dancing_barefoot 0 Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 I read in a mag article that the village was in NZ too - and that they are keeping it there to make a tourist attraction. Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 At the end of the movie it said it was filmed in Osaka (Himeji??) and New Zealand. Link to post Share on other sites
echineko 1 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I saw it. I thought it was really good movie, like Gladiator in Japan! Nice message and I really like Watanabe. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I have not seen it, but EVERY Japanese person at work that has seen it has said great things. I am yet to speak to a Japanese person who is unhappy with it. One guy at work has even offered to go again with me just so that I can see it (and so he can proudly explain it to me, no doubt). It is refreshing to hear this feedback as it may put to bed at least once the easy habit that self proclaimed Japan expert gaijins seem to have. That habit being seeing Japan in a movie then giving critical feedback based on whether it passes as real Japan. A smidgin of knowledge and 6 months in a country can be a dangerous thing .... "I'm not sure this is so accurate, hmmmm, this is not right...." said the white man from the UK/America/Australia/Canada etc after reading two books about Japan and living here for 6 months. As another aside, one J guy at work told me how he liked it and it was so good to see an American movie that didn't make fun of the Japanese in an untrue manner. This is no doubt a fair observation, however I asked him to explain in what way they take the piss and he proceeded to describe his exact mannerisms, personality, habits, physical stature etc. "They make us look short, always wearing glasses, always walking around looking lost and oblivious to what is happening around us with a big forced smile whilst doing little bows and bobs of the head". I couldn't have described him better myself. Link to post Share on other sites
powwwers 0 Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 saw tha flick last night- great movie, great story, great acting, great shooting. kinda sad, had to hold back tears a cuppla times... deff. thumbs up here Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 The general consensus among my Japanese friends is really good as well. UK mags are generally giving it really good write ups. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Saw it Friday night and enjoyed the movie To me, Watanabe had and played the best role so I followed him first, and anybody else, after. Sanda (??) Hiroyuki was good too! The one thing Im really happy about is there was no need for him to hookup with the chick. Like Matrix II, that whole cave dancing and sex scene were just too long and did nothing for the movie. Link to post Share on other sites
slaphead 0 Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Great flick, really enjoyed it. Link to post Share on other sites
HeatherLocklearRocks 1 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 Congrats to Ken on his Oska nom. I hope he wins. Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 I saw him on tv last night - he seemed a real nice bloke. Is it true he was very ill with some form of cancer just a few years back??? Link to post Share on other sites
peterson 0 Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 When will this be out on dvd? Link to post Share on other sites
smiler 0 Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 I thought it was a really good movie, really enjoyed it. One for the DVD collection when they release it - I think I read that it was due out around May/June this year. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted February 8, 2004 Share Posted February 8, 2004 Quote: Is it true he was very ill with some form of cancer just a few years back??? Yes, it is true. He drinks Yakult everyday and pretty good now. And his wife had a money problem before. She spent a lot of money for shopping, he didn't know about it. Link to post Share on other sites
Roger's head 0 Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Yes he was on the morning tv programs last week with the court case surrounding his divorce. Link to post Share on other sites
I_HATE_CHEESE 0 Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Quote: Originally posted by peterson: When will this be out on dvd? to find this info the best web movie site is www.imdb.com on the left hand side of each movies home page there are menus, one is DVD details. THat will tell you. Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 ...not Japan releases they don't... Link to post Share on other sites
smiler 0 Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 It's out on DVD tomorrow. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Thanks smiler. I hardly ever keep up with Japanese releases. Anywhere where we can see J dvd release lists in English? Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 The documentaries are pretty much just lovefests - oh he's great, the directors wonderful, blah blah blah. I'd rather not have them than have to sit through that kind of thing. theres not much input from the Japanese actors either which I thought was a lost chance. Link to post Share on other sites
sweetaz 0 Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I finally saw it on the weekend and loved it. Great blend of action and thought provocation. I was so impressed with the quality of acting from the japanese actors. Ken....is unreal. The kendo sequences were amazing.....for once i was truly impressed with a samurai duel. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 I guffawed a few times, sorry. When the ship steamed past Fuji painted on the sento wall and into the harbour made of papier mache, there was sudden and involuntary hilarity in the 11 living room. And that 'samurai coming, dey coming' scene - was it filmed in the Florida everglades with all that mist and birds hooting? Mr Ken got a bit tiresome I found, and there was a bit of Mr Miyagi orientalism going on there, however subdued. Ah, in Japan, we say, paint wall. All of that stuff about having protected his ancestors for 4,000 years, was like, what? really? The US-centric 'history' grated, as well as the non-historical story - as if that period wasn't interesting enough without fantasy storylines. And Tom didn't really pull anything new out of the bag. Tom's boat up close for long lingering shots doesn't equal acting. Well, we mustn't 'carp' - after all, what can you really expect from a film in which Tom Cruise plays the 'last samurai'? Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Actually Ken was "the last samurai" Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Oh you think so? So who was that henna gaijin kowtowing to the Japanese emperor at the end and going back to the samurai village to climb on a samurai's widow? Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Er, that was Tom Cruises character. Ken Watanabe's character was the Last Samurai. Quote: There's a book on the market about The Last Samurai, detailing its production, big and glossy, all that. It also includes snippets of the screenplay, and at the end of the book, we come to the final battle. In the screenplay, it says: "And all the enemy soldiers, recognizing the gravity of what had happened, bowed to the passing of the last samurai." According to the screenwriter, it's Katsumoto, so I'd say that's the definitive word on that. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 And, I refer you to my post above... I figure the screenwriter was just trying to preserve a tiny piece of dignity for himself. Link to post Share on other sites
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