Product Description

Let the enemy slice your skin, so you can cut his bone.

Hideki Takahashi stars as Toranosuke, a disinherited son who finds new life by immersing himself in the true way of the Samurai. Mentored by Ikemoto, the Boss of Spies, Sugi is eager to test his skill in the service of the Shogunate. It is a time of crisis. The city of Kyoto has been overrun with insurgents. Forbidden by his master to get involved, Toranosuke is soon drawn into the wars, massacres and upheavals that marked the final days of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Samurai vs. samurai, spy vs. spy, friend vs. friend, conspiracies and assassinations abound. Who will survive to become The last samurai?

The 67th and final film by famed director Kenji Misumi (Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman, Lone Wolf and Cub). Featuring dazzling swordfights, elaborate battle sequences and a stirring score from internationally renowned composer Akira Ifukube (Godzilla series, The Quiet Duel), The Last Samurai stands among the great classics of the genre. Boasting a script by co-written by Kenji Misumi, this is perhaps Misumi s most epic and personal film.

Review

"With The Last Samurai, Kenji Misumi does something that few artists ever have the chance to do: deliver his final and definitive statement, reaching a conclusion that brings his entire body of work to a close. A genuinely great film."
--Tom Mes, MidnightEye.com"One of the finest samurai films ever made...this is a must-have/must-watch-again-and-again."
-- Patrick Galloway, Author of Warring Clans, Flashing Blades: A Samurai Film Companion"KENJI MISUMI'S swan song and one of the all time greatest samurai films as we follow the lives of 4 young men and their friendship through the Bakumatsu era. One of the young men happens to be OKITA SOJI. There is one word for this film. MASTERPIECE."
-- Barbara Sheridan, ShinsengumiHQ"Forget about that silly 2003 movie starring Tom Cruise; the real The Last Samurai is Kenji Misumi s 1974 film... Misumi is the king."
-- Sarah Boslaugh, playbackstl.com"This is a classic samurai film by award-winning writer-director Kenji Misumi and it gets the treatment it deserves in this excellent DVD. It rates an A."
-- Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope"The last production helmed by Kinji (SHOGUN ASSASSIN) Misumi is quite possibly the man's best work. It's easily the best film of his now legitimately available body of work..."
-- coolasscinema.com
Special Features

16:9 High Definition Digital Transfer
Original Theatrical Trailer
Essay by Tom Mes, Author of Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike
Actor Biographies
Photo Gallery
Film to Novel Comparison
And More!
--ET Al

KENJI MISUMI'S swan song and one of the all time greatest samurai films as we follow the lives of 4 young men and their friendship through the Bakumatsu era. One of the young men happens to be OKITA SOJI. There is one word for this film. MASTERPIECE. --
-- Barbara Sheridan, ShinsengumiHQ

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.35:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches; 3.2 Ounces
Director ‏ : ‎ Kenji Misumi
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, NTSC, Widescreen, Anamorphic
Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 39 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ June 26, 2012
Actors ‏ : ‎ Hideki Takahashi, Ken Ogata, Kiwako Taichi, Keiko Matsuzaka
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
Studio ‏ : ‎ Neptune Media, Inc.
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0080WPADW
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #146,288 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #2,560 in Foreign Films (Movies & TV)

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STurbo70

Excellent 70's Gem

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 17, 2012

Verified Purchase

Disclaimer: please ignore my less than stellar grammar ... with that out of the way ... Ill try to keep this spoiler free ...
Being a huge fan of 60s, 70s and 80s Japanese cinema, I was very surprised I had never heard of this gem from 1974. Directed by Misumi Kenji (Lone Wolf and Cub and Zato-ichi fame) you would have thought it a no-brainer for this to have been released in the US back in the glory years of DVD (late 90s to mid 2000s) .. when so many other classic Japanese films made it to DVD here (Lone Wolf and Cub, Zato-ichi included).
When I heard that this was directed by Misumi, I just knew I had to see it ... I mean, who didn't love Lone Wolf and Cub? I have to admit something: the first Japanese Chanbara film I ever saw was the hack job Shogun Assassin .. say what you will about it, but this movie made me love the genre. And who doesn't think its the greatest film ever when they see it at age 16?
Anyways ... going into watching this 2:40 minute movie I was expecting something akin to Lone Wolf and Cub (for no real reason): stylistic visuals and insane amounts of flying blood and body parts. Imagine my surprise when the film turned out to be a far more serious reflection on the end of the shogunate period, and a far more restrained piece of film-making in general.
Yes, this movie has a few decent large battles, and yes it has some signature Misumi gore (I have to admit feeling out of place). But what really makes this film standout are the performances by the 3 main male characters: Toranosuke (Takahashi Hideki), Hanjiro (Ogata Ken) and Hachiro (Masaomi Kondo). Especially the chemistry between Takahashi Hideki and Ogata Ken is fantastic.
There are many standout scenes, but two I felt are especially worth mention: the friendly sword fight between Toranosuke and Hanjiro (awesome) and the tea house scene with all 3 together including Okita Soji (played by Saigo Teruhiko).
The tea house scene is probably my favorite part of the entire movie .. the chemistry between the characters working brilliantly. Heck, its not even an action scene and its just excellent.
If you love classic Japanese cinema .. you should see this film. Is it perfect? Nope. There is some gore that feels out of place, and it sometimes feels like it needed to be 4 hours long. But its still an excellent movie with fantastic performances by the leads.

Lastly I want to point out: the DVD release is good .. the picture quality is probably the best you can expect from a film of this age without a massive restoration effort, and the sound is passable (which I believe is the original mono track). Its a shame that a sound remix and video restoration cost so much that its not financially feasible for the genre.

Format	Multiple Formats, NTSC, Widescreen, Anamorphic
Contributor	Kenji Misumi, Kiwako Taichi, Hideki Takahashi, Keiko Matsuzaka, Ken Ogata
Language	Japanese
Runtime	2 hours and 39 minutes