The Last Samurai
(Additional Music)

Directed by Edward Zwick

Score available from Amazon and iTunes.

One of the most important pieces I wrote for The Last Samurai was the ninja attack. I’ve always had a reputation for writing good action music.  My first attempt at the scene was to score it only with percussion, to make the ninjas feel mechanically deliberate and brutal in their precision. It’s still largely percussive, but I couldn’t stop myself from bringing in a little bit of orchestra from time to time.