MOVIE · 2003
The Last Samurai
ActionAdventureDramaWar154 min
In 1870s Japan, American captain Nathan Algren is hired by the emperor to train a new army in Western warfare as the country races toward modernization. Tom Cruise's Algren is sent into a conflict with samurai rebels and, after encountering Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), begins to understand the discipline and code behind a way of life the new government is trying to erase. Edward Zwick frames the story around imperial politics, military upheaval, and a country pulled between imported weapons and old loyalties, with sword combat and large-scale battles alongside Algren's shifting place in the struggle.
Find out what fits your taste.
Rate movies and shows in ReelRecs, save your next watch, and get personal recommendations from the Reel Recs online service. Free on iPhone and Android.
Where to watch in US
These offers have not all been recently verified. Check the provider for current availability.
Included with a subscription
Rent
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV
- Fandango At Home
- Google Play Movies
- Plex
- Spectrum On Demand
- YouTube
Buy
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV
- Fandango At Home
- Google Play Movies
- YouTube
Availability checked October 24, 2026. Offers can change. Rentals and purchases are separate from subscriptions.
More to consider
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
As American forces close in on Iwo Jima, the Japanese soldiers ordered to defend the island face a battle they know they may not survive. Clint Eastwood tells the World War II campaign from inside the Japanese ranks, fo…
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
After the Normandy landings in 1944, a squad of U.S. soldiers is sent into German-held France to find one paratrooper whose three brothers have been killed in battle. Tom Hanks is Captain John Miller, the Ranger officer…
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Christian Bale is Jim Graham, a privileged British boy in Shanghai whose sheltered life disappears when the Japanese invasion separates him from his parents and sends foreigners into internment camps. As Jim is forced t…
Catalogue checked October 30, 2026. Use ReelRecs with an assistant