Movie – Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai (1954) – A small farming village is threatened by repeated bandit attacks.  They decide to hire samurai warriors to defeat the bandits once and for all.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa  Starring – Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura

Generally acknowledged as one of, if not the, greatest Japanese film of all time.  Most American audiences know it best as the inspiration for the classic western “The Magnificent Seven”.  The movie is a sprawling almost three and a half hour long experience.  It comes with an intermission, no less.  Yet, the time flew by as you are drawn into the story here.

So many things to say about this movie.  At the same time, there’s almost no point in going on and on.  Much of it is just left to be experienced.  “Seven Samurai” doesn’t feel like a 60+ year old movie.  A large part of that is because it continues to have a powerful influence on movie making.  There are many themes and plot elements that we see regularly that stem from this one movie.  You will feel like you’ve seen the story before.  The reality is that you have, but this is the root from which those other movie experiences grow.  Kurosawa does a great job balancing the violence, the comedy, the romance, the sense of honor and the ugliness of combat.

Originally the story only involved six samurai but the director, who also co-wrote the script, decided that the movie needed a character less disciplined and stoic than the traditional samurai.  So they created Kikuchiyo and moved Toshiro Mifune into that slot.  During filming the director allowed Mifune an unprecedented chance to improvise and make the role his own.  What resulted was a character that you won’t forget soon.  He prances and struts and brags and cowers.  More than anyone else it is Kikuchiyo that will change the most in the story and inspire change around him.

Made by the same studio, at the same time as “Godzilla”.  The combination of the budgets for those two movies very nearly destroyed Toho Company who produced them.  In the end they were faced with a “too big to fail” scenario.  The movies had to be completed if they were to have any chance of survival.  The results speak for themselves.

Why I Liked It : Brilliant visual story telling, Mifune’s performance,

Why You Will Like It : Great action scenes, wonderful characters, Mifune’s performance as a man desperately trying to be what he claims to be.  Perfect comic moments.

Rating – ***** Highest Recommendation