This is the type of sweeping epic best enjoyed on The Strand's giant screen in 45 speaker surround-sound!

An American military advisor (Cruise) embraces the Samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle.

Tom Cruise spent almost two years in preparation for this movie, including swordplay instruction and Japanese-language lessons.

Contrary to a popular misconception, the title of this movie does not refer to Captain Nathan Algren (Cruise), nor Katsumoto (Watanabe), as the Last Samurai. The word "Samurai" here is in its plural form, and is actually referring to Katsumoto's clan as a whole.

The character of Katsumoto (Watanabe) is inspired by real-life samurai Saigo Takamori, who before leading a rebellion was a field marshal in the Imperial Army. This is briefly alluded to when Simon Graham (Timothy Spall) mentions Katsumoto once fought for the emperor. However, Katsumoto is only shown in traditional garb wielding traditional weapons, while Saigo wore modern clothing prior to and utilized modern weaponry during the rebellion.

Tom Cruise narrowly escaped potentially fatal injuries after a sword was swung within one inch of his neck while filming. He and his co-star Hiroyuki Sanada were acting out a sword fight scene when the incident happened. Sanada swung a sword at Cruise who was on an off-camera mechanical horse at the time. But the machine reportedly malfunctioned and failed to duck at the right moment. Sanada stopped the blade just one inch from his neck.

Friday, April 23 7:30pm

Sunday Matinee, April 25  2:00pm

2003 Rated 'R' | Runtime 2 hr, 34 min