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Thread: The Last Samurai vs. Twilight Samurai

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    Default The Last Samurai vs. Twilight Samurai

    Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei, 2002) is now being shown in Los Angeles (and in other major U.S. cities, I guess) after being nominated for an Academy Award this past February. I finally saw it and for anyone interested in Japanese history, samurai culture, or martial arts I cannot recommend it highly enough. People who enjoyed Tom Cruise's Last Samurai (I am not one of them) especially owe it to themselves to see how the last days of the samurai looks when envisioned by Japanese eyes. I am not a film critic, but I could not help but be struck by the many contrasts between the two films, almost always to the advantage of Twilight. In short, Twilight Samurai is everything that the Last Samurai was not.

    First, it is actually filmed in Japan. We get to see real Japanese mountains, scenery, homes, clothes, and manners. Second, it is not romanticized. Twilight is not just a metaphor. Everything is dark. Without electric lights, the insides of buildings are dark even during daytime. Daily life also is dark. We see lower-level samurai (and the vast majority were lower level) as bound to an impossibly strict hierarchy, with endless rules, restrictions on behavior, and servitude to even the most insufferable superiors. Chores began at dawn and continued to dusk. Work in the castle consisted of the drudgery of bookkeeping and bowing to bosses. Everyone was ill feed and ill clothed. If the samurai had it rough, then the peasants had pure hell. Peasants do not appear in the film, but their fate is indicated by their starved corpses that float down the river from time to time. Third, the Buddhism consists of expensive funerals and of devout prayers to Amitabha Buddha (both still ubiquitous features of Japanese life) --- not the pseudo-Zen, fake outdoor meditation displayed in Last Samurai. Fourth, military training consists of rather inept gunnery practice, not the weird, group sword calisthenics invented for Last Samurai. Fifth, speaking of swordplay, in Twilight it is quite good. It is still cinema-style chambara, but it clearly attempts to depict actual kenjutsu methods common in the northeastern region of Japan where the film is set. Unlike the mishmash in the Last Samurai, I could see recognizable (i.e., identifiable by name) stances, closing techniques, and strikes. Sixth and most important, Twilight depicts the psychological aspects (the fear, horror, and chaos) of swordplay realistically. It is not pretty. The aftermath is even less pretty.

    However much one might admire some aspects of traditional Japanese culture, movies like Twilight Samurai make it abundantly clear how difficult it would be for any modern person (Japanese or otherwise) to endure that lifestyle. What a contrast to the fake "bushido" (let's become latter-day samurai) ethos espoused in Last Samurai! If Twilight Samurai plays in your area, then definitely go see it (or wait for a region 1 DVD to be released).
    William Bodiford
    Professor
    Dept. of Asian Languages & Cultures
    UCLA

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    I saw last samurai. It was good. Maybe not historically correct, but still pretty good for a Hollywood picture. Twilight sounds like it would be a great movie.
    But you have to remember people would rather be entertain when they watch a movie, not depress.
    Train hard and you shall get what you trained for...

    Aaron Young
    Shotokan

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    Thumbs up Great review, thanks.

    Thanks for the review and recomendation, Prof. Bodiford. I will get it as soon as I can.
    J. Nicolaysen
    -------
    "I value the opinion much more of a grand master then I do some English professor, anyways." Well really, who wouldn't?

    We're all of us just bozos on the budo bus and there's no point in looking to us for answers regarding all the deep and important issues.--M. Skoss.

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    I agree, Twilight was a better movie. The Last Samurai, I thought, was entertaining...but not moving. Something was lost in the movie and after watching Twilight...well, I would say its the compassion and the aspect of human emotion that we can relate too.

    In the Last Samurai I think the storyline is too intense...and we don't identify or "feel" what the characters are like. We don't see them or are placed in to view them on a more familiar basis. That is there is no time added for character development.

    Twilight is not an action packed film but I can say that it moved me because you really get in touch with the characters. The way it was filmed and the storyline lets you identify with Seibei(the main character). You move in and out with him through his daily life and in essence can identify with him as a character.

    I was seriously almost moved to tears at the end. Highly recommended!

    ps. Seibei, the main character, is played by Hiroyuki Sanada who also acts as Ujio, the bada$$ Samurai in The Last Samurai. You know, the one who beats the crap out of Tom Cruise with the bokken.
    Khaw Meng Lee

    "See my kote! See my kote! (kicks opponent in the crotch) Well ya should have been watching my foot!"
    Meng just before being given hansoku.

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    dave501 Guest

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    Where is it playing in LA?

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    You can get it on DVD. Do a websearch and you should be able to find it.
    Khaw Meng Lee

    "See my kote! See my kote! (kicks opponent in the crotch) Well ya should have been watching my foot!"
    Meng just before being given hansoku.

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    [rant]

    How good a movie is should not be defined by its adherence to historical accuracy. Movies are stories, nothing more.

    The issues that many people have regarding the Last Samurai are similar to the difficulties policemen have with Cop films, or Italian-Americans have with Mob flicks and shows. They do not portray the reality we have experienced, or believe exist.

    They are not meant to.

    Now, How was the acting in Twilight Samurai? Was the story engrossing? Did you feel for the characters?

    These are the things that make a film good. Not historical accuracy. If you are looking for accuracy, I duly suggest you never go to see another movie in your entire life.

    If you are looking to be enlightened by bagging on the flawed hollywood portrayal of the Samurai, and their life and times, you might consider that Mibu Gishiden was hardly the 100% accurate portrayal of the life and times of the Shinsen-gumi. And that film was also made in Japan, by Japanese, etc, etc.

    [/rant]
    Daniel Madar

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    I agree with Professor Bodiford. I have been telling people about Twilight Samurai for a while. What a great glimpse at the everyday life of a low rank samurai.

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    Thanks for the advice!
    I'll go search for it.

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    Originally posted by Silent Dan
    The issues that many people have regarding the Last Samurai are similar to the difficulties policemen have with Cop films, or Italian-Americans have with Mob flicks and shows. They do not portray the reality we have experienced, or believe exist.

    They are not meant to.
    I hear ya! I spent a week cursing out Bruce Willis in my mind wondering what a "Glock 7" was after seeing Die Hard 2!

    You are right. Movies may have other purposes, but people go to them to hear a story, not necessarily a "true" one or an "accurate" one. If movies (or for that matter history) was always portrayed accurately, people would either yawn or throw up.

    Regards,

    Carlos
    E. Carlos Estrella, Jr.

    The strength of a man is not measured in how much he can lift, how many he can fight or how much he can endure, but in his capacity to admit his limitations and learn to successfully circumvent them.

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    I have seen, and enjoyed, both movies. I don't think it is valid to bash The Last Samurai for its lack of realism - as has been said, movies are a vehicle for storytelling, not history lessons.

    To say that "Twilight Samurai is everything that the Last Samurai was not" simply says more about one's taste in movies rather than being any claim to historical accuracy.
    Paul Kerr

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    Talking

    What's the point of a historical martial art? I mean really, as long as you can drop the guy and look studly doing it, who cares about anything else? And as long as I am entertained, everything else is secondary.







    (If you are offended by those statements, you don't know me very well.)
    J. Nicolaysen
    -------
    "I value the opinion much more of a grand master then I do some English professor, anyways." Well really, who wouldn't?

    We're all of us just bozos on the budo bus and there's no point in looking to us for answers regarding all the deep and important issues.--M. Skoss.

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    Default Re: The Last Samurai vs. Twilight Samurai

    Originally posted by W.Bodiford
    (or wait for a region 1 DVD to be released).
    You can easily find this with a 0 region code (all regions) on E-bay.com.
    Michael Stinson

    Phoenix Quest Center
    www.phoenixquestcenter.com

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    First, it is actually filmed in Japan. We get to see real Japanese mountains, scenery, homes, clothes, and manners.
    If 'Last Samurai' was not filmed in Japan, then our local tourism office is lying. They offer a tour to the village in which the film was supposedly shot.

    Can't wait to see 'Twilight' though...sounds really good.
    David F. Craik

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    Most of Last Samurai was filmed in New Zealand afaik. Some scenes, specifically the temple shots, were actually filmed in Japan.
    Supposedly they couldn't find a village that looked old enough (too many powerlines and other crap in the way) so it was cheaper and easier to simply build a whole village in New Zealand.

    Regards,

    r e n

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