The Last Samurai is a 2003 American
epic war film directed and co-produced by
Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with
John Logan. The film stars
Tom Cruise, who also co-produced, as well as
Ken Watanabe,
Shin Koyamada,
Tony Goldwyn,
Hiroyuki Sanada,
Timothy Spall, and
Billy Connolly. Inspired by a project by
Vincent Ward, it interested Zwick, with Ward later serving as executive producer. The film production went ahead with Zwick and was shot in Ward’s native
New Zealand.