The Last Samurai When director Edward Zwick called, "Action!," on the set of The Last Samurai, he wasn't kidding! Though the human aspect lifts the epic film far above the standard action flick, this massive production is filled with impressive battle scenes and sword fights. As American military man, Captain Nathan Algren, Tom Cruise trained intensively for eight months in hand-to-hand combat, karate and Samurai style, two-handed sword fighting. He worked with sword master/choreographer …showed first 75 words of 1238 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1238 total…Watanabe, who plays the leader of the samurai with a wit as sharp as his sword. Works Cited DiOrio, Carl. 2004, Variety, B.O. doesn't tell 'Samurai' tale, 1/19/2004, Vol. 393 Issue 9, p6, 4/5p Dorment, Richard. 2004, The Last Samurai (Film). Interview, Dec2003/Jan2004, Vol. 33 Issue 11, p56 Fill, Grace. 2000, Upfront Fall Preview, Booklist, Jul2000, Vol. 96 Issue 21, p1974 Robert Smith Thompson; 2004, Empires on the Pacific: World War II and the Struggle for the Mastery of Asia, Basic Books, 2004, Revised Edition