The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Edward Zwick
Produced by	Marshall Herskovitz Edward Zwick Tom Cruise Paula Wagner Scott Kroopf Tom Engelman
Screenplay by	John Logan Edward Zwick Marshall Herskovitz
Story by	John Logan
Starring	Tom Cruise Timothy Spall Ken Watanabe Billy Connolly Tony Goldwyn Hiroyuki Sanada Koyuki
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Cinematography	John Toll
Edited by	Steven Rosenblum Victor Dubois
Production companies	Radar Pictures The Bedford Falls Company Cruise/Wagner Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	November 20, 2003 (2003-11-20) (Tokyo) December 5, 2003 (2003-12-05) (United States)
Running time	154 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Japanese
Budget	$140 million
Box office	$456.8 million

The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic historical war film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz. The film stars Tom Cruise, who also co-produced, with Timothy Spall, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki, and Shin Koyamada in supporting roles.

Tom Cruise portrays a formerly retired officer of the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in 19th Century Japan. The film's plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and the westernization of Japan by foreign powers, though in the film the United States is portrayed as the primary force behind the push for westernization. To a lesser extent it is also influenced by the stories of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War and Frederick Townsend Ward, an American mercenary who helped Westernize the Chinese army by forming the Ever Victorious Army.