The Last Samurai

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• Tom Cruise narrowly escaped potentially fatal injuries after a sword was swung within one inch of his neck while filming. He and his co-star Hiroyuki Sanada were acting out a sword fight scene when the incident happened. Sanada swung a sword at Cruise who was on an off-camera mechanical horse at the time. But the machine reportedly malfunctioned and failed to duck at the right moment. Sanada stopped the blade just one inch from his neck.
• Movie Goof (continuity error): During the ninja fight when Katsumoto is at a stand off with two ninjas, one ninja has a sword and the other is holding two sai. In a close-up of the ninjas, both are holding swords, and then in the next shot of both ninjas, they have their original weapons again.
• Movie Goof (revealing mistake): During the final battle when the samurai are lighting bales of hay on fire to cover their retreat, the fire spreads to the last two visible bales before the rider on horseback reaches them with his torch.
• This film was inspired by a project developed by writer and director Vincent Ward. Ward became executive producer on the film - working in development on it for nearly four years and after approaching several directors (Coppola, Weir), he interested Edward Zwick. The film went ahead with Zwick and was shot in Ward's native New Zealand.