Seven Samurai (1954)

Average rating

(72%)

Starring:	Takashi Shimura \| Toshiro Mifune \| Yoshio Inaba \| Minoru Chiaki \| Daisuke Kato \| Yoshi Inaba \| Seiji Miyaguchi \| Keiko Tsushima
Director:	Akira Kurosawa
Studio:	BFI VIDEO
Run time:	190 mins
Collections:	100 must-see movies \| 100 Swords and Sandals Films
Genres:	Action/Adventure \| World Cinema
Languages:	Japanese
Subtitles:	English
Released:	November 22, 1999

Set in 16th Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa's epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to fight for them. However, the poor villagers can merely offer payment in the form of shelter and a daily bowl of rice, and initially only Kambei (Takashi Shimura), a brave elder samurai, and his eager young apprentice, Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), take up their cause. Encountering various nomadic warriors on the streets, they slowly put together his team of swordsmen, recruiting Shichiroji (Daisuke Kato), Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), and Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi). Finally, Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune), a scruffy wanderer who has been trailing them, completes the small band of ronin. However, upon reaching the village, the samurai learn that the farmers fear them as much the enemy. Despite the tensions, Kambei and his men slowly train the peasants to defend their village. Eventually the warriors launch a preemptive strike against the bandits, and begin a series of intense conflicts that culminates in a rain-soaked final battle--without a doubt, one of the most stunning sequences in cinema history.
Widely considered to be the greatest Japanese film ever made, Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI is also credited with pioneering the modern action movie. This notion is especially evident in thrilling scenes such as Kambei's rescue of a kidnapped child, Kyuzo's duel, and Kikuchiyo's intensive theft of an enemy gun. Although the film clocks in at more than three hours, the story remains consistently engaging and slowly heightens the tension while providing action, drama, comic relief, and character development. Gleefully running amuck, Mifune gives one of his most renowned performances, imbuing the often comical Kikuchiyo with a surprising streak of melancholy and introspection. However, it is Shimura that anchors the entire film as the thoughtful and courageous Kambei, who stoically takes on the leadership of an almost impossible task. A monumental achievement in filmmaking, Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI is cinematic perfection in nearly every aspect, giving the production its much-deserved status as one of the best films ever created.

Radio Times

One of the undisputed masterpieces of world cinema, Akira Kurosawa's epic was inspired by the westerns of John Ford and had the compliment repaid with John Sturges's classic reworking, The Magnificent Seven. Showered with international awards, the film is a mesmerising combination of historical detail, spectacular action and poignant humanism. Over 18 months in production, it has been described as “a tapestry of motion”, with the final battle standing out for its audacious use of moving camera, telephoto lenses, variegated film speeds and precision editing. Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune are the pick of an excellent cast, but it's the late director's genius that leaves the truly lasting impression.

Rating of 4 stars out of 5
Halliwell's Film Guide

Superbly strange, vivid and violent medieval adventure which later served as the basis for the Western The Magnificent Seven and the science-fiction film Battle Beyond the Stars.

Highest rated reviews

312 out of 369 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1.0 stars
ALL IN JAPANESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SerieuxMortel from from The North, 30th November, 2007

Had been looking forward to seeing this film for some time as my film studies lecturer at Bangor Uni used to rave about Kawasaki's films all the time. This is the 1st Kawasaki film I've seen and I can honestly say I don't want to bother with any others. If it was dubbed it might have notched my approval rating up another star but this is all in Japanese and so you have to keep pressing pause to read all the dialogue - yep! There's a load of talking in this film - and towards the end my thumb was aching so much that I could hardly be bothered. What was supposed to be a 3hr 10min film became, with all the neccessary freeze-framing, a whopping 5 and a half hours. Not bad if you have four eyes or no job to go to in the morning. This is not a PATCH on any of the readily available dubbed Japanese films like Bruce and Ang Lee's efforts. Was prepared to give it a go, under the illusion that even though it is in B&W there must be some pretty impressive fight scenes to justify its reputation, but was left sorely disappointed. The acting is totally unrealistic: everyone just shouts angrily at each other. At one point the village is stunned because some guy is chopping his bobble off - WHAT? For real fans of Japanese cinema I recommend Tom Cruise's virtuoso performance in The Last Samurai. Defintitely give this one a miss, unless you have a beard and glasses and want to dupe a girl into thinking you're cultured as part of some bourgeois seduction technique - but be warned, she might just DIE OF BOREDOM.

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85 out of 90 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 4.0 stars
The Shogun of the big screen

A Customer from Essex, 20th September, 2003

Akira Kurosawa's magnificent film combines an insightful meditation on the strategies of war with an equally brilliant examination of what drives people in their struggles to survive. Kurosawa's beautiful black and white depictions of battle (including the stunning finale taking place in a rain storm) are offset by some very moving subplots involving forbidden young love and the thankless task of defending those unable to repay and unwilling to respect.
For many people, Toshiro Mifune's rollicking extrovert Kikuchiyo is the most engaging character; but for me, Seiji Miyaguchi's quiet, committed Kyuzo is the film's center: he epitomizes the sacrifice and resolve that audiences gravitate to with admiration. Kurosawa works with passion and intensity but he's quite willing to stop for a moment to admire the natural beauty of the surroundings or to share a hearty laugh with the viewer. The film is always impressive--the wonder of it is that's impressive in ways both epic and intimate.

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41 out of 43 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5.0 stars
Pure Brilliance

Damian from Oxfordshire, 26th February, 2004

When you hear a lot of hype about a film you try not to believe much of it, because you're usually let down. This film however lived up to ALL of it's hype. A wonderful black and white movie about a group of 'Hungry Samurai' hired to protect a village from bandits. This movie has plenty of Samurai sword play and some great japanese humour, especially highlighted in Toshiro Mifune's performance of the Farmer come Samurai 'Kikuchiyo'. Later remade as the classic western 'The Magnificent Seven' this is possibly Akira Kurosawa's finest. If you love movies and have never seen this one, you simply must!

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