Samurai - The Last Warrior. The Path of Honor, the Sword of Revenge (Documentary)

This is not an all singing, all dancing "action adventure" movie with big celebrities like Tom Cruise etc in like "The Last Samurai", but to my mind and anyone that is interested in what the Samurai were; how, when and why they came into existence, Japanese history and the importance of the Samurai Code in today's modern world, then this has to be the best documentary on the market to understand the heart, soul and spirit of the Samurai.

Presented by two of the greatest leading figures on the subject; Dave Lowry & Dr Stephen Turnbull turn what would have possibly been a dull, dry history lesson into a fascinating and colourful story. It's not just "talking heads" either, there's plenty of short clips from movies like "The Last Samurai" and "Shogun" to keep you riveted all the way through.

WARNING!! UK viewers - Please make sure that your DVD can play with Region 1 DVD's and that your TV is NTSC compatible first.

If you enjoy this do look out for NOVA's: "Secrets of the Samurai Sword" which is also a REGION 1 + NTSC DVD. This video explains the intricate details of how a Samurai sword is made from start to finish - 6 months and 15 men later.

There seems to be some major confusion about these two similar titles - SAMURAI: The last Warrior narrated by Dr. Stephen Turnbull and SAMURAI: The last Warriors hosted by David Carradine Even the distributors seem to have these titles confused and no one can really say which one they are selling. I have the one by Dr. Stephen Turnball (the last Warrior) and it was very informative but would love to get the other title hosted by David Carradine but cannot seem to find a seller who knows what copy they have. If anyone out there in movie land knows where I can get the one hosted by David Carradine SAMURAI: The Last Warriors I would appreciate it if you could contact me at [...]
Thank you
Dan

It seems that the creators of this documentary could not decide on a target audience. I have studied Japanese history and found the contents of the documentary rather superficial. My family, however, have a rudimentary knowledge of Japanese culture and found the presentation somewhat confusing. They are not familiar with the names of Japanese historical figures or the historical significance of the battles discussed in the film, so it was a bit difficult for them to make the connections of names and places repeated throughout the commentary.

That being said, we are using the confusion of the film as motivation to learn more about the individual samurai/shogun/daimyo and the battles mentioned so that all will make sense upon our next viewing of the DVD. So, YES, it is worth watching multiple times!

Excellent documentary, on par with the best of History Channel or A&E productions. Perhaps the only, definitive history of these valiant warriors, from their historic emergence, to their place in folklore. Highly recommended.

On watching this documentry, i found it very informative and learned alot about Japanes culture. If you are interested in the life of the samuria this is a very good dvd to buy.