Edward Zwick directs this sumptuously designed, action-packed period epic that stars Tom Cruise as Captain Nathan Algren. Algren, a former Civil War hero, is adrift in 1870s San Francisco after the war, a lost soul struggling to stay afloat in a booze-soaked stupor. When he is recruited by the Japanese government to train the Emperor's army, he departs for the unknown shores of Japan and begins training the soldiers in American military tactics. But these skills are useless against a band of samurai rebels led by the proud warrior Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), and Algren is easily defeated. He is taken to a remote samurai village where he learns samurai warrior codes and ways of life, developing a deep bond with Katsumoto and sharing philosophical conversations with him. Caught between the feudal culture of the ancient samurai warriors and the encroachment of modern society, Algren is forced to choose between his own culture or Katsumoto's. THE LAST SAMURAI is lavish in its dramatic period costumes and intense performances, and will thrill fans of both historical drama and action films.

Theatrical Release Date: December 5, 2003

HD-DVD Features:

Elite Red HD Case
Widescreen - 2.40
Audio:
Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English, French
Dolby Digital Surround Sound 2.0 - Latin Spanish
Subtitles - English SDH, English, French Narrative, French, Spanish - Optional
Closed Captioned - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Commentaries - 1. Edward Zwick - Director
Interviews - 1. "Making an Epic: A Conversation with Edward Zwick"
Featurettes - 1. Deleted Scenes
a. "The Beheading (Behind the Beheading)"
b. "Algren and Katsumoto"
2. "History vs. Hollywood: The Last Samurai {History Channel Documentary)"
3. "Tom Cruise: A Warrior's Journey"
4. "Edward Zwick: Director's Video Journal {Behind-the-Scenes Production Journal - Narrated by Ed Zwick and Tom Cruise"
5. "A World of Detail: Production Design with Lilly Kilvert"
6. "Silk and Armor: Costume Design with Ngila Dickson"
7. "Imperial Army Basic Training: From Soldier to Samurai: The Weapons"

Distributor Notes: Last Samurai, The

Epic Action Drama. Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.

Source: Warner Home Video

Tom Cruise: American Actor, RISKY BUSINESS, EYES WIDE SHUT
Timothy Spall: British Actor, TOPSY-TURVY (1999)
Ken Watanabe: Actor, THE LAST SAMURAI (2003)
Billy Connolly: Comedian/Actor
Tony Goldwyn: American Actor
Hiroyuki Sanada: 
Masato Harada: Japanese Director

Edward Zwick: Director/Producer/Screenwriter

Tom Cruise: American Actor, RISKY BUSINESS, EYES WIDE SHUT
Paula Wagner: Producer
Edward Zwick: Director/Producer/Screenwriter
Marshall Herskovitz: Director/Prod./Screenwriter
Scott Kroopf: Film producer
Tom Engelman: Producer
Ted Field: Film producer

Marshall Herskovitz: Director/Prod./Screenwriter
Edward Zwick: Director/Producer/Screenwriter
John Logan: Screenwriter

Hans Zimmer: Composer

Steven Rosenblum: Editor, PEARL HARBOR (2001)
Victor DuBois: Editor, THE LAST SAMURAI (2003)

"...[A] rousing, smoothly assembled historical fantasia....A handsome epic..."
"...Cruise plays the role with fierce energy and swings a Bushido blade like a pro..."
"[With] some of the most impressively realised battles this side of Middle Earth."
"Mr. Zwick has absorbed the lethal agility of Akira Kurosawa; what registers just as powerfully as the sureness of the combatants is the ugly futility of the battles themselves."
"THE LAST SAMURAI affords the sort of fizzy enjoyment that can come with epic movie endeavors, including a meticulously detailed world unlike our own, an excellent supporting cast and some pulse-pounding fights."
"Beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic."
"THE LAST SAMURAI is another stirring Civil War-era epic directed by Edward Zwick."