When the Last Sword Is Drawn
by Y?jir? Takita
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Kiichi Nakai, Koichi Sato, Miki Nakatani, Takehiro Murata, Yui NatsukawaDirector: Y?jir? Takita
Cinematographer: Takeshi Hamada
Editor: Nobuko Tomita
Producer: Hideji Miyajima
Producer: Nozomu Enoki
Writer: Jiro Asada
Writer: Takehiro Nakajima
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Japanese (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 143 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-12-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Fox Lorber
Movie Reviews of When the Last Sword Is Drawn
Movie Review: Great story made into a good movie
Summary: 3 Stars
A story about a samurai who leaves him homeland in "disgrace" but as he finds favorable conditions working for another Lord he sends his profits back home to his family. He happens to live at an end of an era, where there will be no more need for samurai. He never becomes conflicted on what he should do; he being a true Bushido disciple, his choice clear, to completely fulfill his duty which knowingly leads to his death.
The premise of the story is: man's duty is as important as his familiar obligations but it is through our relationships with others is how we survive physical death and are remembered.
First so you understand my problem is not the movie's length...it was the lack of focus in the story. By shortening and tightening up the script the movie would have been far better. The movie turned into melodrama. The protagonist's morality, motivation, and sentiments could of been more strongly established in beginning of the film. Instead it wasn't, so I had to watch multiple scenes (and numerous minutes of video) that fumbled around in getting to that point which showed showed us what kind of man he was. Quite simply, there was too much story! The movie served more to showcase the director's and actor's ability than what it's supposed to do: tell it's story...
Personally, I disliked the protagonist's lengthy and personal death scene; it somehow ended up feeling "pornographic". Greatest of all complaints is the music, the music was comical. Here you have whats supposed to be important and tense fight scenes and the music is something out of Tom and Jerry! The battle-fight scenes themselves were ok, nothing special to note (the duels were far better though). Not that this was a bad movie, it wasn't, but I won't be watching it again nor will I recommend it to any other besides genre fans.
Summary of When the Last Sword Is Drawn
Yojiro Takita's epic film set at the end of the Edo period in Kyoto tells the story of Kanichiro Yoshimura, a lone Samurai whose sole purpose in life was to make enough money to support his family. His fellow warriors initially view him as dishonorable for this mercenary approach, especially Saito, another member of the Shinsengumi, guardians of the Imperial capital. It is here that Kanichiro proves himself time and time again as a master swordsman, eventually earning the respect of Saito and the other samurai.Action & Adventure DVD Video
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