The Last Samurai
In the face of an enemy, in the heart of one man, lies the soul of a warrior.
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them.Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
- Director
- Edward Zwick
- Worldwide
- $457M
Who's in it
Cast
The billed ensemble, with character names. Open any performer for their Nutevio filmography.
Story overview
What It's About
Spoiler-free. Read the analysis below for the full argument.
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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The record
Awards
1 win · 4 nominations
Academy Awards
No wins yet · 4 nominations
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Costume Design
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Production Design
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Sound
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
1 win
- WinnerNational Board of Review: Top Ten Films
The numbers
Box Office & Release
The Last Samurai returned 3.3× its budget worldwide.
- Budget
- $140M
- Opening weekend
- —
- Domestic gross
- —
- International gross
- —
- Worldwide gross
- $457M
- Release date
- Dec 5, 2003
- Runtime
- 2h 34m
- MPAA rating
- R
- Language
- English, Japanese
- Country
- United States of America
Figures from the verified production record. Fields we cannot source are left blank rather than estimated.
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