Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the government attempts to eradicate the ancient Samurai warrior class in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly affected by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.

Directed by
Edward Zwick

Cast
Tom Cruise - Captain Nathan Algren
Timothy Spall - Simon Graham
Billy Connolly - Sergeant Zebulah Grant
Tony Goldwyn - Colonel Benjamin Bagley
Ken Watanabe - Katsumoto
Hiroyuki Sanada - Ujio
Shun Sugata - Nakao
Shin Koyamada - Nobutada
Seizo Fukumoto - Silent Samurai
Shichinosuke Nakamura - Emperor Meiji

Production Co.
Cruise/Wagner Productions (C/W Productions)
Bedford Falls
Interscope/Radar Pictures

Produced by
Ted Field
Richard Solomon
Charles Mulvehill

Studio
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

Writer
John Logan

Music
Hans Zimmer