nataliegold - FIRST TIME WATCHING: The Last Samurai

Thank you for this, Nat. This was a great experience to share with you.

Hamilton Hernandez

2023-01-10 04:13:16 +0000 UTC

Not that it matters. Especially this long after the reaction lol But, Nobutata (guy who had his top not cut) was katsumotos son. And taka was his sister. No brothers. The time he said brother he said brother-in-law about taka's husband.

Brian E

2022-08-13 17:09:58 +0000 UTC

This is my favorite movie and I love so much the line "I will tell you how he lived." meaning he lived by the sword therefore answering the Emperor's question. Katsumoto both lived and died by the sword as a Samurai would and should.

Jundae

2022-01-23 07:51:25 +0000 UTC

My goodness, one of my favorite movies ever and I'm very glad you were able to experience it for the first time. I had the same thoughts as you when considering the parallels in the film, the cinematography, the exquisite score and the acting performances. Heading into this film, like several months before it came out, I was very much looking forward to it... I love samurai films and I knew of Director Edward Zwick's films (most notably, Glory -- if you haven't seen it), so the combination of my two preferences had me excited to see the film when it came out. And boy was I satisfied with such a beautiful movie. And your reaction really reflected a lot of my experiences when I first watched it. Thank you for the beautiful, appreciative and thoughtful reaction to one of my favorite films.

Rob Benjamin

2021-09-29 04:15:37 +0000 UTC

Wow, I'd never watched this before, thanks for watching it so I could watch it with you! I was crying at the end right along with you.

Yani Dodge

2021-09-18 05:14:14 +0000 UTC

Such a great film about the Samurai.

Brian Stanton

2021-09-14 19:32:53 +0000 UTC

Love this film and always nice to have an opportunity to watch it again. Whether for your channel or not, I thoroughly recommend Twilight Samurai which is the most beautiful, emotive and enlightening Samurai film I've seen and again stars the indomitable Hiroyuki Sanada (Ujio in Last Samurai). Remains my most beloved non-scifi or horror film to date

Ryan Pascall

2021-09-14 11:44:37 +0000 UTC

Thank you for finally forcing me to rewatch this master class character driven war movie. Love it. Great reaction as always.

Harry Reece

2021-09-09 10:10:54 +0000 UTC

I got to take a class in college about feudal Japan, one of the coolest classes ever, all we did was read and talk about the samurai (and of course the sociopolitical and economic conditions at various periods in Japanese history up to the Meiji Restoration), and watch Akira Kurosawa movies. I will say I love this movie, but it is a movie, and pretty one sided in that it doesn't include any context as to why the Japanese moved away from their feudal traditions. They had to play catch up with the modern Western world in order not to be colonized themselves. I can respect that. Also have to recommend again, Born On The Fourth Of July, if for no other reason than I think it's Tom Cruise's best on screen performance.

Joe D. MacGuffinstuff

2021-08-31 02:10:48 +0000 UTC

I'm so glad you enjoyed this movie, I knew you would. I was lucky enough to have seen this movie on it release. I came out of the cinema feeling like id just witnessed something great. Another suggestion for you along the same lines is a non-musical version of THE KING & I called ANNA AND THE KING Starring Jodie Foster. Hostly great movie.

RebRox65

2021-08-30 15:26:09 +0000 UTC

If i switch my brain off, it's quite easy to get swept up in the images, the epic score and the melodrama. As soon as i start thinking about it, i realise that The Last Samurai is a pretty reactionary tale of glorifying militarism and subservience.

Opti_Frog

2021-08-30 12:48:04 +0000 UTC

You should watch Fruitvale Station

Daniel Casillas

2021-08-30 05:04:30 +0000 UTC

At least they didn't put "Based on Real Events" at the end, even if it was loosely based on the Satsuma War.

Andrew Dickinson

2021-08-30 03:18:47 +0000 UTC

It's so funny because about a couple weeks ago I thought "Man, Nat should really watch Last Samurai, and I need to rewatch it too." I voted the moment I saw your poll pop up. So happy you experienced this film. Hans Zimmer is a GENIUS, and the cast is utterly incredible. Beautiful cinematography, lighting, acting, casting, music, set pieces, fight scenes, thematically gorgeous....it's one of my favorite all time films.

Anthony Zoppo

2021-08-29 21:17:35 +0000 UTC

thats a strange problem mate. My best guess is your watching a compressed version not an official release.

Cripkie

2021-08-29 10:49:53 +0000 UTC

Perfectly humbles western arrogance. No shade, Australia is as Libral as America.

Cripkie

2021-08-29 10:40:43 +0000 UTC

I gotta say, regarding HBO Max, movies have so far never been an issue with you watching movies from somewhere and me using Netflix or whatever, but with GoT in particular, for some effed up reason HBO Max and HBO Nordic (through which I'm viewing GoT, Max hasn't reached my part of the world just yet) run the show at an ever so slightly different framerate, I think like 1 frame per second difference, so I can't watch your GoT reactions from the Youtube link because Youtube doesn't have any way to properly adjust the playback speed. Instead I have to download the Google drive file and play it with Windows media player of all players because that allows for the most accurate playback speed adjustment I've found in order to match the speed of the show and your video as closely as possible. I still can't get it to where they're 100% the same speed, I still have to resync them a couple times per episode, but yeah, I remember the poll you did a while back about forgoing the Google drive links and I for one am really glad you're still posting them!

Arttu Korpinen

2021-08-29 09:03:26 +0000 UTC

Natalie, allow me to politely edu-ma-cate you on some firearm stuff: the weapons that the imperial Japanese army were using are bolt action rifles, which are distinct from muskets. Muskets are smooth bore weapons of an earlier era. Rifling (grooves cut into the inside of the barrel) imparts a spin on to the projectile, allowing more range and greater accuracy at distance. In fact, one of the reasons that casualties in the American Civil War some 12 years earlier were so high is because the majority of soldiers on both sides HAD rifles which increased the range some four times with a substantial boost to accuracy. The CW generals were fighting battles using tactics built around muskets instead of updating them to reflect the actual capacity of the rifles.

David Bennett

2021-08-29 08:03:00 +0000 UTC

Buy the Blue Ray... own it forever

Aaron Taft

2021-08-29 01:04:47 +0000 UTC

Hey Natalie! One of my favorite movie ever. If you can watch "Hostiles", I think you'll really enjoy this. It's a strong emotionnal movie, very welle pictured and very deep. I don't want to say too much, but it's in my top3 films (with LOTR), so I'd like very very much to watch your reaction on this one. :)

Jacques De Lajudie

2021-08-28 23:53:13 +0000 UTC

What a weird ass intro to Tom Cruise! Let's watch EDGE OF TOMORROW, it's a lot more fun

abz

2021-08-28 21:12:06 +0000 UTC

The "black pajama" ninja idiom actually comes from kabuki theater. Historically, ninja tried to blend in by doing what all good spies do: dressing like someone who belongs there. To emphasize the reputation ninja had saying they could move freely in any environment, in kabuki ninja often dressed like stage hands in black. I'm not sure what the best appelation is for those characters. It could be that by the Meiji Period that was how ninja dressed for assignments like that. I am inclined to think these were non-ninja assassins.

MrHolbyta

2021-08-28 19:07:51 +0000 UTC

I mean, it does take a white man to reach the Emperor and save the soul of Japan in this film. That said, it was very well received by the Japanese audience as it accurately depicts many aspects of Tokugawa samurai culture and philosophy. Because of that, it bothers me less than Dances with Wolves, but let's not ignore the "white savior" and the "white man becomes a better version of the native than the natives" tropes where they occur. I mean Algren literally stares down Omura as he refuses to commit seppuku after offering to do so himself.

MrHolbyta

2021-08-28 18:56:57 +0000 UTC

its so sad this movie is so unfairly hated by some people. I've always thought its seriously underrated. The performances are so good, the score, the photography... If you know something about japanese history and culture there's even more little details that makes you fell deeply in love even more with it. And for some reason some people can't pass throught their antipathy for Tom Cruise who, in my opinion did a great acting in this movie. Thx a lot for your company rewatching this movie Natalie. I've really enjoyed it so much. PS: I dont think its material for a review but you really must look into Shogun by James Clavell. The original work is a novel edited in 1975 and they made a fairly decent tv adaptation in 1980. I recomend the book very much. Its a time well spend.

oscar latorre

2021-08-28 17:46:58 +0000 UTC

City of God is of course a classic. There's so much to choose for Hong Kong thrillers or South Korean dramas, but some of my all time fave films come from directors here.

Marc Ammundsen

2021-08-28 17:06:31 +0000 UTC

That's quite the list! I was going to recommend a few, def some in yours, but Andrew is right that they can't really be too obscure. Hero or House of Flying Daggers would be my suggestions for Asian martial arts over older ones or even Crouching Tiger tbh.

Marc Ammundsen

2021-08-28 17:03:30 +0000 UTC

I second more foreign cinema and not just ones on historical topics ! VERY few reaction channels have done this , and given her experience in film and consistent open mind I feel she would be the perfect one to get the ball rolling. I will include a list here for you Natalie to consider ! (1) FRANCE 🇫🇷 Can never go wrong with the 1920s classic Passion of Joan of Arc French New Wave has a lot of great films: Francois Truffaut's 400 Blows and Jules and Jim are a good place to start. Or Jean Lec Godard's Breathless, Alain Resnais' Hiroshima Mon Amour. Jacques Demy's Umbrellas of Cherbourg musical. Agnes Varda's films are my favorite though: Cleo from 5 to 7, Le Bonheur are top notch. For modern films, I would recommend Claire Denis' Beau Travail, Chocolat... La Haine, The Three Colors Trilogy, a lot of people also like Amelie. (2) ITALY 🇮🇹 Several key filmmakers and their films: Vittorio de Sica (La Ciociara, Bicycle Thieves, Umberto D), Michelangelo Antonioni (L'Avventura), Fellini (8 1/2, Dolce Vita), Sergio Leone (Fistful of Dollars, Once Upon A Time in America), Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) (3) SPAIN 🇪🇸 Almodovar's films. Highly recommend Broken Embraces and Julieta. (4) GERMANY 🇩🇪 Expressionist films like Nosferatu, Cabinet of Dr Caligari. M (1931) Das Boot: German U-boat film (1980s). Disclaimer it's long but worth it. Untergang/Downfall: Great biopic on Hitler's last days. Victoria: One shot film. Really good Wenders' Wings of Desire and Paris, Texas (5) SCANDINAVIA The Phantom Carriage (1921) Ingmar Bergman (Swedish): Wild Strawberries, Summer with Monika, The Seventh Seal, Persona, Scenes from a Marriage, Autumn Sonata Danish: Pelle the Conqueror, The Hunt, Another Round (6) RUSSIA 🇷🇺 Cranes Are Flying: Excellent, emotional film with great camerawork Come and See: Haunting picture. Highly recommend Anything by Andrei Tarkovsky Larisa Shepitko's Ascent (7) POLAND 🇵🇱 Cold War and Ida (8) CHINA 🇨🇳 Zhang Yimou's entire filmography is great. I'd recommend Raise the Red Lantern and To Live from the 90s, Hero and from the 2000s, The Flowers of War City of Life and Death (2009): Very powerful film (9) HONG KONG 🇭🇰 Wong Kar Wai's As Tears Go By, Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, Grandmaster (10) SOUTH KOREA 🇰🇷 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring (2003) Memories of Murder, Mother, Parasite Minari (11) JAPAN 🇯🇵 Ozu's Tokyo Story Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran, Dreams Shoplifters Anime Studio Ghibli (12) TAIWAN 🇹🇼 Hou Hsiao Hsien's Time to Live, Time to Die. His films are longer but great all the same. Very good. Edward Yang's Yi Yi Would also recommend The Farewell Ang Lee's Pushing Hands, Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Lust Caution (this last one might require a lot of editing for YouTube because there's a lot of sex. But it's a very emotional film). (13) IRAN 🇮🇷 Abbas Kiarostami's Where is My Friend's House, Close Up, Taste of Cherry Farhadi's Separation (14) MEXICO 🇲🇽 Macario Amores Perros Babel Under the Same Moon Y Tu Mama También Roma (15) BRAZIL 🇧🇷 City of God Pixote (16) ARGENTINA 🇦🇷 The Official Story Motorcycle Diaries The Secret in Their Eyes Wild Tales (17) CUBA 🇨🇺 Memories of Underdevelopment (18) AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺 Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock, Master and Commander, Dead Poets Society (less about Australia. But superb film with Robin Williams) Walkabout (70s) Castle (1997) Fun family flick Water Diviner (2014) The Lion (2016)

AC5555

2021-08-28 16:46:52 +0000 UTC

I was thinking the same. Kingdom of heaven is a very cool movie.

Garlicjr Made

2021-08-28 15:35:44 +0000 UTC

I dont understand this comment.

Garlicjr Made

2021-08-28 15:33:57 +0000 UTC

Hey Natalie. Just wondering if you've thought about including any foreign language films into your channel? There are some really spectacular historical epics, and modern set classics from all over Asia if you're interested.

Marc Ammundsen

2021-08-28 15:19:40 +0000 UTC

X-Men Origins: Wolverine should be next. Then First Class, The Wolverine, Days of Future Past, Deadpool, Apocalypse, Logan, Deadpool 2, Dark Phoenix, and New Mutants.

RE

2021-08-28 14:29:07 +0000 UTC

Yeah Hiroyuki Sanada. Ever since this movie he was showing up all over Hollywood. Sunshine, Rush Hour 3, Speed Racer, Lost, 47 Ronin, Extant, Helix, The Last Ship, Westworld, Mortal Kombat and Army of the Dead are what I remember him from. Dude has been acting since he was 5 years old in 1965! Next thing Natalie is going to see him in is The Wolverine. Also did anyone else recognize Hershel from The Walking Dead as the ambassador.

AJ Miller

2021-08-28 10:39:01 +0000 UTC

Billy is definitely Scottish, although the character is meant to be Irish. Hollywood as usual being somewhat "flexible" when it comes to nationalities :P

crawlie

2021-08-28 10:02:34 +0000 UTC

Another misguided and inaccurate attempt to portray Asian culture from a totally western perspective. They didn’t even get Japanese actresses to play the main roles, which was in itself a controversy.

Dooly

2021-08-28 09:31:33 +0000 UTC

Is the timecode (and blurred picture) you show realy the moment you're seeing at that time? Because Often enough you seem to be talking right over the most dramatic moments as if you didnt care or as if they lay behind you, so you were allready analysing. For instance you were talking all over the death scene and the blossom comments. Not that I mind, I know most of the movies and shows you watch so I don't miss anything, but it seems strange that you seem to appreciate the moments AND distract yourself at the same time. If I was to guess, I'd say you have a delay worked in so that the comment you make up after the scene is over is shown right when it happens.

Dioskur

2021-08-28 08:32:43 +0000 UTC

Thanks for the great reaction, Nat. Another movie you might want to check out, also set in Japan in the same time period, is Memoirs of a Geisha. Great movie and just as moving as this one. If your looking for something more lighter and fun, i would still like to see your reaction to A Knights Tale😁

Wiremu Marshall

2021-08-28 08:19:40 +0000 UTC

Thank you so much for watching this, finally! I have loved this movie for so many years. lmao, this is one of the movies that I use as a test for potential girlfriends. xD If they can't watch this movie or if they watch and complain all throughout - it ain't gonna work. :P Anyway though, this movie never fails to bring me to tears a number of times throughout. The score is just incredibly moving and the direction in this film is amazingly done as well. From the incredible fight scenes to when Nathan's interacting with Higen in his house.. it's all so well done and never feels like something was thrown in for fan service or to please the audience alone. Everything had purpose and because of that I feel this movie will continue to be one of my favorites for a very long time. This movie was definitely not historically accurate, but I feel that it's message goes far beyond it's historical inaccuracies. In the end, I left this movie with a sad heart but a thoughtful mind. I'm very grateful for that.

Logan Kerlee

2021-08-28 08:06:56 +0000 UTC

Billy Connolly is Scottish, just to clarify your comment on his heritage. He's about as Scottish as they come, being from Glasgow and being a titan of British comedy (we have a habit of 'claiming' non-English Brits as being British over here but he is loved nation wide). He did a good performance in a relatively straight role. But yeah, I've seen this movie maybe five times now and I still shed tears. Its a very emotionally charged movie. The sound of the Gatling guns really is the sound of modernity destroying the old ways. Sure, its not 'historically accurate' but its got a lot of elements of actual history in it just condensed and dramatized so I can forgive it its flights of fantasy.

Laura Thornley

2021-08-28 06:35:38 +0000 UTC

On the soundtrack for this movie, download Hard Teacher by Hans Zimmmer. its the main theme. Its a real good score to listen to post workout or in the morning.

Brandon Hinton

2021-08-28 06:28:16 +0000 UTC

You are correct, HBO MAX is garbage. It sucks bc it has better movies than any other service but it buffers and if you have a VPN you have to turn it off for it to work properly. The only reason I even have it right now is to watch GOT with you. Also, I love this movie so much. I'll leave another comment later with my thoughts about your reaction.

Andrew Clifton

2021-08-28 05:47:42 +0000 UTC

Really loved your reaction for this film Natalie and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. The Last Samurai always gets me emotional with the story and how it shows you a bit about bushido(the code of honor and morals of the samurai). The score is absolutely beautiful and the acting is fantastic. Ken Watanabe(Katsumoto) was amazing in this film and I think Koyuki(Taka) also gave great performances in her scenes by conveying so much emotion while at the same time trying to not show it. Definitely a film I will probably continue to watch again every few years or so lol.

Steven Hok

2021-08-28 05:31:11 +0000 UTC

This was on my top 13 list until a few years ago. It's been a while since I watched it. It was a great re-vist, and I may have to reevaluate my Top 13 again...

Jesse Arnold

2021-08-28 04:38:12 +0000 UTC

If it's difficult to understand the relationship that grew between she and Nathan, remember that her marriage was likely an arranged one, and the relationship between her and her husband was one of mutual duty and respect more than love or affection.

Ellis Hugh

2021-08-28 04:16:31 +0000 UTC

I think it has been recommended before, but with how much you liked Gladiator and now The Last Samurai I cannot recommend enough that you try to watch the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven. Specifically the director's cut because the theatrical is "fine" but missing a few pretty crucial scenes that establish characters' relationships or give important context for later events and at least one entire subplot. It's also by Ridley Scott (Gladiator, The Martian Blade Runner, the original Alien) and has a very similar feeling to The Last Samurai, Gladiator, or Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World (another you should watch if you haven't) in being a fairly close-in look at a small handful of people within a very large and important series of events. The theatrical release got reviews ranging from roughly 4-7 on a scale out of 10, while the director's cut ranges from basically 7-10 on the same scale, as a quick and easy point of comparison.

Friendly Trumpet

2021-08-28 04:11:24 +0000 UTC

San Francisco is an urban myth.

Dooly

2021-08-28 03:58:04 +0000 UTC

The actor is Scottish but for whatever reason his character in the movie is Irish. It is actually mentioned in the movie, though only once and pretty easy to miss. Kind of like with Sean Connery's character in The Untouchables.

Friendly Trumpet

2021-08-28 03:53:04 +0000 UTC

It was San Fransisco in the beginning.

Andrew Lopez

2021-08-28 03:48:34 +0000 UTC

Thanks for letting us know this is on HBO max; that was very helpful.

Tabatha Cat

2021-08-28 02:47:19 +0000 UTC

Hey Nat, great reaction again! I was hoping you would recognize the guy that hated Tom's character but eventually came to respect him, but that was probably asking too much. After all, he only had one scene in Avengers Endgame (he was the one killed by Hawkeye after the 5 year time skip). Anyways, back to this movie. I forgot how good this movie was as it's probably been at least 10 years since the last time I watched it! The acting, music, and editing is so beautiful! I hope you will watch more martial arts movies on your channel. There are some really good ones out there! Not sure if anyone has recommended any of these, but here are some suggestions: "The Raid: Redemption", "Unleashed" (sometimes known as "Danny the Dog"), "Ip Man 1-4" (the ones with Donnie Yen), "The Protector" (also known as Tom Yum Goong starring Tony Jaa), "Fearless" and "Kiss of the Dragon" with Jet Li, "Rumble in the Bronx" with Jackie Chan, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and so many others. Anyways, I hope you enjoy your weekend, Nat!

Ilsuk Yang

2021-08-28 02:05:01 +0000 UTC

History major in me stands up for a brief moment and notes this is a version of the Menji period of restoration in Japan in the 19th century. Some is accurate. Now that being said, it is a breathtaking movie, as noted with your observations on score by Hans Zimmer (the maestro behind The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Dark Knight movies) and cinematography by the legend John Toll. Ken Watanabe (you are right, in Inception and a small role in Batman Begins) proves he is one of most gifted Japanese actors and deserves so much credit for his work. I also respectfully acknowledge Tom Cruise and glad you get to start (at least on the channel) with a strong performance, white savior role or no. There is much to recommend for him, perhaps too much to innumerate. I trust judgment and polls to guide you to more. If you enjoyed this, here is what I would suggest for future consideration: while not set in Japan, The Last Emperor is an amazing representation on a country and leader in transition, this time China. If you want a similar story to this, especially with your eye towards American Indians, the obvious choice is Dances with Wolves. Along a similar bend of epic battle/history/adventure, Last of the Mohicans is another. If you like John Toll here, wait until you see his work on Braveheart. As for me, it is a well done work, especially representing the best aspects of Japan at its idyllic. We all should step forward into the future, but never forget the footsteps left behind to know who we are. Still Golden.

Matthew Periolat

2021-08-28 01:58:41 +0000 UTC

What's the next X-men movie anyway? Is it a wolverine one, deadpool, or does it go to Days of Future Past

Kelvin

2021-08-28 01:53:41 +0000 UTC

Did you know that it was filmed in new Zealand

nexus

2021-08-28 01:43:50 +0000 UTC

If you're reading this and dumb enough to attack this film with the "iTs JuSt AnOtHeR wHiTe SaViOr MoViE...", take 30 seconds and google Jules Brunet.

Justin Credible

2021-08-28 01:35:41 +0000 UTC

Good comments, especially on clarifying the ninja a bit. The fact that Samurai were not always as noble as they are often portrayed is true - this is actually true of many indigenous peoples who have been retroactively canonized as noble savages, far superior to evil Europeans in wisdom, honor and peaceful intent. Bad news, people, but many Native Americans also fought and killed one another - even women and children - over land.

Ellis Hugh

2021-08-28 01:29:58 +0000 UTC

I think that Nat is my favorite person to watch a film with, if I have already seen and loved the film. I also think she would be my least favorite person to watch it with the first time around. :P

Ellis Hugh

2021-08-28 01:25:20 +0000 UTC

White Savior? He basically surrenders his own culture and its values to what he comes to believe are the superior culture and values of a foreign people... and they lose. Not only does he not save them, THEY actually save HIM. Gotta look further than skin color on something like this.

Ellis Hugh

2021-08-28 01:19:29 +0000 UTC

Really enjoyed the reaction, Nat! I do think the movie struggles with what is ultimately the white savior trope, but as you note at the end the performances really were fantastic all around, and the score and cinematography were exceptional. This made me really want to see you react to Princess Mononoke!

Erik Stevenson

2021-08-28 01:16:25 +0000 UTC

The friend is Scottish. It's Billy Connolly, legendary Scottish Comedian

Connor Ellis

2021-08-28 01:05:41 +0000 UTC

It was the Centennial so around 1876 EDIT: He did say July 1876

Connor Ellis

2021-08-28 00:44:48 +0000 UTC

Hopefully some day she will! Or just a classic Foreign martial arts film.

Sammy Rebbo

2021-08-28 00:39:19 +0000 UTC

Thanks for watching this one Nat, it's definitely a powerful movie... Hans Zimmer is so damn talented! Also a lot of the scenery was actually filmed here, in NZ :) So many great moments in this movie, but I'll just mention two I've really come to appreciate. The first is the moment when Nathan apologizes to Taka about her husband and her face flushes as we watch. That's just sublime acting. The second is when Nathan is about to go back to the US and pauses with a drink in his mouth, thinking about Katsumoto. At the same time, we see Katsumoto looking at the dagger, contemplating taking his own life. Both men are poised on the brink of self-destruction. Great filmmaking.

crawlie

2021-08-27 23:52:22 +0000 UTC

He did not become a "master". He became pretty good, but only because he'd been a soldier in the first place. Most of the people he killed were not Samurai. He would not have stood a chance against real masters of Kenjutsu, like Katsumoto or Ujio, and probably would have died in seconds.

Nico Piel

2021-08-27 23:13:32 +0000 UTC

One of the tragic moments was in the council when the Emperor failed to find his voice in Katsumoto's presence on the matter of his sword. I think that even if the Emperor's order was to give up the sword, Katsumoto would have been glad as his teacher in that the Emperor was the one running things...

Michael Labs

2021-08-27 22:47:58 +0000 UTC

It was pretty good. I'd never seen it before. But it is kinda silly that white man comes to Japan and becomes master samurai in 6 months.

Joe Blankenship

2021-08-27 22:22:55 +0000 UTC

HBO max sucks. The streaming quality is garbage.

Myles Away

2021-08-27 21:56:52 +0000 UTC

I have always enjoyed this film. Easily one of my favourite performances by Tom Cruise. He really steps up in this role. I love love Japan and it's neat to get a look at this era (whether perfectly accurate or not).

Myles Away

2021-08-27 21:56:13 +0000 UTC

It's interesting that the film makes it seem like the samurai were virtually exterminated in this crucial battle. There were samurai all over Japan and there are still samurai today. They just don't walk around with swords because we live in modern societies with laws, but they train in Japanese swordfighting (kendo) and follow the bushido code to a greater or lesser extent. But they were never as noble as they are portrayed in movies. They had a strict moral code, yes, but that code didn't stop them from extorting money from local farmers and merchants for "protection". They were bullies to a lot of people and didn't see the contradiction in having a moral code with giant holes in it. The men in black who attacked the village were the pop culture version of ninja, another Japanese group whose pop culture portrayal is far from the reality. Ninja were just people in need of money who developed skills that would help them steal, sneak into places, assassinate people, and perpetrate all other manner of criminal misdeeds without getting caught. Every now and then one of them would hire themselves out to make some coin and so they became notorious and their sneaky skills caused them to develop a reputation for having superhuman abilities. This struck fear into the hearts of people and commanded respect and also allowed them to charge more, so none of them tried to set the record straight. The whole dressing all in black with black face masks comes from Japanese kabuki theater, where ninja were portrayed as being capable of stealing or killing while remaining invisible, and the way this was shown in a play was by having an actor dressed all in black work against a black backdrop, making them hard to see for the audience. Eventually this just got all mixed up with the rest of the reputation of the ninja, so today we get mysterious, silent men in black sneaking up to attack people. In the real world, the ninja would look like whatever they needed to look like to get the job done. If they were infiltrating somewhere, they'd look like everyone else and have the appropriate clothes and hairstyle. If they were going to assassinate someone by poisoning them at dinner, they'd dress up as the waiter. If they were breaking in somewhere to steal, then all black would probably be appropriate. But you'd never see a bunch of ninja attack a bunch of samurai. Samurai trained endlessly in sword fighting, it was their whole deal. They expected their opponent to step up and duel with them until one of them was dead or one of them tapped out. A samurai would destroy a ninja in a straightforward sword fight, and the ninja knew it. But for a ninja, escaping was the ideal success, not beating someone in combat. A samurai would pull his sword, and the ninja would poke him in the eye and climb a tree to escape. The samurai would call it cowardice, and the ninja would call it a win. Anyway, glad you liked the movie Natalee. Keep them coming and never worry about the crying. You're beautiful when you cry; it brings out your eyes.

Skizane

2021-08-27 21:47:53 +0000 UTC

Been hype about this movie ever since the poll!

Boticus

2021-08-27 21:11:34 +0000 UTC

It's loosely based on a true story.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Brunet Except he was French in history.

Brandon Hancock

2021-08-27 21:11:15 +0000 UTC

Not a bad movie and I like Tom Cruises acting, just not big on the white savior trope Hollywood likes to do.

Joe Mama

2021-08-27 21:02:28 +0000 UTC

Tom having the slow motion flashback of the fight scene in the streets of Tokyo was him replaying the fight to make sure that all enemies were dead, that is how he knew the guy was behind him.

Nicholas Hentges

2021-08-27 20:53:08 +0000 UTC

I wish you watched an actual Japanese film rather than a westerner’s depiction of one.

Dooly

2021-08-27 20:34:02 +0000 UTC

WIth your comment on hbomax. Isn't available here in Canada but I am watching it with the french version on Crave (they don't have english for some reason) which has a contract with HBO for their shows and most movies.

Caitlin

2021-08-27 20:27:20 +0000 UTC

Loved watching this movie again with your reaction. If you are in the UK the movie is available via Netflix.

Jeff white

2021-08-27 20:21:35 +0000 UTC

It does give the typical white savior vibes.

Dooly

2021-08-27 19:48:03 +0000 UTC

"are they samurai? but they're all in black." you mean ninjas?

Julian Calzada

2021-08-27 19:47:11 +0000 UTC

What’s wrong with Tokyo?

Dooly

2021-08-27 19:46:40 +0000 UTC

This is one of my favorite films. Glad that you watched it. Regarding HBO I'm from South America, but I don't have any issue with it.

Danny Flores

2021-08-27 19:35:33 +0000 UTC

ahh this movie is so goooooood! Loved the reaction!

john collins

2021-08-27 19:34:00 +0000 UTC

Nice reaction

Travis

2021-08-27 19:26:49 +0000 UTC

Nat, Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon. If you haven't seen it of course, that would be the perfect movie for you to react to!

Jon B

2021-08-27 19:26:30 +0000 UTC

As far as your HBOMAX questions, it is available in more countries now and the app is getting an overhaul this year. When they released HBOMAX it was on the bones of HBOGO and HBONOW, which was able to deal with large influxes of traffic for their weekly big events (like game of thrones or westworld) but the change to an app where many more people are watching a larger variety of TV and film at the same time (as well as their quick rollout to other countries) left HBOMAX with these buffering issues (among other nuisances). Luckily, they are saying that HBOMAX is getting a major upgrade (that will likely come with it's own bugs for a couple months) this year for some platforms, early next year for other platforms.

Nicholas Hentges

2021-08-27 19:16:13 +0000 UTC

This is one of my favorites. Good reaction, thank you.

Luis Torrefranca

2021-08-27 19:11:19 +0000 UTC

Hello Nat, thank you to give us so great reaction! It's a really nice film with great soundtrack and an interesting evolution in the relationship of the characters (although a little predictable haha), I can't imagine how it would be to be in Taka's situation, (take care of, feed and house the person who killed the person you love... I think I would kill the person 😆 Anyway, it's been a while since I saw this movie, and it was really great to see it again with you, I especially liked how you said it would be hard for you because you're such a noisy person and of course your emotional moments 😆 (pssss without noisy person like you, we would be bored 😆) I hope you're fine, take care, be safe and stay golden! 💛

Calo Grsf

2021-08-27 18:53:34 +0000 UTC

Glad you enjoyed the music.... It's one of Hans Zimmers best overall scores.

Brian Jones

2021-08-27 18:46:56 +0000 UTC

One of my all time favorite films. Every component is just so beautifully executed

Brandon Ralphs

2021-08-27 18:41:15 +0000 UTC

The reaction was perfectly synced on prime for me

Grensor

2021-08-27 18:36:24 +0000 UTC

my condolences 💜 sending lots of love your way!

Natalie Gold

2021-08-27 18:34:31 +0000 UTC

"Does he even have a sword?!" Yup. It was just in someone else's hands. ;)

Luis Torrefranca

2021-08-27 17:52:56 +0000 UTC

all I can say is thank you Natalie, one of my favorite movies and legit thought you were never going to react to it

Daniel Andersen

2021-08-27 17:43:48 +0000 UTC

Ooof. I might pass. This was a tough one back in 03, 😆

Charlie Keeler

2021-08-27 17:42:41 +0000 UTC

I understand how Nat feels it is weird for Nathan and Taka to have a relationship. But, I see it as Nathan paying respect to the husband he killed in battle by taking care of the family that he left behind.

Ryu Kobushi

2021-08-27 17:37:40 +0000 UTC

If you go with HBO Max, check out the "Service-specific quirks" section of the website 'cause it's got a few.

sammi

2021-08-27 17:30:14 +0000 UTC

If anyone needs help syncing the reaction to the movie on Amazon/HBO Max/Netflix you can try out this browser extension that I developed: https://www.casper.live/ You can pause and jump around in the reaction and everything is kept in sync. My recommended "offset" for this reaction is 179.4.

sammi

2021-08-27 17:29:14 +0000 UTC

Looking forward to watching this one later today. I'm glad it won the poll since it's been maybe 10 years since I've seen it. There was some weird backlash where people thought the title was referring to Cruise's character and insulting Japan, but in Japanese I think the characters are meant to be "Samurai" in its plural form.

Brandon

2021-08-27 17:22:26 +0000 UTC

HBOmax is an awful platform accross all devices. It is by far the worst

Crash Raynor

2021-08-27 17:20:50 +0000 UTC

So glad this won the poll. It's definitely one of my favorite Tom Cruise movies, and has a lot more depth than people assume.

Dave A

2021-08-27 17:18:14 +0000 UTC

It's gonna be a great friday night... been waiting for this to be posted. I love this movie and I know alot of people hate it because it's just like Dances with Wolves. However Kevin Costner's movie is more of an insult than The Last Samurai in my opinion. To have a white man be a savior to the Natives that they in reality almost wiped out. Is a bigger insult than inserting a white man into a historical event in Japan. In which he saves nothing and doesn't change the outcome of he event's.. if not for the fighting that he took part in, he'd be nothing but a spectator. Great reaction.. really loved your summary at the end.:D

DarkJokester

2021-08-27 17:12:40 +0000 UTC

Thank you! After "Rain Man" and "A Few Good Men" this is my absolute favorite Tom Cruise movie, loved every second of it

Alec S

2021-08-27 17:01:35 +0000 UTC

I’m the same way; would love to go and see Japan but have no interest in Tokyo. Just want to visit the countryside, temples, Mt Fuji and stuff like Osaka Castle & the Kamakura Buddha

Definitely Delish

2021-08-27 16:21:02 +0000 UTC

Saving this for the weekend ty nat for all the wonderful content this week helped take my mind off the anniversary of my mother's passing so ty nat means a lot 💛hope you have a great weekend and until next week stay golden 💛

Ian

2021-08-27 16:15:40 +0000 UTC

Sad we didn't get more "rambling", but at least we got a short rant about hbo max hehe.

Garlicjr Made

2021-08-27 16:09:25 +0000 UTC

I've never seen it. But I can't think about this movie without thinking of Paul Mooney on Chappelle's Show.

Joe Blankenship

2021-08-27 16:08:12 +0000 UTC

Was looking forward to watching this movie with you Nat. Have not seen before. Such an epic and beautiful movie with great performances. Hans Zimmer's score was amazing. Mr Graham was played by Timothy Spall, who was Peter Pettigrew in Prisoner of Azkaban. 3 other great movies by director Ed Zwick are Glory, Legends of the Fall and Courage Under Fire. All widescreen epics. Thanks for your amazing, emotional reaction today Nat. I really got caught up in the drama with you. Thanks as always for your fantastic work this week Nat. Have a great weekend 💛

Darryl Low

2021-08-27 16:07:38 +0000 UTC

Happy Friday, Natalie! 😊 Downloading this right now to watch tonight . This is one of very few Tom Cruise movies that I haven't seen yet. Looking forward to watching this later this evening. Have a great day today & great weekend! 😊 Stay Golden! 💛

Randee Carreno

2021-08-27 16:07:00 +0000 UTC

I enjoyed this movie. I watched a youtube video where an actual Japanese Samurai grandmaster would look at at rate different movie depictions of Samurai. Tom Cruise from this movie was one of them. I expected a low rating, but he was quite impressed with Tom's skill, handling, and stances. He rated him quite highly. Say what you will about Tom, but he truly throws himself into his roles with total commitment.

Jomero

2021-08-27 16:05:00 +0000 UTC

Can’t wait to watch tonight!! Very excited for this. One of my all time favorite Tom Cruise movies.

Zack Wallace

2021-08-27 16:03:34 +0000 UTC

Cueing up my copy now. Cheers!

Andy Jordan

2021-08-27 16:01:49 +0000 UTC

FIRST TIME WATCHING: The Last Samurai

Comments

Thank you for this, Nat. This was a great experience to share with you.

Not that it matters. Especially this long after the reaction lol But, Nobutata (guy who had his top not cut) was katsumotos son. And taka was his sister. No brothers. The time he said brother he said brother-in-law about taka's husband.

This is my favorite movie and I love so much the line "I will tell you how he lived." meaning he lived by the sword therefore answering the Emperor's question. Katsumoto both lived and died by the sword as a Samurai would and should.

Wow, I'd never watched this before, thanks for watching it so I could watch it with you! I was crying at the end right along with you.

Such a great film about the Samurai.

Thank you for finally forcing me to rewatch this master class character driven war movie. Love it. Great reaction as always.

If i switch my brain off, it's quite easy to get swept up in the images, the epic score and the melodrama. As soon as i start thinking about it, i realise that The Last Samurai is a pretty reactionary tale of glorifying militarism and subservience.

You should watch Fruitvale Station

At least they didn't put "Based on Real Events" at the end, even if it was loosely based on the Satsuma War.

thats a strange problem mate. My best guess is your watching a compressed version not an official release.

Perfectly humbles western arrogance. No shade, Australia is as Libral as America.

Buy the Blue Ray... own it forever

What a weird ass intro to Tom Cruise! Let's watch EDGE OF TOMORROW, it's a lot more fun

City of God is of course a classic. There's so much to choose for Hong Kong thrillers or South Korean dramas, but some of my all time fave films come from directors here.

That's quite the list! I was going to recommend a few, def some in yours, but Andrew is right that they can't really be too obscure. Hero or House of Flying Daggers would be my suggestions for Asian martial arts over older ones or even Crouching Tiger tbh.

I was thinking the same. Kingdom of heaven is a very cool movie.

I dont understand this comment.

Hey Natalie. Just wondering if you've thought about including any foreign language films into your channel? There are some really spectacular historical epics, and modern set classics from all over Asia if you're interested.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine should be next. Then First Class, The Wolverine, Days of Future Past, Deadpool, Apocalypse, Logan, Deadpool 2, Dark Phoenix, and New Mutants.

Billy is definitely Scottish, although the character is meant to be Irish. Hollywood as usual being somewhat "flexible" when it comes to nationalities :P

Another misguided and inaccurate attempt to portray Asian culture from a totally western perspective. They didn’t even get Japanese actresses to play the main roles, which was in itself a controversy.

On the soundtrack for this movie, download Hard Teacher by Hans Zimmmer. its the main theme. Its a real good score to listen to post workout or in the morning.

This was on my top 13 list until a few years ago. It's been a while since I watched it. It was a great re-vist, and I may have to reevaluate my Top 13 again...

If it's difficult to understand the relationship that grew between she and Nathan, remember that her marriage was likely an arranged one, and the relationship between her and her husband was one of mutual duty and respect more than love or affection.

San Francisco is an urban myth.

The actor is Scottish but for whatever reason his character in the movie is Irish. It is actually mentioned in the movie, though only once and pretty easy to miss. Kind of like with Sean Connery's character in The Untouchables.

It was San Fransisco in the beginning.

Thanks for letting us know this is on HBO max; that was very helpful.

What's the next X-men movie anyway? Is it a wolverine one, deadpool, or does it go to Days of Future Past

Did you know that it was filmed in new Zealand

If you're reading this and dumb enough to attack this film with the "iTs JuSt AnOtHeR wHiTe SaViOr MoViE...", take 30 seconds and google Jules Brunet.

I think that Nat is my favorite person to watch a film with, if I have already seen and loved the film. I also think she would be my least favorite person to watch it with the first time around. :P

White Savior? He basically surrenders his own culture and its values to what he comes to believe are the superior culture and values of a foreign people... and they lose. Not only does he not save them, THEY actually save HIM. Gotta look further than skin color on something like this.

The friend is Scottish. It's Billy Connolly, legendary Scottish Comedian

It was the Centennial so around 1876 EDIT: He did say July 1876

Hopefully some day she will! Or just a classic Foreign martial arts film.

He did not become a "master". He became pretty good, but only because he'd been a soldier in the first place. Most of the people he killed were not Samurai. He would not have stood a chance against real masters of Kenjutsu, like Katsumoto or Ujio, and probably would have died in seconds.

It was pretty good. I'd never seen it before. But it is kinda silly that white man comes to Japan and becomes master samurai in 6 months.

HBO max sucks. The streaming quality is garbage.

I have always enjoyed this film. Easily one of my favourite performances by Tom Cruise. He really steps up in this role. I love love Japan and it's neat to get a look at this era (whether perfectly accurate or not).

Been hype about this movie ever since the poll!

It's loosely based on a true story.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Brunet Except he was French in history.

Not a bad movie and I like Tom Cruises acting, just not big on the white savior trope Hollywood likes to do.

Tom having the slow motion flashback of the fight scene in the streets of Tokyo was him replaying the fight to make sure that all enemies were dead, that is how he knew the guy was behind him.

I wish you watched an actual Japanese film rather than a westerner’s depiction of one.

WIth your comment on hbomax. Isn't available here in Canada but I am watching it with the french version on Crave (they don't have english for some reason) which has a contract with HBO for their shows and most movies.

Loved watching this movie again with your reaction. If you are in the UK the movie is available via Netflix.

It does give the typical white savior vibes.

"are they samurai? but they're all in black." you mean ninjas?

What’s wrong with Tokyo?

This is one of my favorite films. Glad that you watched it. Regarding HBO I'm from South America, but I don't have any issue with it.

ahh this movie is so goooooood! Loved the reaction!

Nice reaction

Nat, Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon. If you haven't seen it of course, that would be the perfect movie for you to react to!

This is one of my favorites. Good reaction, thank you.

Glad you enjoyed the music.... It's one of Hans Zimmers best overall scores.

One of my all time favorite films. Every component is just so beautifully executed

The reaction was perfectly synced on prime for me

my condolences 💜 sending lots of love your way!

"Does he even have a sword?!" Yup. It was just in someone else's hands. ;)

all I can say is thank you Natalie, one of my favorite movies and legit thought you were never going to react to it

Ooof. I might pass. This was a tough one back in 03, 😆

I understand how Nat feels it is weird for Nathan and Taka to have a relationship. But, I see it as Nathan paying respect to the husband he killed in battle by taking care of the family that he left behind.

If you go with HBO Max, check out the "Service-specific quirks" section of the website 'cause it's got a few.

If anyone needs help syncing the reaction to the movie on Amazon/HBO Max/Netflix you can try out this browser extension that I developed: https://www.casper.live/ You can pause and jump around in the reaction and everything is kept in sync. My recommended "offset" for this reaction is 179.4.

HBOmax is an awful platform accross all devices. It is by far the worst

So glad this won the poll. It's definitely one of my favorite Tom Cruise movies, and has a lot more depth than people assume.

Thank you! After "Rain Man" and "A Few Good Men" this is my absolute favorite Tom Cruise movie, loved every second of it

I’m the same way; would love to go and see Japan but have no interest in Tokyo. Just want to visit the countryside, temples, Mt Fuji and stuff like Osaka Castle & the Kamakura Buddha

Saving this for the weekend ty nat for all the wonderful content this week helped take my mind off the anniversary of my mother's passing so ty nat means a lot 💛hope you have a great weekend and until next week stay golden 💛

Sad we didn't get more "rambling", but at least we got a short rant about hbo max hehe.

I've never seen it. But I can't think about this movie without thinking of Paul Mooney on Chappelle's Show.

Happy Friday, Natalie! 😊 Downloading this right now to watch tonight . This is one of very few Tom Cruise movies that I haven't seen yet. Looking forward to watching this later this evening. Have a great day today & great weekend! 😊 Stay Golden! 💛

Can’t wait to watch tonight!! Very excited for this. One of my all time favorite Tom Cruise movies.

Cueing up my copy now. Cheers!

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