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The Last Samurai

I liked this movie, despite the frustratingly unrealistic "lone survivor" ending. I liked this movie because of the beautiful way it portrays Japan in the last days of the samurai. The cinematography is breathtaking, and I found myself engrossed in the culture presented: the single-minded pursuit of perfection in whatever they do. The rest of the movie is good enough: a decent sense of humor and some impressive battle scenes balance the story. Ken Watanabe is very, very good in his role.

The Last Samurai (***)

Comments

Hey Eric,

Thought I'd post just to say hi as much as anything else...been staying abreast of FB activities thanks to Bloglines, but been rather quiet on my own blog. Trust alls well in Chicago.

...But back to this post you might be interested to know that this was all filmed downunder in New Zealand. Taranaki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taranaki) to be precise, which just happens to have a volcanoe with more than a passing resemblance to Mt Fuji (from the right angle)...I guess it would be WAY cheaper to film in NZ compared to being on location in Japan.

Cheers

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