[Stryke 9]

Who wouldn't? You should see what can be done with cow**** these days...

[Baron MacDoblin]

Re: American Samurai

The only foreign samurai was an Englishman who was washed ashore in Japan after a shipwreck, but that was during Tokugawa's time. I'm told that there were a number of American mercenaries fighting in Japan at the time that "The Last Samurai" is set, but they were just grunts.
Oh, and I swear 1/2 the posters in Shibuya are for that damned film. Not out for another week though.

He's there for a long time. And even then, he still winds up using katana like sabers and speaks very basic japanese. As for Samurai status, its not really something one could 'become'. Occasionally, someone might rise up enough in society to be considered a samurai, like Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but for the most part samurai were born samurai and died samurai regardless of whether they lived lives of samurai or not. And I don't think Tom Cruise is ever really called a samurai. The 'Last' samurai is suposed to be the guy who he joins (Katsumoto i think) and I think he's based on Saigo Takamori, who is often refered to as the last samurai.

On a side note, the was once a black samurai, 'Yasuke'. He was brought to Japan as a slave and Oda Nobunaga somehow got ownership of him. They dressed him up in Japanese clothing and bestowed all sorts of titles upon him, but most likely it was a way of mocking him because they thought he looked funny. So it would not have been that easy to be legitamatly accepted as a member of the samurai class, especially if you looked different.

The English guy, Something or other Adams, was accpeted into Tokugawa's court, but like Cruise, was never considered a samurai.

Edit: Found this http://hsv.com/writers/jeffog/wa-hist.htm Apparently William Adams did get the rank of samurai, but I doubt most Japanese thought of him as anything other than an interesting foreigner.

If anyone's interested in the fuller story of the "real" foreign samurai - William Adams - I would recommend you pick up a copy of "Samurai William" by Giles Milton. I've just recently read it and it's a very detailed account of not just his life but also the other Europeans in Japan at the time, and their eventual banishment by Tokugawa Iemitsu.

His earlier book "Nathaniels Nutmeg" is a pretty good account of what these 17th Century Europeans were doing all over the Pacific in the first place.

[Su-tehp]

Originally posted by Stryke 9
You know, and this completely devoid of politics or anything of the sort, speaking German, drinking a stein of beer, and eating bratwurst sounds pretty good right now.

The only German thing about me is my car.

*revs the engine on his Bavarian Motor Works 325i* :D:D:D

Can't speak German, never really cared for bratwurst, but the stein of beer I could go for.

As for Last Samurai, I've always been a fan of Tom Cruise and the samurai have intrigued me while I was studying martial arts (and I read Miyamoto Mushashi's Book of Five Rings, a book on samurai combat and philosophy), so I'll go see this movie.

Remember how I said I would watch Underworld just because it had Kate Beckinsale as a black-clad vampiress and hunting werewolves with silver nitrate bullets? Well, Last Samurai has Tom Cruise going medieval on the asses of the Emperor of Japan's troops with a katana (which is the only way to go medieval on someone's ass, really). 'Nuff Said.

[Shiva Archon]

Originally posted by Flaser
Go watch Shogun, that's both historically apropiate and good fun.

Better yet, read it, it's a fantastic book.

[Flaser]

Nothing beats a story on paper, nothing can grant that measure of immersion...even if due time constraints (films can't be that long).

[Star Dragon]

Damn... I used to love that movie... "Domo Lord Torunaga-sama"he he... Learned a little Japanese from that mini-series...    Now that Sir Richard Chamberlin has come all the way out of the closet (like we didn't know before), he's destroyed all denyability and I don't know how to feel about that...

   As for bad Americans, yup they are everywhere. Worse part about is I'd give my left arm (cause I'm right handed ) to be in japan (a culture that despises Westerners) hehehe am I a glutton for punishment or what? I care not a whit as long as I can get my Anime and  import game fix from the source of all Otakus!

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Star Dragon
As for bad Americans, yup they are everywhere. Worse part about is I'd give my left arm (cause I'm right handed ) to be in japan (a culture that despises Westerners) hehehe am I a glutton for punishment or what? I care not a whit as long as I can get my Anime and  import game fix from the source of all Otakus!

You're so ****ing ignorant my eyes are bleeding. Before you claim that Japan is "a culture that despises Westerners", try living there for four or five years, you moronic ****wit.

I just saw The Last Samurai. Damned good movie. Damned good. Carl, it is certainly NOT a "kill whitey" movie. Tom Cruise (whom I generally despise) does a very good job. I'll probably go see this again, just so I can look at the scenery and listen to Japanese again.

[Baron MacDoblin]

I'll probably go see this again, just so I can look at the scenery and listen to Japanese again.

You mean watch guys charging cannons with swords get slaughtered en masse

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Baron MacDoblin


You mean watch guys charging cannons with swords get slaughtered en masse

since only the last 10 minutes or so were actual fighting like you described, then       .... no.

only about 10% of the movie was fighting, by far the majority was about the culture and life of the people

[Stunaep]

bah, probably won't be as good as ROTK.

But I'm not gonna judge it until I see it. Which is in about two months, thanks to whoever is in charge of our cinema.

[Su-tehp]

Originally posted by Stunaep
bah, probably won't be as good as ROTK.

There are LOTS of movies that won't be as good as ROTK. It's VERY a rare film that can compete with a superbly well-made Tolkein epic. It seems like you're deliberately setting the bar a little high for Last Samurai, don't you think, Stu?

(Slightly off-topic) And although I think ROTK will very likely deserve a Best Picture Oscar, it probably won't get it, much to my chagrin... ah, well.