Seven Samurai   (Shichinin no samurai)         

Released in 1954 

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Seiji Miyaguchi,  

Directed by Akira Kurosawa  

Music by Fumio Hayasaka

Country:  Japan

Distributed by Toho (Japan) And Colombia Pictures (US)

Genre: Action-Drama

Running time: 207 minutes

MPAA: PG-13

My rating: 5 out of 5 (to be honest 8 is more appropriate than 5)


    In the 17th century, during the edo era, a poor village of feudal Japan is raided every year by a gang of bandits who stole the farmer's harvest and took away all there is to take. That's why the villagers decided to hire some samurai in order to defend their little community. Kambei a samurai master accepts the task and demands seven samurai including him to protect the village and their people. It's the story of warriors that offer their strength to helpless farmers through a hopeless fight. The bandits led by avidity or the samurai led by  honor and duty, who will prevail?
 
   To my mind the strength of this movie is the definition of heroism that Kurosawa teaches us. It seems to me that seven brave men defending farmers that aren't completely poor and starved moreover for a quite rubbish reward are true heroes. That's why I really love this film because the director shows us that the villagers are not so desperate and poor, but what matters for samurais is to do what their conscience dictates them what to do: to protect the village at any cost. I was surprised to see the relations between the countryman and the saviors that they hired, there is a lot of confusion at the beginning, but this situation evolves through the movie. We may wonder if the farmers are aware of the sacrifice of the samurai and realise that this is a disadvantageous fight, at forty against seven there is no dream of complete victory without casualty. In this film Kurosawa plays with us by alternating fight scenes and faces with expressions. Of course the whole thing is orchestrated by Fumio Hayasaka who gives us one of the most epic original soundtrack I have ever heard. 
 
 
   This movie has been mostly criticized for his running time, which is quite long, it would be a lie to say that this film is really easy to watch nowadays. Moreover, if you are not into samurai films you may not be as interested in this universe as I do, and by the plot as well. As a matter of fact there are some errors in this movie, for example the wigs that are used to imitate bald villagers, they have kept my attention for a few minutes. I would be tempted to say that we can't blame both this film and the director for a few errors in this masterpiece.

 

    About the characters, each samurai has a different personality and obviously there are some cliché like "the apprentice who wants to prove his value" or "the lonely and quiet samurai that is the most skilled warrior" which give a charm to the movie. Also, the performances are really nice, especially for Toshiro Mifune (Kikuchiyo) who is the heart of this film. To my mind he is the character that makes the story evolve and moreover he is the pillar of the film thanks to his raw emotions that he brings to the film, he is able to be funny, serious and strongly emotional at the same time. The other actors are convincing in their respective roles, Takashi Shimura (Kambei) is a brilliant one through his role of the old master because he is really serious and captivating as well. It seems to me that the samurai spirit was well transcribed by Kurosawa through the characters.

    I assume that everyone may not appreciate this movie because the plot is a bit long to take place. However, Seven Samurai is one of the best Japanese film of his genre. I would be tempted to say that this is a must-see, particularly if you enjoy emotional sequences and if you want to take a look at the very soul of human being. 

 Here is the trailer!






And now why don't you take a look at this? that's quite a good remake. But remember guys: Often imitated, never matched!



Dorian Goffin