听 User Rating 
Tom Cruise slices and dices his way through the "bloody and brilliant" historical epic The Last Samurai, playing an American cavalry captain who goes the way of the warrior. Its grand proportions, weighty themes, and TC's dodgy whiskers had many talking Oscar, but all to no avail. The film garnered mixed reviews and 聴 while doing respectable business 聴 failed to make a killing at the box office. And so comes this two-disc DVD, seemingly designed to assure us that The Honour of The Cruise remains intact.
Cruise Control
Nobody does earnest like TC, and A Warrior's Journey is testament to that. Waffling on about transcending his body to achieve a higher level of spirituality and mind-body "control", this featurette could be mistaken for Scientologist propaganda, with a little samurai swordplay thrown in. Twelve minutes of this, and you'll be begging the aliens to take you away.
Off With His Ed!
Director Edward Zwick's video journal is even less ingenuous, merely a compilation of behind-the-scenes clips with a voiceover so dull it could send you seppuku. He dwells torturously on minor points while consistently sweeping over the bigger picture. Frankly, even he sounds bored. The same applies for the audio commentary in which he shifts between morose and merely mechanical.
However, out on a sunny veranda and In Conversation with Tom Cruise, Zwick's mood seems to lighten. Predictably though, this t锚te-脿-t锚te descends into such an unashamed love-in, you'll feel inclined to leave the room just to give them some privacy.
Just The Facts
On the upside, a documentary that provides a historical context for The Last Samurai is an unusually lively affair, hosted by what looks like a refugee from the set of GoodFellas 聴 leather jacket, gloves and all. Perhaps that's why you'll be inclined to believe him when he tells you the meaning of Bushido, capiche? There's also a handful of featurettes on production design, costuming, and weaponry, which provide a detailed and instructive look at how the filmmakers achieved period authenticity.
While there are only two deleted scenes, The Beheading stands out for an incisive dissection by one of the film's special effects bods. It's one of too few moments of down-and-dirty practical insight in a vast array of extras that are otherwise concerned with espousing the lofty ideals of the samurai. Taken altogether, it's barely a cut above the average.
EXTRA FEATURES
