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The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai is a 2003 historical war film that stars Tom Cruise as a disillusioned Civil War veteran who travels to Japan to help wipe out the Samurai, but then comes to learn their ancient ways after he is captured. The film was directed by Edward Zwick (Glory).
The following weapons were used in the film The Last Samurai:
Winchester Model 1873
In the beginning of the film, Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) shows off and fires a Winchester 1873 at a trade show, according to Nathan it is a lever action rifle with a seven shot capacity. Zebulon Gant (Billy Connolly) also uses a Winchester 1873 in the fog battle scene. Algren states it is a '73 trapper, which could hold 6 + 1 in the chamber, yet you can see it is a Saddle Ring Carbine as evident by the saddle ring seen on the left side of the reciever.
Colt 1860 Army Richards-Mason Conversion
Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) uses a Colt 1860 Army revolver, converted for use with metallic cartridges, while training Japan's army. One memorable scene with this gun is when Nathan Algren draws his Colt to scare a training soldier into shooting him and proving that the soldiers are not ready to battle the samurai.
Colt Single Action Army
Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwyn) also uses a Colt Single Action Army during the final charge scene.
Smith & Wesson Schofield
Algren uses a Smith & Wesson Schofield during his first battle with the samurai.
Springfield Model 1861
The Imperial Army of Japan uses Springfield 1861 muzzle-loading rifles as their standard issued weapons during the first half of the movie. Unlike many muzzle-loaders, some of these guns appear to be able to fire two shots before having to reload, all though this could be incorrect. But this could be a trick of the camera where the line of soldiers reloaded, and fired again, or a another line assembled off camera.
Enfield 1853
Along with the Springfield Model 1861, Japanese troops were also equipped with British 1853 Enfield rifles during their training with Algren.
Mauser M1871/84
In the second half of the movie, the Japanese Imperial Army carries German bolt-action Mauser M1871/84 rifles, in spite of the fact they were supposedly being armed by the US. The soldiers carrying the M1871/84 model is anachronistic because the 84 model was not introduced until 1884 and the battle takes place in 1877.
Howitzer
The Imperial Army is shown training with Howitzers after Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) comes back from being with the samurai for a few months. The Howitzers are later used in the final battle scene. Both the Mountain Howitzer and the Field Howitzer are the same caliber projectile, but require different powder charges. The movie utilized the Field Howitzer as shown in the screen shots below.
Gatling Gun
The Imperial Army uses Gatling Guns to slaughter the remaining samurai in the final charge scene. According to Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwyn), "These guns can fire two hundred rounds a minute, and their new cartridges have cut down on jamming." These particular guns were heavily repaired by Master Armorer, Gary Harper, onsite, prior to shooting.
