's sword as a present and is able to convince him to confront his advisor Omura and to cancel an already negotiated exclusive arms trade agreement with the United States at the last minute. Graham, to whom Algren had given his diaries to make into a book, reports that Algren's further fate after the audience is unknown and it is believed that he either died or returned to his home country. The final sequence shows that Algren returns to Taka in the samurai village, as Graham imagines it to be.
synchronization
The German dubbing was done by Interopa Film GmbH Berlin . The dialogue book was written by Alexander Löwe .
| actor | Voice actor | role |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Cruise | Patrick Winczewski | Nathan Algren |
| Ken Watanabe | Tōru Tanabe | Katsumoto |
| Scott Wilson | Hans-Werner Bussinger | Ambassador Swanbeck |
| Tony Goldwyn | Benjamin Völz | Colonel Bagley |
| Timothy Spall | Roland Hemmo | Simon Graham |
| William Atherton | Helmut Gauss | Winchester representative |
| Billy Connolly | Bernd Schramm | Zebulon Gant |
Reviews and publication
| source | rating |
|---|---|
| Rotten tomatoes | |
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| Metacritic | |
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| IMDb |
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“Excellent entertainment cinema with fantastic pictures. The complex story is characterized by openness and sympathy for a foreign culture and at the same time denounces - albeit with the gentle means of Hollywood - one's own crimes. "
“It's nice to see people fighting in this film, with real concentration and self-control, not always being forced to fidget in the hectic back and forth of the effects - one is reminded of what the word deliberation once meant for action cinema ] "
“Beautifully designed, intelligently written, played with devotion, that is a seldom profound epic. [...] The production design, the set and the costumes are remarkable [...] "
Ebert also praises the two main actors and the supporting roles (and thus the casting ). He would have liked a less flavourful ending. Ebert is reminiscent of Dances with Wolves and Lawrence of Arabia . Steve Crum from Kansas City Kansan even thought of Yul Brynner when he saw Ken Watanabe , probably referring to The King and I (1956). Manohla Dargis objected in the Los Angeles Times on December 5, 2003 that comparing the fate of the samurai to that of the Native American is " idiotic to say the least ."
"'Safe Passage' is an unbelievable piece [...] I really wonder if the pictures can stand up to such strong music [...] Hans Zimmer's best score for many, many years [...]"
The film was rated by Rotten Tomatoes on February 2, 2017 with only 66 percent with 218 evaluated reviews (and 52 percent of 44 top critics), with Metacritic only 55 percent with 43 evaluated reviews. The respective audience ratings are much higher for both platforms (83% for Rotten Tomatoes and 7.7 out of 10 for Metacritic). In the IMDb he ranks with the votes of 327,177 viewers on the same day at 7.7 out of 10 points. According to Box Office Mojo , as of May 16, 2008, the budget was 140 million US dollars and the film grossed around 457 million (Total Lifetime Grosses) , of which about 76 percent were abroad.
Faithfulness to facts
The film has the historical background of the Satsuma rebellion in 1877, where modern firearms were used by both sides.
Some elements of the figure of Nathan Algren are probably derived from the former French military adviser Jules Brunet , who was the second highest officer of the shogunate troops in their last battle against the Imperial Army of Emperor Meiji during the Boshin War in 1869 .
The figure of Katsumoto can be found in Saigō Takamori , the figure of Omura in Ōkubo Toshimichi . In both cases, the film characters are relatively close (in the case of Omura even optically) based on their role models, who were significantly involved in the Satsuma rebellion. The last battle shown in the film corresponds to the Battle of Shiroyama on September 24, 1877, in which Saigō Takamori was also killed as a result of injuries.
Despite the close cooperation with Japan, the film contains a number of errors relating to the customs and habits of Japan in the 19th century.
Many of the combat interludes do not show the sword art that was common at the time. Shaking the blood from the swords is also often avoided - a particularly important and ritualized protective measure for the valuable blades of the samurai so that the blades do not rust. Likewise, the metallic sound of the sword being drawn does not go with the wooden scabbards customary at the time , but rather with the military swords of the 20th century, which were equipped with metal scabbards.
The ninja shown in the film correspond to a typical Hollywood cliché ; the black suits and ninjatō they wear have no historical basis.
Contrary to what is shown in the film, a samurai did not lose his honor if he used a firearm in combat. Many samurai associations used the musket as a ranged weapon. However, it can be assumed that the samurai preferred "honorable" hand-to-hand combat. The muskets, which they got to know and use from European seafarers in the middle of the 16th century, were initially further developed by the samurai ( Tanegashima arquebus ), but after the unification of the country at the beginning of the 17th century, further development was abandoned. Muzzleloader models that were fired with a fuse were still used in the 19th century. At that time, however, flintlocks, repeating carabiners and drum revolvers were already widespread.
In the film, the motives of the rebellious samurai are idealized as a fight against the westernization of their country. In fact, many of them fought primarily against the abolition of the class system and the loss of their privileges. By the time of the Meiji Restoration , the samurai, with their outdated tactics and equipment, had become largely insignificant from a military point of view. Ultimately, the reforms of the Meiji period made a decisive contribution to Japan's rise as a great power .
Trivia
According to Hiroyuki Sanada, Tom Cruise was almost injured by Sanada while filming the scene after the first battle (which ended with the depicted defeat of the Imperial Army) when a hydraulic horse carrying Tom Cruise did not lower itself. Hiroyuki Sanada was able to stop the sword stroke just before the neck.
Awards
On May 16, 2008, the IMDb received 15 awards and 43 nominations, including:
- 4 Oscar nominations in 2004 in the categories of Best Supporting Actor ( Ken Watanabe ), Best Production Design ( Lilly Kilvert and Gretchen Rau ), Best Costume Design ( Ngila Dickson ) and Best Sound (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Jeff Wexler )
- 3 Golden Globe nominations for Tom Cruise , Ken Watanabe and Hans Zimmer
- National Board of Review Award for Best Director
- The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.
Web links
- Official website of Last Samurai at WarnerBros.de
- Last Samurai in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Last Samurai on AllMovie (English)
- Last Samurai at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Last Samurai at Metacritic (English)
- Comparison of the cut versions ORF 1 - FSK 16 , Pro 7 from 12 - FSK 16 by Last Samurai at Schnittberichte.com
- Comparison of film and historical background ( Memento from February 13, 2004 in the Internet Archive ). In: Ruhr-Uni-Bochum.de
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Last Samurai in the Lexicon of International Films
- ^ Certificate of Release for Last Samurai . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , January 2004 (PDF; test number: 96 321 K).
- ^ Age rating for Last Samurai . Youth Media Commission .
- ^ Last Samurai. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ a b [1] at Rotten Tomatoes , accessed on March 4, 2015
- ↑ a b [2] at Metacritic , accessed on March 4, 2015
- ↑ Last Samurai in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ^ Fritz Göttler: An officer and gentleman. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . January 8, 2004, accessed May 16, 2008 .
- ↑ Roger Ebert : The Last Samurai. In: rogerebert.com. December 5, 2003, accessed on May 16, 2008 (English): “Beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic. [...] production design, sets and costs are astonishing. "
- ↑ The Last Samurai . In: Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango, accessed May 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Manohla Dargis : Movie Review - 'The Last Samurai'. In: Los Angeles Times . December 5, 2003, accessed on May 16, 2008 (English): "[...] that the fate of the samurai was in any way similar to that of Native Americans, a suggestion that is, to put it mildly, idiotic."
- ^ Mikael Carlsson : The Last Samurai . Music from the Movies , 2006, archived from the original on March 22, 2006 ; accessed on August 28, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).
- ↑ The Last Samurai. In: Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 16, 2008 .
- ↑ shortnews.de , accessed on October 18, 2012