"Dances With Wolves" Samurai-style?

Rating: Null/10 (8 June 2004)

I liked this movie, but was is it just me or was it a lot like Dances with Wolves except with a different culture being oppressed? Don't get me wrong, it was an excellent film. It just felt like a lot of the themes and ideas were being rehashed from Dances with Wolves. I'm talking mainly about the complete reversal of opinion Tom Cruise's character had about the Samurai. It's just like Kevin Costner's with the Indians. At first, they fight against the "savages", but then as they learn more about the cultures of the people, they are intrigued. Both characters are accepted by the people they had previously been enemies with, and both characters become part of their society, willing to fight and die for the "savage cultures" that they have become enamored with. To me, "Dances with Wolves" was original. "The Last Samurai", though an excellent film (well-directed, acted, and scripted) was not original in the least. Any thoughts?