The Last Samurai - YouTube Version

Oops, you're right, 1853. I'll change it. That's what I get from going by memory.

Mark Rude

1812?

DWG15

Damn, forgot about that one: "Shogun" was pretty awesome...

Chris Carman

Hey Dasha, great reaction. I'll try to answer some questions about the culture. Japan in this time period was coming out of its Medieval age, having been forced by the Americans to open their ports in 1853. Guns had been used in Japan for many centuries, but the end of their isolation allowed them to get lots of foreign help to modernize. Honor and respect is very important, but the most important feature of their culture is harmony. You don't try to stand out or rock the boat. Every action has a proper way and everyone and everything has their place; it is very disruptive to try and change that. That's why eliminating the samurai was such a big deal. Samurai was not only a job, but the top social class. Below them were (in order of importance) farmers, artisans, and merchants. Even though the emperor is the head of state, for a long time the real power was in the hands of the shogun, a samurai warlord. Many civil wars were fought to win the Shogunate, and after a long period of peace the samurai had to adapt by taking up hobbies and expanding their warrior code and philosophy. The flags the samurai wore on their backs represented their clans. Samurai families had their own symbols, but they also wore the symbols of the lords they served. The samurai in this movie were technically Ronin, or masterless samurai, since they were renegades and didn't serve a lord. One of the cultural things Westerners don't get is the need to 'read the air' in Japan. Japanese people only express their true feelings in private around people they know well, but they have a public face for others. This may come off as very polite or indirect, but the other person is supposed to 'read the air' by context and inference. Another big thing is not causing embarrassment, especially to older people or superiors. Saving face is a method of avoiding embarrassment by a kind of play acting. Sometimes it's painfully transparent, but it's necessary to try. Hope that was helpful!

Mark Rude

Aah, Dasha, so glad you liked it and all the aspects of Japanese culture it portrays. It reminds me of the 1980s miniseries called Shogun which was my first glimpse into the beautiful culture and language. Enchanting! 3 - 3hr eps on Classic TV on Roku😊

Steve Pool

One of my favorite films ever. I have seen it a number of times and the ending still gets me emotional. This movie was filmed in New Zealand which has some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere in the world. Hans Zimmer did the the film score to this movie. He also did the music for Gladiator and a bunch of other movies. The film score for Last Samurai is still one of my favorites of any film.

Torben Dix

Heyo Dasha, hope you are staying as healthy as you can from the Canadian wildfires fires still going. Smokey as hell down here in the U.S too. Looking forward to this and the full length reaction later! Have a good day everyone! ✌️🤙

James Hawkins

Been waiting for this one