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Thursday, January 3, 2013

THE LAST SAMURAI [2003]

In The Face Of An Enemy, 
In The Heart Of One Man, 
Lies The Soul Of A Warrior.


This is Katsumoto's sword. 
He would have wanted you to have it. 
He hoped with his dying breath 
that you would remember his ancestors who held this sword, and what they died for. 
 May the strength of the Samurai be with you always. 
[Algren]




You want me to kill THE ENEMIES of Jappos, 
I'll kill THE ENEMIES of Jappos... Rebs, or Sioux, or Cheyenne... 
For 500 bucks a month I'll kill whoever you want. 
But keep one thing in mind: I'd happily kill you for free.  
[Algren]
There is some comfort in the emptiness of the sea, no past, no future. 
[Algren]

I belong to the warrior in whom the old ways have joined the new.
[Katsumoto]
The perfect blossom is a rare thing. 
You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.  
[Katsumoto]

My ancestors have ruled Japan for 2,000 years. 
And for all that time we have slept. 
During my sleep I have dreamed. 
I dreamed of a unified Japan. Of a country strong and independent and modern... 
And now we are awake. 
We have railroads and cannon, Western clothing. 
But we cannot forget who we are. 
Or where we come from.
[Emperor Meiji]

[Emperor Meiji]: Tell me how he died. 
[Algren]: I will tell you how he lived. 

[Katsumoto]: You believe a man can change his destiny? 
[Algren]: I think a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed.  

[Katsumoto]: The Emperor could not hear my words. 
His army will come. 
For nine hundred years, my ancestors have protected our people. 
Now... I have failed them.
[Algren]: So you will take your own life? 
In shame? 
Shame for a life of service? 
Discipline? 
Compassion? 
[Katsumoto]: The way of the Samurai is not necessary anymore.
[Algren]: Necessary? What could be more necessary? 
[Katsumoto]: I will die by the sword. My own, or my enemy's. 
[Algren]: Then let it be your enemy's.


[Higen]: Will you fight the white men, too? 
[Algren]: If they come here, yes.
[Higen]: Why? 
[Algren]: Because they come to destroy what I have come to love.


*****

1 comment:

  1. Frozen words in my soul: Do not ask how I died, but how I lived!

    ReplyDelete