Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai) (1954)

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  September 9, 2011

  FilmFanatik

  Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is not merely a film classic, but a film great. One that, like Kurosawa's other work, has lived on through critics and film enthusiasts alike. The story itself has been remade countless times in different settings, different time periods and with di... read morefferent story aspects, but the original film still manages to remain untarnished. It's just as spectacular as it was when it first premiered in 1954. It's considered by the country it originates from to be the greatest Japanese film ever made, and I can definitely understand why. It's absolutely superb in ever detail. Its nearly 3 1/2 hour length will likely turn off most modern viewers, but those looking for a great film experience need look no further.

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  July 14, 2011

  axadntpron

  Cliched as it may seem, you cannot help but respect this film. Not only is the scale of the film epic, but the story is nuanced and much more than a series of battle sequences. It is a story of class struggle and Kurosawa isn't afraid to take his time to let you get to know these... read more characters. Takashi Shimura is terrific as usual as the leader of the pack Kambei. Seven Samurai has a lot to say and we can thank God that Kurosawa keeps it interesting throughout the entire 3 and 1/2 hours.

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  January 13, 2011

  hunterjt13

  As I watched what is widely considered Kurosawa's masterpiece, I realized that this is quite possibly the most imitated film in American cinema (that is that American cinema imitates this film most often; I know that The Seven Samurai is not an American film unlike one Net... read moreflix reviewer who seemed shocked that it was in Japanese; what bothered me most is that two people found that review helpful). The samurai, motivated by honor and charity, agree to protect a peasant village from invading bandits. The basic plot is ancillary to Kurosawa's two major achievements.
  First, virtually all of the characters are round. Oftentimes action movies fill the protagonist army with one or two characters who serve merely as brawn, window dressing, or cannon fodder. But here each samurai who meets his end is its own tragedy. And while Kurosawa doesn't waste too much time on back-story, the fore-grounding drama is always compelling, always interesting, and always more complex than what typical films allow.
  Second, the opening title cards tell us quite plainly that the bandits are the "bad guys." In another film, they would be given red light sabers. But when we finally get to see the bandits' camp, we're struck by the similarity between the bandits' lives and the villagers'. One of the bandit houses is set on fire, and to validate the bandits' "badness," a woman notices the blaze but neglects to warn anybody. This is the closest Kurosawa comes to demonizing the enemy. Additionally, whereas the samurai are willing the spare the life of a prisoner, the village elder permits his execution by a blood-thirsty crowd and a woman avenging her son. Thus, Kurosawa does what few action films even attempt: he problematizes reductive conceptions of "good" and "evil." Throughout The Seven Samurai, we always know who we're going to root for, but in Kurosawa's hands, we can't be uncritical of our heroes.
  For modern audiences used to sharp, stylized action sequences, this film might seem a bit dated. For me, I didn't really care because such sequences rarely adequately compel me. I did have issues with the performances, which I thought were often over-the-top with screaming and yelling where subtlety might have worked better.
  Overall, this is an important film, the progenitor of a genre, and almost all of it stands the test of time.

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  December 31, 2010

  TomBowler

  An incredible achievement in early film and a kick-ass action film to boot. Full review later.

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  October 31, 2010

  gokhale1

  Akira Kurosawa's 1954 masterpiece, "Shichinin no Samurai" needs no introduction. It is, as every serious film buff would agree, one of the greatest and most influential films ever made.
  
  Words aren't enough to describe this timeless classic, which has been a source of inspirati... read moreon for countless films that followed..many of them action films, Spaghetti Westerns, etc.
  
  In sixteenth century Japan, a village is under the threat of an attack by bandits who plan to rob them of their crops after the harvest. The villagers go the village elder to seek advice. He suggests hiring Samurai to defend the village. Now, the Samurai are a feared lot. Knowing that they are infamous for their lust for young women and are also known to be expensive, they villagers initially show reluctance. The wise elderly man then advises to "find hungry Samurai" and hire them.
  
  And so it begins, the first act, which mostly involves the herculean task of finding Samurai who would come to their village, participate in a life-threatening battle against the bandits, only in return for shelter and daily meals. The task is not an easy one, but the first Samurai they manage to convince is himself a wise, experienced and a man possessing leadership qualities. He feels deeply for the villagers who are trying their best to rope him in by eating millet themselves and saving all the rice they have for the Samurai.
  
  He promptly takes up the task of finding himself some more Samurai.
  
  It is in these scenes that the magic of this film begins to show with some of the most cleverly executed sequences that include "testing" of the Samurai to find out if they are indeed fit for the job. Club that with the "reluctant heroes", who aren't initially willing to take up the job, but eventually do. Here we are introduced to the prime characters in the film, the Seven Samurai:
  
  
  Kanbei Shimada (Takashi Shimura) - The leader of the group, the wisest of them all, who is the first one recruited.
  
  Katsushiro Okamoto (Isao Kimura) - A young ambitious warrior who wishes to be Kanbe's disciple.
  
  Gorobei Katayama (Yoshio Inaba) - A skilled archer.
  
  Shichiroji (Daisuke Kato) - An old acquaintance of Kanbei, meets him by chance in the town and instantly becomes part of the group.
  
  Heihachi Hayashida (Minoru Chiaki) - Known for his sense of humour, the group relies on him to maintain a sense of cheer in the face of adversity.
  
  Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi) - The reluctant hero, an excellent swordsman, who initially declines, but later accepts the offer. Kambei thinks very highly of him, as he sees him perform.
  
  Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune) - The last addition to the group. He isn't really a Samurai but later proves to be as worthy.
  
  
  All of them march towards the village with the happy villagers and so begins the second act, which mostly involves building of the master plan to defend the village, training the villagers to form an army and prepare for defense. The third act is the battle itself.
  Amidst all this, we are shown the internal conflicts amongst the Samurai and the villagers, the blooming, secret romance between the youngest Samurai and a particular village belle and several other themes.
  
  
  Apart from the Samurai there is a whole bunch of wonderful characters including Yohei (Bokuzen Hidari), the timid old man, Manzo (Kamatari Fujiwara), Manzo's daughter Shino (Keiko Tsushima), Rikichi (Yoshio Tsuchiya) among many others.
  
  Acting is great from almost all of the cast, notably Kurosawa regulars, Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune but it would be unjust to single out particular performances. All of the actors display utmost sincerity in portraying their respective characters and turn in memorable performances.
  
  The ace camerawork combined with some brilliant direction from Akira Kurosawa make this film an unforgettable experience. In spite of the film being made in the 50s the battle sequences are simply breathtaking and far superior in quality compared to films in the later decades.
  
  
  "Seven Samurai" is one of those rare films, which while watching, you simply forget that it is a foreign language film. You quickly become comfortable with reading the subtitles as the picture itself is so engrossing, and you instantly relate to the characters. You really don't care that you don't understand the language.
  
  At the end of those 200 odd minutes of the film, you know that you have just seen something magnificent and larger than life!
  
  10/10.

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  September 25, 2010

  animegirlaya

  So i have Just watched Seven Samurai agine and it is one of the best movies Japan has ever made. This isn't the only Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece.
  
  The premise: in chaotic 16th century Japan, as marauders threaten raid villages, one village hires samurai to defend it from a gro... read moreup of bandits. Yet Kurosawa developed these characters in a way unheard of for what might pass as an epic action film. To its astonishing credit, through all of its 207 minutes running time, Seven Samurai never falters or bores. And if the script is a marvel in itself, the acting and production design than derive from it are nothing short of superlative. It is said that Kurosawa forced the villagers to live together as a community during production and be their characters, each and every one of which he had drawn out specifically. This unusual technique gave Seven Samurai a feel of authenticity unparalleled in film history.
  
  The samurai themselves are so richly given life to in the screenplay that little more would have been needed to make them memorable characters, yet the main cast pay off at every turn, and though every one of the seven main actors give in perfect performances, two immortal roles have a particularly resounding effect: Takashi Shimura, who plays the leader of the ragged band of samurai, gives his sage and venerable warrior a god-like intensity that makes the magnetic charisma of his character unquestionable. One of the easiest leaders to root for in all the history of film-making. Stealing the show however, albeit by a very thin margin, is longtime Kurosawa favorite coworker Toshiro Mifune as the rogue seventh, the black sheep of the herd, giving the bravura ultimate performance of a lifetime paved throughout with great roles.
  
  The story follows them and the villagers, equally nuanced and developed, through their encounter, training, eventual bonding and the big inevitable fight for survival. Unlike subsequent very successful remakes, seven Samurai transcended excellency by having many layers and thus being very real and human. Even without the menace, its interpersonal dynamics would have made it perfect human drama, subtle, balancing comedy, intensity, realism, drama and a deep philosophy with astonishing ease, yet the menace does materialize and thus Seven Samurai unleashes its violence in a series of action scenes crafted with such vision and ingenuity as has ever reached an action film.
  
  In the end, what made this into solid gold was, at the core, Akira Kurosawa, who would, despite directing many further masterpieces (Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Red Beard, Dersu Uzala, Kagemusha, Ran), would never top this one. Throughout his life, Kurosawa kept confirming his status as perhaps the greatest director ever. If so, Seven Samurai is the ultimate proof of that truth.
  
  Keiko's Score 100%

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  August 1, 2010

  bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1

  i thought it was really boring and way too long. i just don't see what's so great about the movie. it's not a bad movie but I just couldn't get into the movie. I really tried to like it but I just didn't that much. it did have good parts to it though. C

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  July 2, 2010

  nelsonpickens

  Arguably the greatest war epic ever made, and without a doubt one of the greatest movies of all time. Kurosawa's 1954 film is a veritable textbook on how to shoot, cut, frame and present violence on screen. It's clearly one of the most influential films ever made, and remains awe... read more-inspiring even today.

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  January 27, 2010

  DrBenway

  A well crafted and emotionally engaging film. Kurosawa's approach not only focuses on drawing our sympathy toward the villagers, but we feel the same for the samurai for their compassion and bravery. We also get a real sense of 16th century Japanese society. Each group, includ... read moreing the bandits, have their own theme music. The interactions between villagers and samurai are frequently awkward, each group having its' reasons not to trust the other. Over 3 hours long, it never drags and even leaves me wanting more each time I see it. This is a film of great drama and humanity which demands your attention and should gain your appreciation.
  
  

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  January 19, 2010

  ythelastman89

  Seven Samurai is a masterpiece, there's no doubt about it. While it's not necessarily my favorite film by Akira Kurosawa, it is definitely his most powerful work. Toshiro Mifune steals the entire movie, Kikuchiyo is a character that no one can forget. He has a great deal of chara... read morecter development and has the most investment in the battle. The conclusion of his life is nothing short of heroic. The style Kurosawa brings to this, like all of his films, is outstanding. Everything is extremely well planned and precise. The look of the film is utterly beautiful, the final battle is perfectly dark and tragic. There is an incredible sense of imagery that cannot be forgotten as well. I think it's a movie that everyone should sit down and see at least once. It is truly an epic, clocking in at 3 1/2 hours, but it goes by so fast that you don't even notice it.

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• Takashi Shimura as Kambei leader of samurai
• Toshiro Mifune as Kikuchiyo would-be samurai
• Yoshio Inaba as Gorobei wise warrior
• Seiji Miyaguchi as Kyuzo swordsman
• Minoru Chiaki as Heihachi amiable samurai
• Daisuke Katô as Shichiroji Kambei's friend
• K.O. as Katsushiro young samurai
• Kuninori Kodo as Gisaku village elder
• Ichiro Chiba as Priest

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• • Kambei leader of samurai: So. Again we are defeated. The farmers have won. Not us.
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• • Kikuchiyo would-be samurai: What do you think of farmers? You think they're saints? Hah! They're foxy beasts! They say, "We've got no rice, we've no wheat. We've got nothing!" But they have! They have everything! Dig under the floors! Or search the barns! You'll find plenty! Beans, salt, rice, sake! Look in the valleys, they've got hidden warehouses! They pose as saints but are full of lies! If they smell a battle, they hunt the defeated! They're nothing but stingy, greedy, blubbering, foxy, and mean! God damn it all! But then who made them such beasts? You did! You samurai did it! You burn their villages! Destroy their farms! Steal their food! Force them to labour! Take their women! And kill them if they resist! So what should farmers do?
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