1 aspect ratio with slight borders around the frame inorder for better viewing with most monitors . This edition contains the original mono sound track as well as a new stereo sound track , however , I prefer the original mono due to being an enthusiast . There are also two commentary selections . One is the original 1988 commentary of Michael Jeck from the 1998 Criterion , which is fantastic ! The second commentary is comprised of 5 film scholars , and each are given roughly 40 minutes of commentary spotlight in various parts of the film , which is also fantastic ! Listening to both commentaries gives you a greater understanding of this superb film .
The first disc also contains some production photos from the film as well as some posters of the film from several countries . The second disc contains the second half of the film right after the intermission with the continuation of the audio tracks . This second disc contains an extra feature called It Is Wonderful To Create , which is a 55 minute documentary of Akira Kurosawa's films with his collaborators .
The third disc contains a two hour interview with Akira Kurosawa as well as origins and influences of how this film came to fruition . I really wanted to see more interviews from the stars themselves , especially the great Toshiro Mifune . The third disc will probably be a one-time view . I believe , Criterion could've contained the film in its entirety on one disc and included all the extra features on the second disc inorder to streamline this otherwise great release .
Overall , an extremely satisfying new release of Seven Samurai that should definitely be included in any fans dvd collection . I have watched this film over a dozen times with great joy and satisfaction and now I can enjoy it even more with this wonderful collector's edition !
026 4 Looking through the many reviews , and looking at the one star efforts , I was amazed at the reasons given for being a bad film . A cheap Hong Kong effort , a rip off of The Magnificent Seven , a bad Hong Kong flick . . . . I reckon that some of the reviewers weren't paying attention or never saw Seven Samurai .
This is one of those rare films where the more you see it , the more you get out of it . It is drawn out and ponderous at times , but that adds to it's realism . The photography is brilliant in wonderful black and white . Kurosawa is at his peak in a story that explores the hearts of men , and obtains memorable performances from his Toho acting corps .
Takashi Shimura stands head and shoulders above all others in what is , apart from Ikiru , his finest film portrayal . Mifune may seem too over the top , but when you consider his characters background , it is a magnificent effort . The scene where he and the farmers burst into the room with armor and weapons taken from murdered Samurai tells plenty about the character of Kikuchiyo .
Most of the performances from the large cast are memorable , and there is even the first screen appearance of Tatsuya Nakadai as the second Samurai walking through the town .
This is not an action film , although there is the 3 days of fighting with the bandits , but more of a human adventure with little reward and great personal sacrifice .
A true classic that for me ends too soon !
044 4 The apex of Japanese Cinema . Never in all my life have i seen a finer film from this era . When a village learns of an attack , they hire seven samurai to protect them . Akira Kurosawa will forever be remembered as the genius who created this timeless classic .
I just wanted to say that Seven Samurai is NOT a Kung Fu . The battle sequences are not made to show one man beating up thirty agressors . The samurai movies show the frailty of life . They show that even the greatest warriors can be defeated . So please never compare a movie about samurai to a Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee flick again .
Also to those who complain about the way the movie was filmed , it was 1954 . There were no special effects that existed at the time . Movies had to have plots . One person attempts to compare Seven Samurai to Wing Commander , nominated for worst movie of the year , saying that wing commander had better special effects . Wing Commander was made in the 90 ' s . it should have better effects , but the fact of the matter is , wing commander had a horriable story . Seven Samurai is a brillent motion picture . Wing Commander sucked . To whoever tried to compare these two movies i would like to ask never write a review for a classic movie again . You just are not intelligent enough to understand a complex plot .
With all that said , Seven Samurai : One of the greatest movies ever made .
056 4 In one word - YES ! So many great things have been said about this movie , that I don't know if I could add anything new .
The American remake The Magnificent Seven was great , as was Disney's unofficial remake A Bug's Life . But nothing well ever top the original .
I feel sorry for those reviewers with short attention spans that were raised on MTV videos , who find this movie long and boring . Yes , this film is lengthy , but too me , this story is so involving that I simply lose track of time ! The great movies do that !
This was Toho Studios one-two punch for 1954 . Their other big movie that came out that year was the original Godzilla which also starred the great Takashi Shimura . Shimura plays Kimbei , the head samurai in Seven Samurai . This movie also introduced me to Japan's greatest actor , Toshiro Mifune who plays the drunken samurai wantabe , Kikuchiyo . For those who want to watch Mifune at one of his finest , check out Yojimbo . Another Kurosawa classic !
Kurosawa , in my mind is probably the greatest director of all time !
149 4 I probably watch this film once a month . Every detail that defines superb film making is addressed in this masterpiece : story , character development , drama , humor , action . . . the list goes on and on .
Also , the acting by Toshiro Mifune is some of his best work . And , like all of Kurosawa's films , the compositions of images on screen is flawless . His eye for visuals is one of the very best .
Although 3 + hours long , the movie flies by . Required viewing for any one who enjoys classic films , foreign , samurai flicks , or just plain quality .
022 4 I was simply amazed watching this film at how simple the tale was but at how masterfully crafted and told the story was written . This movie will seriously play upon your emotions and only a cold-hearted person , without emotion wouldn't be able to connect to this plot . Compassion , sadness , desperation , love and triumph are all prominent in this film . And the balance between these elements is impeccable .
The cinematography is masterful . There is an intense attention to detail . Every shot is masterfully done . The atmosphere will pull you right in . The acting is top notch and there absolutely no room for improvement in the script . It's just hard to say something bad about it . Even being a foreign film , Japanese too - [ and you know Japanese and Chinese movies have a lot of mythology involved that is hard for us Americans to understand . ] - but the plot is truly one that is worth high praise . Seven Samurai is a roller coaster of emotions and it gives an in depth view into the mind and soul of the warrior spirit . Seven Samurai is the best movie I've seen in a long time and definitely one of the greatest movies of all time . I'd gladly recommend this movie to anyone . 5 glowing stars . 10 if they were possible .
015 4 I can hardly decide what to say about this film . I grew up fascinated by samurai , and I'd heard great things about The Seven Samurai . I expected to appreciate but not really enjoy it . Well , I was half-right . The film is beautiful , and underscores time and time again why Kurasawa is considered the greatest Japanese filmmaker that ever lived . But I loved this film . The story is simple - - a small village is terrorized by bandits and hires sevin ronin ( masterless samurai ) to defend them . This simple story ( despite a few twists I won't tell you about ) doesn't detract at all , though : it allows Kurasawa to explore each character's ( not just the samurai ) motivation and personality and to create tension . What's even more surprising , I laughed . I had expected to laugh over bad translations and poor dubbing , but it wasn't there . What I did laugh at were , simply , Kurasawa's intentional jokes - - I thought it was a mouse ! Though it was a rather long movie , I sat spellbound throughout it , and was surprised it was over so quickly . This film is reason enough to mourn Kurasawa's death .
145 4 A serious contender for best film ever made .
In spite of being 3 + hours long , Kurosawa handles the pace so deftly that it scarcely seems that long at all . About as perfectly balanced as you could hope a film to be ; the humourous , lighthearted aspects complement the starker , unromantic depictions of peasant existence , which in turn are meshed expertly with the adeptlt-filmed action sequences . Emotional and compelling , stylish and profound , all at once . If there were a rating above 5 - stars , I'd award it .
029 4 Since there are over 300 reviews of this magnificent film already posted , I would like to discuss some aspects of this film that are rarely discussed .
The first of these two themes is the various roles and attributes of the heroic male . The second of the two themes is the depiction of classism and a stratified society .
However , before I comment on these two themes I must praise Kurosawa , the Director , for the incredible battle scenes . The level of realism , chaos , and accident is very high , giving the viewer a superb look into battle . As the layout of the village is drawn and repeatedly shown to the viewer in Kambei's maps , we fully understand the battleground and the rationale for defending specific sites and barrocading others . We understand Kambei's master strategy and its execution . We understand when it goes wrong or astray and we watch Kambei immediate correct the situation if possible . We see beserk men hacking at each other rather than an over stylized ballet posing as a battle scene . These battle scenes are masterful and rare . That being said , I would like to discuss the two themes I outlined above .
First , we see three distinct ways or paths of the hero in this film . We see the character Kyuzo , the master swordsman , a completely skilled killing machine , swift as a scorpion and calm as a cool breeze . He is a craftsman , sure of his talent and skill . He is also serene , having obviously attained a detachment from emotion and day-to-day worries . He takes his skill seriously , as seen in his first scene where a dueling partner progresses from sticks to swords and Kyuzo kills him within seconds . A second revealing scene is the great sequence where wildman Kikuchoiyo and steel-nerved Kyuzo become a team to track and kill the three bandit scouts . The third scene is wisely left to our immagination . Kyuzo learns that three of the bandits hidden in the forrest around the village has a rifle . Kyuzo leaves the compound alone in the fog of night and many hours later returns with a rifle in hand . He hands the rifle to Kambei and goes calmly to sleep . We see that Kyuzo , though a self contained killing machine , can work in partnership with a wildly unpredictable partner as well as follow instructions from the wise leader , Kambei . Kyuzo is seen in all cultures and in all times . He is the totally proficient warrior . He is the warrior that all younger warriors wish to emulate . But he is incomplete because he lacks one virtue , purpose beyond himself . Yet he is wise enough to be persuaded by Kambei and to follow Kambei's wise direction . It is purposefully ironic that Kyuzo is shot in the back by one of the three rifles in the film , since no one can beat him face to face with sword technology .
The character of Kikuchoiyo , the wild man who wishes to become a Samurai , the man who can not contain his energy or emotion , the force of nature , is an incredible character . He is the exact opposite of Kyuzo , the serene killing machine . He has little control of his emotions , is spontaneous and rage driven . Yet his character undergoes the most transformation in the film . He goes from being a lying drunken bully imposter to a force of great good , primarily through the strategic hands off mentoring of Kambei . We learn that he is not from a Samurai family but is the orphan of farmers killed by bandits . Kikuchoiyo first gives us a hint as to his background when he informs the samurai that farmers always have hidden resources on which to call , this secrecy being necessary for thier survival . However when the bandits attack the old miller and his family in the grist mill , Kikuchoiyo comes to the rescue and saves a baby boy from the dying arms of its mother . Kikuchoiyo breaks down in mid-action , holding the child in a stream with warfare surrounding him , and wails that this exact thing happened to him as a child . In the Jungian sense , Kikuchoiyo reclaimed his orphan child self at this point , he saves a real child but he also saves an inner psychic child within himself and thus this allows him to be a true Samurai rather than an imposter Samurai . He is a fighting force , full of emotion and power . He taps into the natural , biological forces of injustice in the final battle scenes . Ironically , this is what brings about his end , for those who fight with pure emotion exceed their bounds . When the rifleman bandit kills Kyuzo from behind a wooden screen , Kikuchoiyo is overtaken with rage and attacks the screen trying to pull it apart to reach the bandit . He takes a bullet in the belly but goes on fighting until he collapses .
This brings us to the final penacle of heroism , Kambei , the mastermind Samurai leader with a vast range of intellectual , interpersonal , and warrior skills . Kambei has a range of leadership skills including ; ability to make realistic assessments so as not to support unrealistic optimism , ability to use small resources to bring down much larger forces , ability to fight on the edges , the fringes , to deplete the resources and power of his enemy , ability to mentor other men by drawing out their unique talent and using that talent for the greater good , ability to judge the greater good from immediate gains , ability to change course in the middle of battle when the facts reveal that a new strategy is needed , abiltiy to recover quickly from loss and mve forward , and an ability to use humor and a personal relationship to move men toward action . Finally , he has incredible humility which allows him to make realistic assessments of conditions and resources and dynamics . Humility is an underestimated asset . Humility is essential to the leader because egotism and grandiosity cloud a man's vision . Humility keeps vision clear - an essential for survival and leadership .
Now we come to the second theme of the film , which is understanding the actions of all the characters witin a context of classism and a stratified society . The meek , clownlike , foolish farmers gradually are seen as far from timid fools . They survive amidst overwhelming odds . They hire ronin , which were the masterless unemployeed samurai soldiers that roamed Japan in the 16th century . In the end , four of the seven samurai are burried with distinction in the village cemetary , but as Kambei points out , it is the farmers that won the battle , they overcame a threat to their existence , the samurai being a tool by which they overcame the threat . When the village women kill a single bandit in a chicken house using garden hoes , we see evidence of the willingness of these farmers to fight for survival . However , the farmers , like the samurai , owe much to the realistic strategic leadership of Kambei .
Within this epic masterpiece are two subplots of great interest . First , young farmer Rikichi always seems to be hiding something and as the story progresses we learn that his young wife was stolen by the bandits and is now their sex slave . Rikichi volunteers to attack their camp and we learn it is to find his wife . However , as he peeps into the bandit lair , he sees her despondent and in deep grief . When she sees flames at both ends of the shack , her first instict is to scream , but her second is to remain silent in hopes that she and the bandits will all burn to death . She eventually runs from the shack but when she sees Rikichi , her overwhelming shame forces her to run back into the burning building where she is lost . The second subplot was the seduction of the young warrior Katshushiro by Shino , the daughter of Farmer Manzo . I have never seen such masterful body language as is demonstrated by Shino as she seduces the young man while maintaining the pretend role of the persued .
This is a fantastic work of art that almost defies description due to its depth and mastery of storytelling . It is a film where many forces of art converge to produce a rare masterpiece .
016 4 I'm technically not a samurai movie fan . The topic always seemed much too foreign for me to understand , and I've always had no desire whatsoever of seeing such a movie . But after reading all the superlative reviews about this film on this site and elsewhere , I decided to plunk down $30 and buy myself a samurai movie . And am I ever glad I did ! Seven Samurai absolutely blew me away with its wonderful imagery and its lively story-telling . Despite clocking in at a lengthy 207 minutes , the story never drags and there's never a dull moment ( there is an intermission halfway through , so plan your bathroom break for then . . . you * really * won't want to miss anything ) . The story is simple but told with such grace and perfection . It has all the necessary elements of a great classic movie : drama , violence , romance , and even comedy ! Director Akira Kurosawa really brings forth a ton of emotion with this movie , and it's absolutely unforgettable . The battle scenes will have you on the edge of your seat without all the graphic gore that's too common in today's films . But the movie is actually much more than battles : it's about the sacrifices some people make for others and how life isn't always fair . There's a lot of psychology in this film . Before you know it , you can't help but love and admire these seven samurai . This purchase was also my first Criterion Collection DVD , with which I'm also very impressed . The restoration was marvelously executed and the resulting print is crisp and clear ; other than for being in black and white , you'd never guess it was made in 1954 . The optional English subtitles are easy to read and benefit from a modern vocabulary and phraseology . The audio commentary from Japanese film expert Michael Jeck is extremely enlightening and informative . Not only does he explain Kurosawa's direction and scene / angle / lighting selections , but he also provides some historical background that helps flesh out the story for those of us who are unfamiliar with samurai films and Japanese history . A very worthy purchase . Get this one before it goes out of print !
129 4 Take a look at all the classics from the 40 ' s on : many of them balloon over 3 hours and in some cases , fall dangerously close to 4 . Now I have no issue with long films but I tend to like them better when the film kind of warrants it . JFK , one of my top 3 films ever , is at 3 hours and 15 or so and yet I never felt one ounce of it with me turning it off going that was a long movie ! Seven Samurai's strength , and also of director Akira Kurosawa's , is that we have an interest and we're able to maintain it throughout the entire film even if the basic plot is pretty easy . How newer films can't maintain interest with the same idea in an hour and a half is beyond me .
The premise is really easy to see : a village terrorized by bandits needs help so they send a couple of people into town to hire samurai , hoping that they can accept payment in rice and nothing else . They manage to find it though with 7 samurai : Kanbei , Katsushiro , Gorobei , Kyuzo , Heihachi and Shichiroji . The 7th , Kikuchiyo , is a pretty out-there guy who wants to be samurai but isn't one so he overcompensates . Then the battle is on as the 7 samurai make a defense against the incoming bandits .
Seven Samurai , despite its length , is arguably Kurosawa's most accessible . In a way like the Godfather and Apocalypse Now to Francis Ford Coppola or Raging Bull and Goodfellas to Martin Scorsese , those looking for a good test in whether they would like a Kurosawa film tend to look here , or at the very least , Rashomon . The characters are well-defined and memorable , each scene is important and it's also well-directed without being showy . The acting , especially by star Toshiro Mifune , will probably be a bit too noticeable . On first glance , it seems as if he's overdoing it , laughing maniacally , screaming and jumping all over . He reminded me of a bipolar Looney Tune that they didn't use . But then you realize that he overcompensates in everything he does , not only in his attitude but in his gigantic sword he has to carry around . If there is one complaint is that the 7 samurai and small villagers such as Shino , Hanzo and Rikishi are easily identifiable but some don't really have clearly defined personalities . Samurai like Heihachi or Shichiroji kind of blend into the background because Kikuchiyo , Kanbei or Katsushiro get so much screen time .
Since this is a Criterion , you're going to get a huge remastering and restoring effort . Do they succeed ? In part . The actual print is near flawless with nary and scratches or dust or anything . However , the main print seems off and there's a lot of vertical lines that show up , making the image look like it's raining . It ruins a great moment when Kyuzo returns from dispatching 2 guards and stealing a musket . Instead of him exiting an empty misty forest , the whole print just looks dirty . As for sound , it does sound great and well spaced out . People might go after the redone subtitles but honestly , they don't harm a thing .
The special features are also great but it doesn't look packed but there's quite a bit to get through . The commentary is informative but it's also a bit too stuffy , in that kind of boy I know so much tone and he also narrates some of the action , literally going : they look left , now they walk right , now they look right and they go left . I mean , that's not commentating , that's describing for people who are not blind it seems . The round table where one person gets a crack at commentating on a section at a time is better . We get a making-of that's pretty extensive and we get an informative sit-down interview with Kurosawa himself . If there is a complaint is that it's always fun to hear directors tell of inspirations so here we don't really get any in-depth looks at each of his films but he does mention them in certain contexts .
This film is literally the most expensive DVD purchase I've made but I don't regret it one bit . So if you can stomach the sometimes excessive price in some circles or its length , then you'll be treated to a rightly deserved title of one of the best movies ever .
131 4 Fantastic ! loads of extras and the image quality has been improved drastically in this release . if you're a fan , then this is the ultimate edition of this epic film .
161 4 Renowned the world over , Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai definitely deserves its status as an action masterpiece and staple of classic cinema . Though grand in scope , Kurosawa's opus is an intimate and thoughtful exploration of several distinct character types and their place in the world . It is this characterization and the director's leisurely yet ever-advancing pace that lends Seven Samurai much that makes it unique . Few movies - - action or otherwise - - offer as much to consider as this one . The cast is also superb , from Takashi Shimura's peerless samurai chief to Toshiro Mifune's wild samurai wanna-be to star-crossed lovers Keiko Tsushima and Isao Kimura ( whose love scenes are perhaps the most believably powerful yet filmed ) and everyone in-between . Over everything Fumio Hayasaka's magical score , simple but authoritative , hovers like a golden halo . In fact , though it is surely heresy to say so , I found the action scenes to be among the weaker moments in the film . By modern standards , they aren't nearly as spectacular as they must have been to 50s viewers . But while that might doom a lesser action film , Seven Samurai enthralls despite this minor drawback , thanks to its incredible combination of great direction , dialogue , performances , and absolutely amazing camerawork and set design - - the rain-shrouded final battle is a thing of macabre majesty . Of course I realize this is not a film for everyone - - this is a three-hour b & w film in Japanese set in the distant past that has little in common with modern action pix in terms of style , cinematography and choreography and so may be disappointing to many . Be that as it may , I consider Seven Samurai to be a cerebral triumph that is a great testament to the power of drama to portray and inspire the human spirit . A profound all-around viewing experience .
035 4 I had the old Criterion edition of Seven Samurai , and while it was great to have the now reconstituted entire 207 minute version of this glorious film , it was a bit disappointing that in many places the transfer was made with badly damaged stock , but I assumed Criterion , as usual , got the best master material available , so it was a minor distraction to having this masterpiece restored to its original length .
When I saw that they were coming out with a new edition with a superior transfer I bought it . Well , it is terrific . The picture quality is vastly improved and the sound track as well . It is very clean , with just a few very minor flaws , hardly noticeable . There are some additional scholarly commentaries , worthwhile for context , as well as some new documentary materials and interviews on this 3 disc set , beautifully packaged , with a booklet of interesting essays .
Many other reviewers have done a fine job of explaining why this film is a must-see for movie-lovers , and why it is not only one of the most important and popular Japanese films , but why it takes a place at the top of any list of world-class masterpieces , beloved everywhere . If you have never seen it , by all means rent or buy this copy and immerse yourself in Kurosawa's world filled with humanity and humor , duty and honor , joy and sorrow . For me , and I see by other reviewers , it is one of the easiest and most pleasant 3 - 1 / 2 hours one can spend entranced by movie magic .
Kurosawa was a tremendous technician and a ground-breaking director and all his films have been influential to film-makers the world over , and none more so than The Seven Samurai . He was also a man of great passion and subtlety , and this film has so much more to offer than simple action , although that action is some of the finest ever staged and put on film . A masterpiece acknowledged by film-makers and audiences alike , this exhilarating film is so well worth your while .
010 4 This short review is on the 2006 edition and not the 1998 edition issue by Criterion . The 2006 edition issued by Criterion proves to be a highly improved version of the Seven Samurai . The first thing you will discovered when watching this edition over the 1998 edition will be the image , vastly improved and enchanced . While its not perfect like what you might see with very recent films , this 2006 issue will probably be close as you can get with the Seven Samurai .
After all these previous reviews , I am not going into the plots and additional praises . A person who buy this DVD knows the quality of the work . I won't be redundent with the usual mantra .
While the 1998 edition only had a screen commentary which proves to be interested and its still with us in the 2006 edtion , the new edition also got more supplements that should please any fan of the film . The two hour My Life in the Cinema should proves most educational to any Kurosawa fan and 50 minute Making of the Seven Samurai gives a great insight into how the film developed into the masterpiece that it is . Another great supplement titled : Seven Samurai : Impact and Influences reflects on the influences this movie had on other directors in other countries as well as what influenced Kurosawa himself while making this film . Once more , this supplement help the buyer gained more insight and understanding of the film and its filmmaker . To those who like film commentary , there also an additional one by various American film scholars .
Finally the DVD come with a booklet that contained various short essays written by American film experts on this film . Toshiro Mifune's essay was included as well that reflect his insight on the film .
While a great set all together in three DVD disks , I only wish Criterion packaged it into a sturdier plastic container as the 1998 verison instead the cardboard container which looked bit on the weak side .
Overall this is a very expensive DVD to buy but in all reality , if you are a fan of the Seven Samurai , buying this DVD should be a no-brainer . The improved soundtrack , improved images and the great supplements make this almost mandatory buy for any real fan of the movie .
137 4 The 2006 release was remastered and the three discs contain much new commentary . More importantly , the video quality is as good as you can get with much cleaning and artifact removal from the remaining prints since the master prints were lost . Much restoration of what you see and what you hear .
The 1998 DVD release is still available so check the release date .
059 4 The Seven Samurai , is one of the most well known and best-loved films of the critically acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa . It was nominated for two Academy Awards , two British Academy Awards , and won the Venice film festival's Silver Lion . Kurosawa is arguably one of the most influential figures in cinema , inspiring Star Wars , The Dirty Dozen , A Fistful of Dollars , and innumerable Westerns . The Seven Samurai is one of Kurosawa's most accomplished films , and is also contains one of Toshiro Mifune's best screen performances .
But these are reasons to write a film studies paper about The Seven Samurai .
You should watch The Seven Samurai because it is one of the best action films of all time , while simultaneously an accomplishment of many other aspects of other modern film genres .
The Seven Samurai is the original action movie , the original modern war movie , the original buddy film , the original martial arts movie . It's a coming of age story , a romance , and a comedy . It's the precursor of Saving Private Ryan and Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon . It's Toshiro Mifune with a giant katana , hamming it up . While you could watch The Seven Samurai because its beautifully photographed , superbly paced , and engagingly written , you should come because its cool , moving , serious , and funny , all at the same time .
And it has Toshiro Mifune with a giant katana .
080 4 This is a masterpiece . Often imitated but never surpassed . In this day and age it is refreshing to see such a great movie without it being a great movie because of special affects . Toshiru Mifune at his best .
082 4 Seven Samurai is one of the greatest action films ever made . a group of seven samurai are hired by a village of famers to take care of some bandits that are terrorizing them , but the samurai and the farmers will have to overcome their differences and unite before they can get the job done .
takashi shimura is great as the aging samurai who's seen it all . toshiro mifune is also terrific as the clumsy samurai who is torn between the farmers and the samurai . this is supposedly the first movie that a group is hired to take on a mission . if that is true then that is quite an accomplishment in filmmaking history with all the movies these days with a similar plot to this . you really need to buy this dvd , a truly great film
086 4 An extraordinary story focusing on the lives of poor farmers infeudal Japan . But it also focuses on the lives of ronin , travelling warriors called samurai with no masters , and their struggles for survival and dignity .
One of Akira Kurosawa's finest films was directed based on the ' westerns ' genre created in the US , but ironicly became an inspiration for almost every western made after it . Its influences can be seen in movies like ' The Magnificent Seven ' and ' The Wild Bunch ' .
Topping a cast in which every role seemed perfectly acted are Takahashi Shimura , playing the wise and crafty leader of the samurai , and the late Toshiro Mifune playing the drunk swordsman who turns out to be the most noble of all .
This movie is a glorious and tragic look at the life of the farmer and the mercenary , and even the bandit .
Ultimately , this film ranks as one of the greatest ever created . .
120 4 and I rarely watch movies more than once . I've seen chopped versions , butchered versions , not too bad versions , and full versions . This is the full version , and every shot is needed . I see something new and worthwhile every time I watch it . It is certainly the best action movie I've ever seen , and no other action movie has ever come close ( save perhaps the beginning of Private Ryan ) . It is the masterpiece of one of the world's greatest directors , and may well be the best film yet made . I know of no one who has only seen it once . You can watch it entirely as a simple action movie and be enthralled and uplifted ; eventually you will see that it illuminates some important universal truths . Yes , it drags in a few places , but who would want a perfect film ? This is as close as you get from a human director . People will still be enjoyoing this film a hundred years hence .
164 4 The person who wrote the one star review of this film would not know a masterpiece of cinema if it got up and gave him a haircut . This is a brilliant film and someone who thinks it is not is evidently a mindless goon . Do buy this film . Do not be influenced by morons !
060 4 Furthermore , THEY WERE NOT CHINESE ! THEY WERE JAPANESE ! ( THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE ! ) Anyway , with that out of the way ( and I certainly must say that anyone who did not grasp that has no right to give this fine film one star because it obviously means that he / she did not really watch it ) , here is my brief review . I had the pleasure of watching The Seven Samurai again last night , but for the first time on DVD . I have seen it on PBS , video , laserdisc . but this version from the fine folks at Criterion takes the cake . . . with my speakers hooked up , the sound was excellent . You hear all of the little details and during that climactic battle , the horses , rain , ad grunts surround you . It is for me one of Kurosawa's reigning achievements . . . . each cut , each composition , each tracking shot . . really brilliant stuff here . Also , it was , at the time , revolutionary and influenced the way many movies are shot nowadays . Commentary was also excellent . . .
007 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
Would you PLEASE go through the lowest-rated reviews and delete the two reviews by the nitwits who complain that Seven Samurai isn't letterboxed ? The film was shot in the 4 : 3 ( square ) aspect ratio , NOT WIDESCREEN , and therefore should not be letterboxed .
008 4 Would you PLEASE go through the lowest-rated reviews and delete the two reviews by the nitwits who complain that Seven Samurai isn't letterboxed ? The film was shot in the 4 : 3 ( square ) aspect ratio , NOT WIDESCREEN , and therefore should not be letterboxed .
079 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
This is a masterpiece . Often imitated but never surpassed . In this day and age it is refreshing to see such a great movie without it being a great movie because of special affects . Toshiru Mifune at his best .
072 4 In 16th century Japan a poor village is raided each year by a group of bandits . One year , on the brink of starvation , the villagers decide to hire ronin ( masterless samurai ) to protect them . With only meagre payment of 3 meals a day , their quest seems an impossible one .
I ` d heard so much from many friends about this being one of the greatest movies ever made - and in my opinion thats ` not far wrong . Initially I was apprehensive , not because of the subtitles ( I ` m not a stranger to them , being a fan of foreign cinema ) but because it was such a long film ( over 3 hours ) , and I wasn ` t sure about its ` pacing for example since the basic plot of the film is a very simple one . Though I had seen a Kurosawa film before ( Rashomon - 1950 ) many consider Seven Samurai to be his masterpiece , which I was a newcomer to .
I needn ` t have worried about anything . Its ` a very important film in World cinema - and its ` got everything in it - drama , memorable characters , comedy , pathos , action and raw emotion . You really care about the characters in this film and what happens to them .
The climactic battle with the bandits and samurai , fought in splattering mud and pouring rain for example , is brilliantly done , and Kurosawa doesn ` t flinch at showing us the violence and horror that occurs . The impact he had on cinema cannot be underestimated - many techniques , such as the use of slow motion to increase the impact of an action scene ( which would later be implemented by HK maestros Chang Cheh and John Woo ) were being seen on screen here for the very first time . It may be difficult to imagine how revolutionary that was for the audience .
The plot may be simplistic , but in the hands of a master film-maker , this really isn ` t a problem as you ` re always absorbed in these character ` s lives .
Toshiro Mifune ( who would appear in a lot of Kurosawa ` s features ) is excellent as Kikuchiyo , the farmers ` son is also an aspiring samurai . He is a crazy and wild character .
The great scene in which he makes a blistering speech berating both the samurai for being evil and the farmers for being greedy is not without irony , first since he is clad in full samurai garb and second because the things he hits out at when accusing the samurai ( killing people , raping women , stealing crops , burning houses ) were being carried out a mere ten years before by the Japanese military in the Second World War . Also , up until that point in the film he had been nothing but a clown , which makes the turn all the more powerful .
Kurosawa also debunks the myth of the classic samurai hero , usually painted as fearless and invincible . In a scene where two samurai are talking one asks the other what he does in the face of danger . ` I lie low in a ditch ` he replies . ` Then I run away `
Its ` a mark of how good this film is that even today things are being drawn from it - most famously of course remade as the Western The Magnificent Seven ( 1960 ) by John Sturges , but even Disney have to thank him , as their 1998 computer animated comedy A Bug ` s Life is based on Kurosawa ` s film .
I ` m ever so pleased I saw this - if you ` re a fan of World cinema ( heck , just cinema in general ) you really must see it . Don ` t be hesitant by its ` long runtime , subtitles or its full frame ratio . Its ` a marvellous film .
Trust me on this .
This DVD from the Criterion Collection features the rarely seen original US Theatrical Trailer for Seven Samurai , plus a full length commentary ( something lacking in the BFI Region 2 release ) by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck . I ` ll admit I haven ` t heard all of that yet , though what I ` ve heard so far is very interesting !
This version is the fully restored cut of the film ( 206 minutes ) which includes a short intermission and has been transferred from a new 35mm composite low contrast print . Considering the age of the film , I was impressed with how it looked , though certain shots looked really fuzzy and were like watching through mist ( probably due to the age / condition of the materials though ) .
004 4 After many years of only seeing this timeless work on VHS tape , to finally have and to own The Seven Samurai on DVD presented in 1 : 33 : 1 format , presented by the reknowned Criterion Collection . . . it is indeed a true pleasure for this film fan . Plus the bonus of the additional audio commentary by the Japanese film historian , Michael Jeck , provides a much deeper insight into the history of the production , it's messages and themes , Akira Kurosawa's directorial style , and the attitudes of Japanese film making in the early 1950 ' s .
From the very first time I watched this film I was spellbound by it's power and glory . . . . Kurosawa painstakingly assembled a team of actors with wonderful synergy and expression that are at the core of this unforgettable tale of hopes dreams , death revenge and honor trust . Kurosawa's explosive and dynamic battle sequences , some filmed in driving rain , are equally balanced within the films context by the sadness and emotion of the heartfelt scenes , such as where Kikuchiyo ( Toshiro Mifune ) reveals his upbringings to the rest of the Samurai .
This moving , provacative and challenging film is an epic that still stands head and shoulders over many others nearly 50 years after it's initial release . . . and a film that you can watch time and time again , and uncover another gem within it's rich tapestry upon each repeated viewing . I've shown this movie to many friends who were either not interested in older black and white productions . . . or not keen on subtitled movies . . . and they have all enjoyed it and remarked how they never knew that they could relish a 50 year old movie so much ! !
This film truly belongs in any persons movie collection who considers themselves a true afficiando of cinema . . . an experience in emotion , energy and vision that will not be forgotten by those who view this wonderful work .
005 4 This may be one of the most entertaining and ground breaking movies ever made .
As a film , Seven Samurai excels on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin . The story's message of honor and self-sacrifice is so simple and timeless , it crosses all cultures and mindsets .
While the scenes themselves are not necessarily quick ( the movie runs over 3 hours ) , the overall pacing is brilliant . Every moment blends effortlessly from relaxed humor to tense excitement to somber introspection . Regardless of the context , the audience always feels as if the film is moving forward towards it's dramatic conclusion .
And as if substance weren't enough , Kurosawa took the meaty screenplay and devised some creative camera work to enhance each scene . Kurosawa's use of slo-mo , for example , has influenced such directors as Peckinpah and Leone . No angle , tracking shot , remote , or still is wasted .
The performances of the actors also deserve special mention . From the clever stage business of Takahashi Shimura's Kambei , to Toshiro Mifune's enthusiastic and spirited performance as black sheep Kikuchiyo , the audience can easily find an character to identify with and follow through the course of the movie . It's not hard to imagine those watching for the first time sitting on the edge of their seats , hoping their favorite samurai will survive the film's final act . My personal fave was the subdued , bad-ass fencer , Kyuzo ( played with detatched machismo by Seiji Miyaguchi ) .
DVD-wise , this film is what most enthusiasts would expect from a Criterion release . Although the extensively restored footage still contains some artifacts and minor flaws , and the dated soundtrack will not bomb your home theater system like a Dark City or Fifth Element disc will , this is without a doubt the best version of Seven Samurai available and worthy addtion to any film buff's collection .
Highly Recommended
009 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
This short review is on the 2006 edition and not the 1998 edition issue by Criterion . The 2006 edition issued by Criterion proves to be a highly improved version of the Seven Samurai . The first thing you will discovered when watching this edition over the 1998 edition will be the image , vastly improved and enchanced . While its not perfect like what you might see with very recent films , this 2006 issue will probably be close as you can get with the Seven Samurai .
After all these previous reviews , I am not going into the plots and additional praises . A person who buy this DVD knows the quality of the work . I won't be redundent with the usual mantra .
While the 1998 edition only had a screen commentary which proves to be interested and its still with us in the 2006 edtion , the new edition also got more supplements that should please any fan of the film . The two hour My Life in the Cinema should proves most educational to any Kurosawa fan and 50 minute Making of the Seven Samurai gives a great insight into how the film developed into the masterpiece that it is . Another great supplement titled : Seven Samurai : Impact and Influences reflects on the influences this movie had on other directors in other countries as well as what influenced Kurosawa himself while making this film . Once more , this supplement help the buyer gained more insight and understanding of the film and its filmmaker . To those who like film commentary , there also an additional one by various American film scholars .
Finally the DVD come with a booklet that contained various short essays written by American film experts on this film . Toshiro Mifune's essay was included as well that reflect his insight on the film .
While a great set all together in three DVD disks , I only wish Criterion packaged it into a sturdier plastic container as the 1998 verison instead the cardboard container which looked bit on the weak side .
Overall this is a very expensive DVD to buy but in all reality , if you are a fan of the Seven Samurai , buying this DVD should be a no-brainer . The improved soundtrack , improved images and the great supplements make this almost mandatory buy for any real fan of the movie .
019 4 I had always heard about Seven Samurai , and what a great movie it is . For whatever reason , I never saw it until recently . The only word to describe it would be masterpiece . It works on so many different levels , and explores so many different themes , that the viewer becomes completely absorbed throughout it's 3 and a half hour run time . Director Akira Kurosawa has long been hailed as a genious , and here's the proof . It's hard to find any fault anywhere in this picture . It's absolutely perfect from it's groundbreaking cinematography , to the ensemble acting , to the the intense action sequences . I love the way Kurwosawa uses the elements like wind and rain to intensify the power of a scene .
The story itself is classic , and is the basic storyline of many American westerns , including The Magnifficent Seven , which is a remake of this film . In 16th century Japan , a poor farming village besieged by bandits , hire seven samurai warriors to protect them . For merely a handful of rice a day , the seven men agree to help the villagers . We meet each samurai one by one , and learn of their personality traits and their various reasons for joining up . As the leader of a stellar cast is the legendary Toshiro Mifune , who plays Kikuchiyo , an orphaned peasant pretending to be a samurai as he searches for revenge .
Some viewers might shy away from the movie because of the subtitles . The themes this film deals with , like comedy , trajedy , and action are all themes that transcend the language barrior , and this movie should not be missed because of it . Every scene counts , every battle more spectacular than the last , and every performance is right on target .
The DVD is an exceptional restored version of the 1956 epic , with pretty good sound . Also features a pretty interesting commentary by film expert Michael Jeck . Don't miss this one !
023 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
Just as pictured above , the collector's boxset comes in a black box containing 2 items . The first item is a supplemental booklet containing film pictorials and literature about the history of Samurai , Japanese movie making , etc . It's informative and interesting , however , a one-time read . The second item is a foldout case film pictorial with 3 DVDs that resemble umbrellas from top view with their own distinct colors to distinguish their content . Overall design style gives one the mood of the film in mind .
The 1st disc contains the first half of the film up to the intermission and the picture quality compared to the 1998 Criterion is undeniably superior . The film itself is in its original 1.33 : 1 aspect ratio with slight borders around the frame inorder for better viewing with most monitors . This edition contains the original mono sound track as well as a new stereo sound track , however , I prefer the original mono due to being an enthusiast . There are also two commentary selections . One is the original 1988 commentary of Michael Jeck from the 1998 Criterion , which is fantastic ! The second commentary is comprised of 5 film scholars , and each are given roughly 40 minutes of commentary spotlight in various parts of the film , which is also fantastic ! Listening to both commentaries gives you a greater understanding of this superb film .
The first disc also contains some production photos from the film as well as some posters of the film from several countries . The second disc contains the second half of the film right after the intermission with the continuation of the audio tracks . This second disc contains an extra feature called It Is Wonderful To Create , which is a 55 minute documentary of Akira Kurosawa's films with his collaborators .
The third disc contains a two hour interview with Akira Kurosawa as well as origins and influences of how this film came to fruition . I really wanted to see more interviews from the stars themselves , especially the great Toshiro Mifune . The third disc will probably be a one-time view . I believe , Criterion could've contained the film in its entirety on one disc and included all the extra features on the second disc inorder to streamline this otherwise great release .
Overall , an extremely satisfying new release of Seven Samurai that should definitely be included in any fans dvd collection . I have watched this film over a dozen times with great joy and satisfaction and now I can enjoy it even more with this wonderful collector's edition !
041 4 Don't get me wrong , The Seven Samurai is an excellent movie that deserves five stars but I was disappointed with the options included on the DVD considering its price . The film and sound quality are to a degree where the DVD version is not necessary and I doubt you'd lose much watching it from a VHS source instead . I'm not criticizing the movie because of this - after all , it was released in 1956 AND also in a Japan that was still recovering from the crippling effects of World War II . It's just that I've seen classics on DVD for the same price that have put in much more effort ( extras ) for a release on DVD . I'm not sure how much of the price reflects its Japanese origins but the film is still a keeper for any cinema fan .
Besides the usual scene selection option , the other extras included are a trailer and a commentary by a noted expert on Japanese film . The commentary is insightful and helps answer many questions that arise while watching The Seven Samurai . While this film is universal in its theme , there are some moments in the picture that are based in obvious cultural differences and its fun to listen while the commentary explain some of these . Another interesting point is to compare this to the American version of the film , The Magnificent Seven , to witness the differences between Japanese and American cultures .
If you've never seen a film by the director Akira Kurosawa I would definitely recommend this film as an introduction to his famous work . The Seven Samurai is to Japan what Gone With the Wind or The Godfather is to the United States . Disappointing in its limited DVD options considering there was so much they could have done but still worth having in your film library .
048 4 This movie is a piece of art and the DVD version justified its substance by providing the audience with quality ( remastered ) resolution and a comprehensive commentary on key scenes , which helps one to understand the background of the venue and era that the film was set upon .
The storey tells of a farming village , being mercilessly haunted by bandits time and again , trying to seek external help from Samurais ; entities that were being regarded to be more superior in class then the farmers in feudal Japan . Eventually , seven warriors agreed to assist the villagers ' scouts out of mainly humanitarian reasons and sympathy . The distrust among the villagers of external parties and their primitive survival instincts which basis societies can reconcile with today were skilfully crafted by Kurosawa .
This epic reveals basic humanity and its struggle for survival , the paths that one could resort to in trying times of desperation , poverty and need . It also highlights another ( quite ) subtle message of the various insecurities instilled into organisations through the various side-effects of their cultural background ( enforced by the aforesaid elements ) ; the cautionary attitude toward foreigners and mentalities alike , and ultimately , the isolation into one's own world with a repugnance of its external affairs . . . regardless of affiliations .
Not to be missed !
070 4 This is one of the most ( if not the most ) famous Japanese film of all time . It is also Kurosawa's most popular film . This film has often been imitated but never surpassed . It's plot is of villagers who are repeatedly robbed by wandering bandits . In an act of despiration the village elder recalls that when he was a child that people hired samurai to protect their villages . So the village does the same for when the bandits return .
The fight scenes are excellently choreographed and the cimematography has been imitated by others an uncountable number of times . An interesding note that that is the first US edition where the Japanese language curse-words are translated in the subtitles . Something too risque for audiences at the time of release . I don't know why so many people are turned off by foreign language films . Internationally US films are popular because English is taught in all the schools . Being American myself , I think it should only be fair that we return the favor to our international film audience and watch their films also . We have missed quite a lot .
073 4 Akira Kurosawa , the name that many of my friends use when dscribing great directors . After hearing how George Lucas based parts of STar Wars Episode IV on Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress , I tried to track it down , but instead , I found The Seven Samurai . Also hailed by many people , I sat down and watched it , and lo and behold , Kurosawa told an involving story ! !
Now , someone on this thread was saying that this film is terrible for not having martial arts in it . Well , not every film from Asia has to have people flying and throwing 100 - hand punches . Kurosawa takes us instead to a place where strategy and example fare much better than anything else .
Set in the time of 16th century Japan , the country is in turmoil , and a lone village has found that in time , a herd of bandits is planning to plunder their village . The people are distraught , but the village elder suggests that they hire Samurai to protect them . Several men set out to find such a man or men , however , with the only thing to offer them is three meals a day , their prospects seem dull , until they find one Samurai named Kambei , who decides to help them , but with his knowledge , he feels that a band of Seven Samurai would be needed . And in time , they find their men : a young disciple ( Katsushiro ) , a master swordsman ( Kyuzo ) , an old friend of Kambei's ( Shichiroji ) , as well as Gorobei , Heihachi , and last but not least , Kikuchiyo , a Samurai who seems a true enigma .
What makes Kurosawa's film work to a degree , is that we do not get these 7 men in just 7 minutes , it takes time and discovery to find the chosen who can defend this village . Plus , due to the nature of structure , we get to learn about these men and find their ideas , faults and so forth .
These men also seem to uphold a code of conduct , as they are not aggressive to everyone , but also take theri job seriously , such as helping to train the villagers , sharing their meager portions of food with others who would need it and so forth .
The fact that this film was not colorized is also a great incentive . The black and white does something to the experience that would somehow cheapen the film , just as if someone were to colorize Citizen Kane or Schindler's List .
Overall , this film has leaped onto my top 25 list , and is one of those films that truly shows action , courage , and a number of qualities missing from action / drama films of today .
088 4 If the title seems to be hyperbole , I should point out that it's not just my opinion , but the opinion of almost all movie critics . This movie is on many top-ten-movies-of-all-time lists , for good reason . For many years , this movie was seen only in a shortened form , but Criterion has restored it to its original cut as first released . Not only that , but it has included a superb commentary that was so good that after I watched the DVD for the first time without commentary , I started to watch it with the commentary thinking I would spend a few minutes and was so fascinated that I watched the whole movie again just to find out what the commentator had to say ! And this is a long movie , over 3 hours long , but it doesn't drag .
The basic story ( ripped off by the inferior U.S . remake , The Magnificent Seven ) is pretty straightforward . Bandits attack a village and take its crops and some of its women . When the villagers learn that the bandits plan to return , the decide to hire itinerant samurai to defend it , with the only pay being room and board . They find a remarkable samurai as the leader , and he recruits the other six , including an expert swordsman who lives for his art ( the actor who played this part had never handled a sword before this movie , and never did learn to ride a horse ! ) , and a crude bumbler ( played by star Toshiro Mifune ) who is actually a farmer's son pretending to be a samurai . Incidentally , Mifune was originally considered for the part of the expert swordsman , a role which he played brilliantly in two other Kurosawa movies , Yojimbo - the basis for Clint Eastwood's hit A Fistful of Dollars , and Sanjuro . But this is no simple good versus evil story . Even though the villagers have hired the samurai , they don't trust these heroes , and hide all their women . And it appears that in the past the villagers may have killed other samurai and hidden their armor - when the samurai discover this , they are not sure they can trust the villagers either . This ambiguity adds depth to the story . All this is gradually revealed as the remainder of the film shows the samurai training the villagers , attacking the bandits to cut down their numbers , and finally , after a few skirmishes , having the climactic battle scene in the driving rain and mud , which captures the chaos of battle as well as anything ever done in the movies . Unlike most movies where the battle scenes always seem to be staged , with the big explosion center screen and nothing much else going on , Kurosawa seems to embed you right in the action so you feel as if it is going on , not just in front of you , but all around you , off - screen as well as on . This is great movie-making , and the commentary explains how he achieved this effect . And at the end , the villagers go back to rice planting , and the samurai heroes stand to one side - no triumphal banquet and procession for them . Now that their job is finished , they are ignored .
As I mentioned , even though the film is long , it doesn't drag , because Kurosawa omits unneccessary exposition . One example , early on after one of the samurai is killed in battle , we have a burial scene . Mifune's character , in grief , grabs a battle flag made by the dead samurai , runs on top of one of the huts in the village and defiantly plants it on top of the roof . The camera then pans up to the hills beyond the village , where we see the bandits descending to attack the village . In a few seconds the mood changes from grief to exhilaration as the long awaited battle is joined .
On the other hand , Kurosawa also includes images which , although not strictly necessary to the main narrative line , will remain with you long after the movie is over . An example , at one point the samurai locate the bandit's hideout , and set fire to it to force the bandits out . As the samurai look into the hideout , they see a woman , captured by the bandits . In a silent scene , except for a lone flute playing plaintively on the soundtrack , this woman awakens , sees the fire off-screen , starts to cry out , then decides to remain silent , even though it means she will die a horrible death . The usual martial arts movie would never even consider having a scene like this , but this short , wordless scene speaks eloquently about this nameless woman's condition and deepens the story . It is little touches like this that linger .
Martial arts movie with incredible battle scenes , character study , social commentary , as with all great art , there are a lot of different ways you can view this movie . At the time he made it , Kurosawa said he wanted to revitalize the samurai sword movie , which he considered a dead form . He did more than that - he transformed it ! A lot more could , and has , been said about this movie , but bottom line : Nobody who loves movies should miss this - it is essential !
106 4 is perhaps beeing honest to yourself and to others .
Not seeing any materialistic purpose to your existence , because the existence itself is only a vivid moment . Though it's the moment that can include such colorful feelings as love , hate and friendship .
What I want to say here is that if Kurosawa's way of filmmaking is surpassed today by someone I would really go to see this very person myself . The camerawork , actors and mass scenes are greatly composed into the one of the greatest films in history . I would rather not start an endless sonversation about how different cultures are and that eastern way of thinking is opposite to western . That is already known . But he had kind of smart way to get even closer to western audience then to eastern audience . So we could call him sort of revolutionary director .
His breakthrough film was Rashomon ( 1950 ) , till the time of Rhapsody in August ( 91 ) and all the movies he made were remarkable . Still it is clear that his strongest period was between 1950 - 1962 . After shaky times he had he made a comeback with Kagemusha ( 80 ) , also a good samurai movie .
What we have here in Seven Samurai is a true meaning of life . True feelings of farmers and their helplesness to do anything against brutal force . But the hunger for life keeps them thinkinig the new survival ways and the thought of hireing samurais is good , previous cases had shown that it pays well . Instead of one or two they get seven and every one of them is different , from swordmaster to brave youngster .
To be short - see it because it is a predecessor of modern action films , only but there are no wires .
108 4 When someone asks me what my favorite movie is , the immediate response is Seven Samurai , the only movie that ever brought a tear to my eye .
This heroic tale is a tale about real men , men of no materialism , no induldgence ( except for one ) , no pride , men of great temperance , honor , justice , fortitude and courage . These are the things that make this movie so great .
Seven virutous and skilled men who defend the weak from naked aggression with no concern of personal possesions or of whether they live or die . They fight for the shear fact that it is the right thing to do , that it is the moral choice , that the just act is action itself , and that inaction will lead to the loss of innocent lives . Never has a greater film been made or a greater story been told .
Some of my favorite warrior movies are Gladiator , Braveheart , Tombstone , The Patriot , and others of this type , but the men in these movies fight for vengence , and the men in Seven Samurai don't , thats why I have to rank Seven Samurai as my absolute favorite , number 1 movie of all time .
111 4 A work of art . That's all one can say
Akira Kurosawa , perhaps the finest filmmaker the world has ever seen , crafted with this stunning epic , a work of art that stands impressively next to the world's finest literature .
Certainly influenced by other film masters like John Ford , Orson Welles , Howard Hawkes , Jean Renoir as well as the great authors ( especially the Russian novelists among others ( reading his autobiography says so much ) , Kurosawa found a way to take their impressive visual and narrative styles and craft something all his own .
He also perhaps became the one director who managed to make visual novels . Seven Samurai is but only one example of what he was able to do not only visually , but narratively as well .
Many authors set out to make art and fail because they overlook the absolute necessity that novels , films and plays require : a captivating linear narrative that contains interesting and realistic characters placed in exaggerated and urgent circumstances . The Seven Samurai does it . It not only contains breathtaking action , three dimensional characters and phenomenal performances ( Toshiro Mifune creates arguably the finest physical and presentational performance ever caught on film ) but speaks poignantly about what it means to be a human being .
Like all great works of art , it transcends language and culture . Its scenes function as chapters in an epic . This ranks on the level with The Odyssey , The works of Shakespeare and the paintings of Van Gogh ( another influence of Kurosawa's ) .
But please don't think The Seven Samurai , a dry polemic . It is a fast paced , ultra accessible masterpiece of action , wit and romance . It manages to be both universal and personal at the same time .
The criterion transfer , which some viewers have derided here at Amazon , is a glorious improvement over the scratchy video tape I first purchased almost twenty years ago , that . Obviously the DVD does not even scratch the wonder of seeing a pristine 35mm print on the big screen , but for a home library , it will do just fine .
The Seven Samurai is a proud chapter in the history of human artistic achievement . This is not to be missed . A 10 out of 5 !
112 4 Steven Spielberg put it best : Kurosawa is every bit the equal of Shakespeare . No one opened our eyes to Eastern mythology , royalty , history and culture quite like Kurosawa . His films are like huge tapestries , both appealing to the eye but also educating the heart and mind to the rich , complex history of Japan .
Seven Samurai is my favorite of Kurosawa's films ( next to Dreams ) because it is one of the most perfectly balanced films I have ever seen . The cast is superb , the camerawork is legendary , and the script is so full of wisdom and poignancy that by the end of the film you want to become a samurai .
Whether or not it is the greatest film of all time is irrelevant because art is not measured quantitatively . It's about as silly as trying to figure out the greatest painting of all time . This movie is to be appreciated along the same lines as Beethoven's 9th . Simply absorb in the genius of the work and be transformed in your perceptions of what is possible .
143 4 The Seven Samurai is probably the best black and white film by Akira Kurosawa . Through this movie , the audience can learn a lot about ancient Japan , an example would be the caste system of traditional Japan . However , I believe the best facet of this movie is the values and beliefs of the Samuri . Great values such as honor , dignity , friendship and cooperation is presented .
Too bad that I can't rate this movie as a 6 star . : )
148 4 When director Akira Kurosawa was presented the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the late 1980 ' s , he was very old , almost blind , and still making incredible films . In his acceptance speech he said that he was just beginning to understand how to make a good film . I don't know . . . seems like he knew pretty well in 1954 when he released ` The Seven Samurai . '
As the film opens , a small Japanese village has been raided by bandits time after time . The villagers know they are coming again and that the next time will finish their life of farming for good . In desperation , several of the villagers hire ( for very meager wages ) seven samurai warriors for protection .
The warriors have many problems to overcome : Initially the villagers are as scared of their saviors as they are the bandits . The villagers also have no training in how to protect themselves . And some of the samurai are just BARELY qualified to bear the name samurai . Plus , of course , the big problem : The bandits are coming .
The movie is over three and a half hours long , but you don't notice it . Kurosawa is a master of directing your eyes to the places they should go , whether it's a village pilgrimage to the local ancient sage , or a huge battle scene with the bandits . No one else shoots large-scale action sequences like Kurosawa . The scene where the multitude of bandits come pouring down the mountain towards the village is breathtaking . But tighter shots are equally effective . Watch how Kurosawa focuses on the feet of the horses during several scenes from the battles . Those feet tell you everything you need to know .
The subplots deal with the breaking down of ancient traditions , forbidden romance , loyalty to a cause , and much more . By the time you get to the end , you're forced to ask yourself some questions about everything that's happened . I'll say nothing more about the ending , except to add that when you get there , you know you've seen a film that's been imitated countless times , but never matched .
150 4 Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai has never been surpassed and never will . The plot is a simple , yet interesting : Residents of a village are basically under the control of bandits who come to the village every year to take their keep . So one year , the villagers decide they are fed up with this annual practice . Sometime later , a man ( Toshiro Mifune ) helps save a child from a madman . This man turns out to be a Samurai . He and others find six more Samurai to train the villagers and help fight against the bandits .
Throughout the first tape , all the groundwork of the film is laid out very smoothly and it's easy to follow . The second tape mainly focuses on the campaign against the bandits . The way that campaign is fought is very impressive . It really takes the element of medievil strategy to the above and beyond . There is a great scene near the end of the film in which the bandits try to charge to the front gate . An opening is left open , one enemy is let in and then the rest of them are closed off by ambushing villagers from the sides of the gap . The cinematography in this film is breathtaking , and not just for its time . One scene early on in which one of the future seven samurai is dueling with a cocky fencer . It uses slow motion , slight angled panning , ( something that must have inspired the Matrix ) to create quite a thrilling few seconds . Dialogue , though subtitled , is not the least bit corny . But in the midst of the simple plot , there a few of substories .
Seven Samurai has all the good stuff put into it : War , Strategy , Romance , Humor , Action , and Honor . . .
Anyone who likes even one the attributes I listed above must buy this .
095 4 It is almost impossible for me write now to find the words explaining how much I love this movie . Seven Samurai which was directed by master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and starred Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura , is grand samurai epic all the way . It wasn't until I bought the 3 disc criterion edition and watched it yesterday that I realized this film is just plain beautiful ! Why is beautiful you ask ? To start off I loved the story Akira wrote to make this for the language and literature is seen clearly in every scene , shot , and performance . The story of the Seven Samurai hired by the people to protect their village and food from the invading bandits , is a clever story that grew to something more . I like how Kurosawa was able to keep up with the historical accuracy of the samurai and their code and then tie simple genres like comedy and romance into it . Secondly the visuals displayed for this black and white film are astounding from the shot of the samurai bowing to one of their dead samurai's grave , to the epic battle scenes displayed between the samurai and the bandits . Thirdly and most importantly the performances by the actors and actresses playing the Seven Samurai and the villagers . The samurai are played with both ferociaty and humor which adds taste to their characters when it comes to interacting with the villagers . Toshiro mifune's character kikyushio was the samurai I felt for the most because you begin to feel sorry for him when he is nothing but a drunken loner who carries around a huge sword and is respected by nobody until he joins the samurai , then his character changes drastically from drunken loner to a true honorable samurai who is hit hard when one of the other samurai dies . All of the samurai are great especially the leader played by Shimura as the elder Kambei who takes young Katsushiro under his wing . Kyuzo is probably the most impressive of the seven in terms of their skill with a blade for Kyuzo is quick when it comes to cutting down someone and displays bravery while doing so . The love story between Katsushiro and the village girl Shino is also very touching on the side of the other samurai alone . To put it lightly though I loved Seven Samurai and feel its not only one of my favorite films , but an important film to study and disect when studying film . A heartrendering , action packed , and powerful epic delivered by the great Akira Kurosawa .
017 4 Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai is , in my opinion , on of the top three films of all time . I believe that this movie is Kurosawa's greatest achievement . Akira Kurosawa is one of the , if not the greatest director of all time . Not aonly is a great director , but he produced , edited and wrote the screenplays to a number of his movies . He has influenced countless other film directors . Many of his movies are among the greatest of all time , including Rashomon , Yojimbo , and Ran , but I think that Seven Samurai tops them all . The movie has everything a great movie should have . First of all , the story is simple , but brilliant . The plot of this movie has directly influenced many movies , including The Magnificent Seven and the recnt Disney movie A Bug's Life . The acting is also brilliant . Toshiro Mifune is the standout , but Takashi Shimura and Ko Kimura are also great . In fact , all of the samurai and the villagers are impressive . If you're an action fan , the battle sequences in this movie are stunning . If you are a romance fan , there is even an aspect of romance here . If you are uneasy about seeing an almost four hour Japanese movie , don't worry . It is immensely entertaining and the subtitles are easy to follow . You could probably follow the story without the subtitles . The Seven Samurai is and always will be one of the greatest movies of all time . Check this one out and Kurosawa's other movies as well .
105 4 Unlike many of today's techo-violence shockers , this film speaks to us from a simpler time : a primer on community defence and the social impact of character , what it means , on a personal level to be a soldier , and human . No one is more human , more vulnerable , and in the end , a finer warrior , than Mifune's character , brilliantly played . The acting is uniformally great . All the samurai depicted still inspire , and the realism , as always with Kurosawa , moves us . A terrific value .
117 4 The reason this film , the greatest adventure epic ever made , is not released in a letterboxed or widescreen format is that it is NOT a widescreen film . Believe it or not , it is possible to capture magnificent vistas and breathtaking action in the standard 4 : 3 academy ratio , and that is exactly what Kurosawa did .
128 4 This film is by far one of the most entertaining , important , amazing , and a landmark in the history of cinema . Seven Samurai is breathtaking , and even though it is long , it really isn't . One gets thoroughly involved in the story , calmly getting to know each character and how they turn out to be . It is filled with delicate humor and human philosophy , and one of the best things about this film is the climactic battle sequence in the rain , with many shots taken to envelop the audience in the intense , arduous action in the rain and mud . No other film in history has dared to compare to this landmark film , and The Magnificent Seven did not match its potential . I personally did not find The Magnificent Seven great , for I just kept thinking about how they replicated Seven Samurai . Everyone who loves movies should watch this film . It reminds us why we see classic movies for its everlasting beauty and evolution to this generation .
138 4 This was my introduction to Samurai movies . I was not sure about buying a movie that is over 3 hours long , black and white , and with subtitles . Reading the other reviews convinced me . This is a Great movie . It stands the test of time like all great movies do . Truley a classic . You have to take your time and let the movie unfold at its ' own pace . Just sit back and take it all in and enjoy the movie . I was so glad I bought this movie , I ordered three other Kurosawa movies from Amazon .
142 4 This is an incredible movie . I loved it . Not only does the Seven Samurai have loads of action , but there are other aspects of this movie that make it such an enjoyable experience to watch . The thing I like best about this movie was the humor . Some of the lines said by the samurais were so hilarious I couldn't stop laughing ! Even though things got silly at times , there was , however , a very serious side to the movie and it made you realize how tough life can really be . I have watched several of Akira Kurosawa's films such as Ran , etc , and by far , this is his best work . The only complaints I have about this movie was that it was in black and white and so I had a hard time reading the white lettering of the subtitles . This movie is a true gem . I was thinking of buying it , but my oh my , it is quite costly ! Nevertheless , it is worthy to put in anyone's collection . It is rare that you'll ever find a movie as good as this , it is in a league of it's own . Truly a masterpiece that should be cherished !
144 4 This is a great movie for several reasons . One is the way in which the film was directed and two is how the scenes are shot . For this we have to thank Akira Kurosawa . The fight scenes between the samurai and the villagers were so detailed and well executed that they felt real . It's like you were by their side fighting . Of course another reason is the performance of Toshiro Mifune . He's good at portraying the flee bitten crude and masterless Samurai but this time he was only a farmer's son seeking acceptance . His character was at times stupid , even broke down and cried , showed embarassment and regret . . . . a different set of emotions than which we are used to getting from him . He showed the various emotions through his facial expressions in such a manner that words weren't needed . The story of Samurai fighting on behalf of poor villagers for only handfulls of rice is something that appeals to the humanitarian factor . . . . something we all like to think is still with us .
146 4 This movie is beyond praise . It's one of the best ever and set the standard for so many others that have tried but can't quite duplicate it's power . I don't know what those who gave this movie a low rating are even thinking . I doubt there even old enough to really appreciate good cinema . Special effect ladden movies are so run of the mill and too common . To have a movie that actually has a plot these days is very very rare . For any real movie fan this is a definite must have ! ! !
153 4 I don't know what to say that hasn't been said before , but I have to sharewhat I think about this masterpeice . One of the things I always valued about movies is the characters , and presentation of those characters . 7 Samurai is all about that . The western notion that good movies are movies with a well thought out unexpected script is not true . Here you have a movie that has a plot that can be explained in one sentense , yet it makes you sit through the whole thing in complete silence . This movie is all about emotion , and emotion has far more effect and impact than any twist and unexpected turn of a script can have . I could relate to every single of the 7 samurai , because at one or another point of my life I've embodied what they did and felt in the movie . Akira Kurosawa is one of the best directors , ever .
154 4 I've seen nearly all of the Akira Kurosawa films such as Yojimbo , Hidden Fortress , Rashoman , Ran etc . , but this one is far the best and that's saying a lot . There are several outstanding characters from the sage-like Kanbei to the brash Kikuchiyo . The fight scenes are realistic , not the normal hack and slash , but well planned out strategic events . It almost like they are choreagraphed dances than armed combat . Like the editoral reviewers stated earlier you have to watch the long version of this movie to fully appreciate it . If you want to own only one Kurosawa film , own this one .
159 4 Despite the tempting price on this classic movie . . . The Criterion Collection has announced that it will re-release Akira kurosawa films in Hi-Def transfers including High and Low , Seven Samurai , Yojimbo , new transfers and new supplements . . .
126 4 Words fail to praise the action-packed period film that Akira Kurosawa created in 1954 Japan . Two years after the allies released the Japanese from occupation , Kurosawa directed the best film ever , in my opinion , for those that desire evil to be overthrown and justice to prevail . The plight of the peasants is graphically detailed in breath-taking scenes of beauty and poise . Coming to their aid is the most virtuous samurai in film history , ready at a moment to battle the bandits that would rob , rape , and murder the helpless peasantry . The camera angles and positioning are excellent beyond belief , the costumes are real , and the mud is thick for the final battle scene . Any movie fan that doesn't have the recent Criterion Collection Seven Samurai is missing out on a classic . Honor , loyalty , skill , and faith come alive on the screen in 17th century Japan .
083 4 Truly one of the greatest movies ever made . Akira Kurosawa has created a masterpiece which develops its characters with so much depth that anybody can connect with any one of them . Unlike many of the horrible movies released nowadays , this movie uses only the natural elements available and makes for classic battle sequences that will never be forgotten . If you enjoy good movies then watching Seven Samurai would be a great choice . Anybody who gives this movie 1 star shouldn't be taken seriously , this movie deserves far more stars than one could give it .
094 4 I had heard about this movie and how it was supposed to be a classic . How it had inspired other great directors such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg . Nevertheless I was not prepared for the experience . I saw this film and then I saw it again and again . I am not speaking figuratively . I actually saw this 3 1 / 2 hour movie 3 times . Back to back . It's that good . I still don't believe it was shot in the 1950 ' s as it puts most of today's action movies to shame . But this is not really an action movie . It's not really a Japanese film , a samurai film , or a classic . This is a masterpiece in any medium .
097 4 I've owned the original Criterion version of Seven Samurai . It was nice owning this fantastic movie , especially since it had the Criterion stamp . When the new , 3 - disc version came out , I read numerous reviews stating how much of an improvement it was from the first edition . And I am in full agreement . I've never written a review for Amazon.com before , but I feel compelled because of how impressed I am with these DVDs . Criterion has really cleaned up this new version . It blows the older version away . It looks like it was filmed yesterday . The extras are really awesome and the booklet is nice and informative . This is the definitive edition of this wonderful movie and Kurosawa's masterpiece . Well worth the money .
100 4 I first saw Seven Samurai in 1955 when I began my tour of duty with the U.S . Army in Japan . What an excellent way to be intruduced to the Japanese culture . What a great story . After all these years , seeing the film on DVD is like reliving the moment when I first saw Kurosawa's masterpiece in Opama , Japan . If anything , the film is even more powerful today , for as you watch the story unfold , a story unadorned with needless and flashy special effects , you realize you are watching the power of simplicity , human courage , and selfless sacrifice for the greater good of humanity . Every DVD collection should contain this release . As the poet Keats said : Beauty is truth , truth beauty . . . . In my opinion those words sum up the power of Kurosawa's epic film .
170 4 this movie is amazing for any time . and when you realize it was made in 1954 , you realize how groundbreaking and unparralleled it really is . This new package and presentation are outstanding . better picture , sound , closed captioning , etc . the booklet is a nice touch too . beautiful .
157 4 All right , let's get something straight . What makes a movie great , what motivates the common person of any denomination , nationality , belief , to be swept into a great story ? Usually , you have to start with the basic essentials , the rudimentary elements that truly measure a film's enduring worth . Start with the characters . It doesn't matter if they're ostensibly archetypes , give them enough screen time to develop themselves , their mannerisms , paradoxes , and internal conflicts and we will discover close adaptions to human behavior . Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is known for inspiring dozens of westerns , most notably the Magnificient Seven , but in the long run , are action scenes what people of both genders and age truly value ? Even given their exhilirating and climactic power , what pushes the plain , unassuming person to the helpless verge of tears , laughter , or quiet recognition is humanity . Oh , and what loud , boisterous , cachophonous , unbridled passion this movie posesses . Akira Kurosawa understood human nature very deeply . So deeply , that as a white American private school student I feel an affinity to early Japanese culture . I can rub heads with the dirty farmers , scowl at theives , shudder tacitly at bandits , find myself mystified by both the wise patience and fierce vitality of the samurai . Only a barking idiot would go on to describe , analyze , and erudicate every crevice of this film ; it's great , all right ? What must be mentioned , however , in order to understand Kurosawa's hidden thematic drives is his obsession with the timeless presence of ego . Ego in Kurosawa's films is what causes people to embellish their own stories ( Rashomon ) , to feel superior to others ( Ran and Kagemusha ) . Kurosawa knows that farmers aren't saints , and samurai can be greedy . Our egos can be detrimentally hindering to attaining acceptance of ourselves and others . Kurosawa knew his characters aren't perfect . Neither are we .
039 4 A stunning , profound , magnificent masterpiece , surely one of the few greatest films ever made . Based on a relatively simple plot - - a local village tired of being preyed upon by bandits hires seven samurai to protect them - - Akira Kurosawa's film will leave you totally enthralled and you will never forget it , largely because of the incredible development of character and the universal human themes portrayed . Toshiro Mifune , who plays the seventh and final samurai recruited , gives one of the great performances of all time in a mixture of comic and serious acting that will leave you marvelling at his range and his facial and body language - - you don't even need the subtitles to appreciate his greatness . Takashi Shimoru , as the lead samurai , is masterful , conveying wisdom , judgment , leadership and dignity , with wonderful subtelty . The rest of the cast are fabulous as well , with each of the samurai playing a role in the group dynamic . Particularly fine are the young hero worshipper who looks on Shimoru as if he were a god and the serious , emotionless samurai who only wants to perfect his art . The battle scenes are among the greatest ever filmed , and despite the epic length , you will be absolutely enthralled .
042 4 Kurosawa was a genius . This is the kind of film that I can watch several times over and look forward to seeing it being played at revival theaters . The themes , characters , acting , writing and direction are flawless . I love this film and the depth that Toshiro Mifune brought to this role .
047 4 Quite possibly one of the five or six best movies ever made , anywhere . Simple tale of a peasant village forced to hire samurai to defend them from mountain bandits gains incredible gravity and power as it moves along . Film encapsulates so much of the human condition it's hard to tabulate it all : politics , warfare , violence , the human need to persevere in the face of terrible odds , and on and on . All performances are superb : the everyman-ish Takashi Shimura as the eldest samurai bespeaks great heart and intelligence ; Toshiro Mifune as wild-eyed Kikujiro is unforgettable and scene-stealing . Final 45 minutes are unbelievably violent and fast-moving even by today's standards , and never let the viewer out of their grip . Has spawned a host of remakes ( most notably The Magnificent Seven ) , as has Kurosawa's Rashomon , but few if any measure up to the power of the original . Original 208m edition is showcased here on DVD in the correct 1.33 : 1 aspect ratio ; beware shorter prints with much of the drama butchered out . Hard to go wrong with this one in your collection .
050 4 Criterion does DVDs right , plain and simple . Never have I seen such respect and effort gone into the packaging and remastering of such worthy film titles . Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is no exception . The packinging is wonderful in itself , featuring simply wonderful designs , not to mention an entire booklet that contains seven essays ( contributors include director Sidney Lumet ) and an interview . The movie itself ? Well , I don't think I have to prove this is one of the most influential and generally important movies ever made . And because Criterion knows this , it has given this movie the respect it has been waiting for . The movie looks the best it ever has looked , the sound remastered and crisp , and the movie in general has finally been shed of all of the dust a 50 year old movie can collect . An important buy for any sophisticated film lover . It's worth all forty-something dollars to have this movie . Criterion applies a lot of effort into thier releases , and it's truly worth it . Especially in cases such as these .
058 4 Some customers here , according to their reviews , suggest not buying the DVD because it is not in the widescreen format . According to Donald Richie's The Films of Akira Kurosawa , the definitive analysis of his filmography ( film by film ) , Kurosawa did not work with the widescreen format until 1958 with Hidden Fortress . So Samurai is shown in its original format on Criterion's DVD . Hope that clears up the confusion .
084 4 Let me set anyone who thinks that Seven Samurai is a remake of Magnificent Seven . . . IT'S NOT ! It's the other way around . I read someone else's review on there who stated it was the other way around . Akira Kurosawa's movies were the inspiration for many a western . . . Seven Samurai - Magnificent Seven , Yojimbo - A Fist Full of Dollars , to name two . So , to anyone who goes around saying that American films are never inspired by foreign films , your wrong . Take some time to see a few of these great films for yourself . As for Seven Samurai , I can't say much other that it's perfect . Three hours feel short with this epic . There is not a moment wasted . Each event has effects on other events in the film . There is more character development in Samurai than in the Magnificent Seven , so already that's a plus . Magnificent Seven is a good movie , but I think it pales in comparison to the original . Back to Samurai . . . I love the movie because it has wonderful character development , but also a lot of action . The last hour of this movie is as action packed as any movie . Yet , there's a moral to the story . In short , Seven Samurai is an incredible film that makes you wonder , how is it that more movies don't try for the same excellence . And , don't pass up other Akira Kurosawa films . He was a wonderful film maker who made some incredible movies . Ikiru , in my opinion , is his masterpiece . But , like all great artists , he had more than one masterpiece . Don't miss High and Low , Yojimbo , or Rashomon , as well as his other movies .
090 4 It is only when you watch a movie like 7 Samurai that you realize how terrible hollywood movies currently are . Kurasawa managed to create a classic that is timeless even for Western audiences even though he was working with inferior cameras , black and white film , and almost zero special effects . The film does not look at all sub par , indeed , when you talk about just basic appearance it is as good as any modern movie without the ugly distortions you find on many older movies . It is a true testimate to the artistic aspirations of this film that modern audiences can still relate to the work's themes even though they are presented from a non-western tradition and in a foreign language . But the sheer creativity of Kurasawa is amazing . It is as if he landed on the moon a thousand years before Armstrong and used only a piece of paper and an abacus for the calculations . When Kurasawa needs somebody to be shot with an arrow and has no special effect to simulate the scene , he actually shoots somebody ( wooden plank under the shirt ) . When he needs somebody to be run over with a horse he actually runs him over . And when he needed an actor who could express volumes only with gestures and facial expressions he hired Toshiro Mifune , the Humphry Bogart of non-western cinema . 7 Samurai is magnificent , even at over three hours every scene is packed with meaningfull information that serves to flesh out every one of a dozen major themes . This is sure to be a movie you will watch multiple times .
102 4 Much of what I would say about this wonderful movie has already been said in other reviews , so I will add only that the commentary included with this DVD release - done by an expert on Japanese filmography whose name eludes me - is better and more relevant than these commentaries usually are . It provides great background information and explanations of what Kurosawa and his actors specifically do to make this film so great , and illuminates concepts and symbolism that are not familiar to Western audiences . It revealed many things I missed or took for granted the first couple of times I saw the Seven Samurai and greatly enhanced my appreciation of this masterful film .
119 4 I was not disappointed by this movie . Not only is Seven Samurai a wonderful story , but the cinematography in this film is incredible . Together with the quality of the DVD itself , these elements combine to make Seven Samurai a film that will leave a lasting impression on you . Even through lulls in the many terrific action scenes , it is hard to lose interest in the plot . You may even pick up some Japanese if you really pay attention ! I liked the commentary , but I would suggest watching the entire movie first with the commentary turned off , so you don't miss the little details that help make the movie enjoyable . This film may not be as fun to watch as some more recent action flicks , but Seven Samurai is riveting in a different way . Akira Kurosawa weaves a plot that makes the viewer sympathize with the heroes ; you will mourn their losses and cheer for their victories . Toshiro Mifune shows amazing flexibility , displaying everything from a hilarious drunken rage to a sober thoughtfulness . I can't say enough positive things about this movie , and the features of the DVD only add to the classic .
147 4 First let me say that I am not comparing this to the Magnificent Seven . I have not seen that classic Western . But I have seen this film , Kurosawa's greatest . Most people get initially put off by the 3.5 hour running time . Trust me , you won't even notice . I was glued to the screen for the whole time . It was amazing . After hearing so much about this film and seeing it all come to life . There are so many lessons in this film for everyone , from any background or profession . There are so many emotions and feelings that flow through this film . You can feel the bonds form between the 7 masterless samurai as they defend a lowly village from attack . You see the oldest and most experienced samurai who gives himself a mark of dishonor ( he shaves his head bald to look like a monk ) in order to save a young child . He becomes the mentor of the youngest samurai in the group . Teamwork abounds among strangers . Love springs forth in the time of war . Courage is tested , lives are lost , and honor is salvaged . The very last scene was just inspiring and will pull on your heartstrings . Don't settle for anything less then the full 3.5 hour version . It is time well spent .
172 4 much better image quality and fine extras . this is a magical film and an expression of all that is possible in cinema . you can see the significant and substantial influence of Ford and you will realize why Kurosawa was always considered the most Western of Japanese auteurs after studying this film . this nearly four hour epic never wanes in its excitement , tension , and anticipation . perhaps the greatest action film of all time and definitely one of the top 20 films .
Fantasia , which I saw when I was 5 , The Seven Samurai , which I saw when I was 16 , and City Lights , which I saw when I was about 40 . The Seven Samurai is the best . It might not be the best movie that might be made , or that should be made , or that could be made , but it is the best movie that actually has been made .
By the time I first saw it I had already seen many of what might be called the good important movies . I knew enough to be aware it had a reputation , and when Channel 28 in Los Angeles put it on their schedule it enjoyed a write-up in TV Guide : they gave it about half a page , a synopsis , a clip from the film , and a cast list . So I finally watched it with all this build-up , and was stunned .
It's hard to put into a few words why it is so good . One might break it down into its component parts as a start . How about lighting . Although there is nothing spectacular , yet there is enough ( light ) - - and it tends towards a 30s - 40s - 50s style ( it came out in 1954 , after all ) , so that in indoor scenes , for instance , the actor's face is most always brightly lit , frequently with a strong toplight or backlight . The scene with Old Gisaku ( Grandad ) in his mill where we see him for the first time being a good example . Fortunately for me I like that style . It makes sense to emphasize the actor against the ground . And it contributes to making the shots look good as photographs .
Another notable aspect is the music ; this is a powerful element right from the start : the drums under the stark black and white titles . Just from the credit sequence alone you can tell it's going to be a good , check , great movie . Fumio Hayasaka's score is probably the best score - - original score that is ( leaving out Fantasia , 2001 A Space Odyssey , and so on ) - - of any movie I can think of off-hand . It uses leitmotifs ( another technique I happen to be fond of ) , and is far more variable than most . Now that I've obtained a recording of it I seem to notice echoes ( borrowings ? ) from Lt . Kije and The Rite of Spring , but I won't hold that against it . Whatever works . Kurosawa said somewhere that sound in a movie does not just add to the visual impression , it multiplies it , and the multiplying effect here is a whopper . What it really does is to usher the viewer into a kind of magical zone few other movies have achieved . If you're going to make a great movie , it's good to have a great score on your side .
Kurosawa's staff thought he was the best director in Japan and the best editor in the world . Of course movies come in different styles , but for this style ( one might call it mid - 20th century popular ) , where the editing is used as an active storytelling element ( but not so pronounced with its montage that it just takes over ) , the touch on the editing is perhaps the best I've ever seen - - either this or something edited by Orson Welles . The Battle sequence is pretty famous , but the editing throughout is phenomenal .
Some other reviewers have noted how well the shots are set-up . Kurosawa was trained as a painter , and the care evident in the setting up of the shots seems to reflect that discipline . And there are some shots which start off with one composition , and then the actors move ( without an editing transition ) and then they end-up in a new configuration that also looks good . Negative space on the editing .
What else is there . Acting : for it's style it's probably safe to say it is among the best ; all of them , but especially Toshiro Mifune as Kikuchiyo . Seiji Miyaguchi ( who played Kyuzo ) remarked : People tell me I was good in the role , . . . It was he [ Kurosawa ] , I now know , who created that performance for me . With pure skill he somehow got the very best out of me . Story : they made it up by themselves - - not borrowed from Shakespeare or anything else ( as far as I know ) . Shinobu Hashimoto and Kurosawa squared off against each other like chess players , writing simultaneously . Hideo Oguni was the umpire . Asked whether Kurosawa tended to choose his own version , Hashimoto years later said , No , I don't think so . The story itself decided . Kurosawa said most of the best ideas came from Oguni . If you abstract everything else out of the movie , such as the music and the editing ( the way the story is told ) and focus just on the story itself , it's still a great story .
Can anything negative be said ? Yes . The subtitles aren't as good as they used to be . They were redone some years ago . No doubt they are more accurate than they were , but I prefer the older ones , which were more pungent . For instance , when Kikuchiyo surprises the other six on their journey to the village , he says something like , This way , this way . It used to be , Follow me , men . The latter has more impact because the sense of Kikuchiyo's usurping authority is stronger ( and more incongruous ) . Similarly , once in the village and the villagers have been flushed from hiding by Kikuchiyo sending the false alarm , and Old Gisaku comes up , Kikuchiyo now says something like , Are there any objections , Old Man ? He used to say , Any objections , dotard ? Not only did he use fewer words , but dotard is more insulting than Old Man , even if it is an antique expression . There are a lot of other citations that could be made : they're all over the place , really . Oh , here's another . Katsushiro discovers Shino is female , and turns away in embarrassment . Shino says something like , You're not a real samurai . She used to say , You sissy . The old subtitles had a certain flair the new ones entirely lack .
Finally , the combined effect of all these devices , in telling the story , is tremendous . The director , so to speak , did his job . The Seven Samurai is the only movie , the only movie , that creates its own ultimately believable self-contained universe along the lines of what Tolkien achieved when he wrote The Lord of the Rings . Tolkien called it , sub-creation . For that reason I would say The Seven Samurai is not only the best movie I have seen , but it is also the best directed movie .
One other thing . It's called the ANAGNORISIS . Not every story has one , but this does , one of the strongest . It's after the decisive battle ( I'm not going to tell you who wins ) . One of the survivors makes an interesting observation : We lost . That is the real climax . Go ahead , watch it , see for yourself .
001 4 As a huge fan of older films and music , I am very aware of the many attempts of studios and record companies to reissue and re-market a previously released product in a new and improved format . While many of these reissues are often superior to their previously released counterparts , I have never been one to buy into the upgrades . I feel that you don't need to have the best sound , the crispest picture , or the excess of supplemental materials in order to enjoy a film and have it affect you . In all my years collecting music CD's ( particularly jazz ) and DVDs , I think I've upgraded no more than three items from my collections .
I had been hearing for a while now about a new version of Seven Samurai coming out on Criterion that was supposed to have a brand new transfer from a recently discovered source that was to be greatly improved from any other previous edition . Being one of the most beloved films of all time ( and one of mine as well ) , this has been creating alot of excitement in the world of film lovers . Being perfectly satisfied with my version of the Seven Samurai DVD from 1998 , I had no plans to upgrade , but a side by side comparison on an internet site peaked my curiosity . And yesterday , being at a local retailer , I saw it on the shelf and decided to spring for it .
Let me tell you . . . . if ANY of you are on the fence about this one , particularly those of you who are big fans of this amazing film , I advise you to go for it . The difference between this edition and the previous edition is so drastic that I could not believe my eyes and ears . I have never had this experience with a DVD before , but the improvements in picture and sound quality are SO great that I actually felt like I was watching Seven Samurai for the first time . The clarity of the picture is absolutely amazing . The glorious black and white tones are much richer , but what's most impressive is how nearly all the imperfections , scratches , and blemishes that were so prevalent on the previous edition have been removed . You can tell why this edition took so long to get released . . . . Criterion obviously took alot of time with this one . Their efforts paid off . Also , the sound has been greatly improved as well . Not only have they cleaned up the original mono soundtrack , but they've added a stereo surround track as well . Normally , I cringe at these new and improved soundtracks on old films , but this track does not sound artificial at all , but rather more like an enhanced version of the mono track . The stereo surround track together with the gorgeous new picture made for a unique experience watching the film . You are still watching the great Kurosawa classic that you know and love , but at the same time it seems that even more life has been breathed into it . Didn't think that was possible for such a perfect film , but Criterion proved any doubter wrong .
Please keep in mind that I haven't even gotten to the bonus materials , the commentary tracks , nor the very attractive book yet . And there isn't much more that I can say about this amazing film that hasn't already been said . Just based on the presentation of the film itself in this new package from Criterion , I would highly recommend to everybody who loves this film and is thinking about upgrading their version of the film , that you do so . Its beautiful . And remember , this is coming from someone who doesn't generaly care for upgrades .
002 4 Akira Kurosawa made Seven Samurai because he wanted to make a real jidai-geki , a real period-film that would present the past as meaningful , while also being an entertaining film . Kurosawa considered Rashomon , the film rightfully credited with making the West aware of the Japanese cinema , with being neither . But in his attempt to make a truly realistic film , Kurosawa redefined the conflict at the heart of Japanese films . Before Seven Samurai this conflict was that of love versus duty , where the central character is compelled by fate to sacrifice what he loves in the name of duty . In Seven Samurai the focus remains on duty , yet the conflict is now between the real and the pretended . Calling yourself a samurai does not make you one , something proven time and time again in the film , from the test of skill turned deadly between Kyuzo ( Seiji Miyaguchi ) and the tall samurai to the first appearance of Kikuchiyo ( Toshirô Mifune ) , with his stolen pedigree . Like Katshushiro ( Ko Kimura ) , the youngster who wants to learn from the master , Kambei ( Takashi Shimura ) , the audience is educated as to the true nature of the samurai .
For me this film deals with the heroic , albeit in realistic terms . I have shown the film in World Literature classes , after students have read Homer's Iliad and as they begin reading Cervantes ' Don Quixote . Within that context , compared to the brutal arrogance of Achilles and the gentle insanity of Quixote , the heroic qualities of the seven samurai become clear . Their inspiration extends to some of the villagers . Manzo ( Kamatari Fujiwara ) is crazed with fear over the virtue of his daughter , Shino ( Keiko Tsushima ) , and Rikichi ( Yoshio Tsuchiya ) fights to avenge the disgrace of his wife and his precipitating the death of Heihachi ( Minoru Chiaki ) , but it is the comic Yohei ( Bokuzen Hidari ) , who finds within himself the ability to fight , a die a tragic death , who is the true barometer for what the samurai mean to the village . But the greatest tragedy is that despite this most noble effort and the bodies buried in honor at the top of the village cemetery , this has been but a temporary union between the villagers and the samurai . When Kambei declares , We have lost again , he redefines the battles : it was not to kill all the bandits , it was to find a true place in the world . Yet we should have already known this , for the painful truth was driven home when Kyuzo , the master swordsman , is gunned down from behind . No better proof is needed in this film of the bitter truth that the world is not fair .
Mifune is the maniacal spirit of this film , as the faux-samurai Kikuchiyo , the dancing whirlwind whose emotions overwhelm everything including himself . But it is Shimura as Kambei , who embodies the mentor mentality with a minimum of effort , evoking more by rubbing his hand over his shaved head or giving a single piercing look than by any spoken dialogue . Even in a strong ensemble these performances stand out , for clearly different reasons . To fully appreciate Kurosawa's mastery in Seven Samurai you need to watch the film several times to better appreciate the way he constructs scenes , using contrasting images , evocative music and varying the length of cuts to affect tempo . For example , look carefully at how the early scene of the farmers searching the streets for samurai and the later sequence where Katsushiro watches Kyuzo and Kikuchiyo waiting for the bandit scouts to return to their horses . Both of these scenes are superb primers to Kurosawa's style .
For years we had to put with the 160 - minute version of the film that was made for export , which was actually called The Magnificent Seven until John Strugis's Western remake . Fortunately , Seven Samurai has been restored to full 208 - minute glory , saved from being a lamentable cinematic tragedy on a par with Greed , The Magnificent Ambersons , and Ivan the Terrible . There is a sense in which Seven Samurai is truly my favorite film , because it was the one that instilled in me a love of cinema , of the craft and art of movie making , of compelling me to understand intellectually how Kurosawa was skillfully manipulating my emotions . The final battle sequences , fought and filmed in a torrent of rain , exhausting characters and audience alike with its increasingly relentless tempo , is given its potency because of the human elements that have been established in all that has taken place before hand . Seven Samurai is a magnificent film against which the vast majority of epics pale in comparison . Not even Kurosawa scaled these heights ever again .
012 4 Defining the best movie ever made is very subjective , and the hype generated by such praise often gives viewers expectations that a single movie cannot hope to satisfy . Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is one of the rare movies in that it is universally praised and admired by film scholars and casual views alike . Though I will claim that this is indeed the best movie ever made , it is near the top of my list , and I firmly believe that it deserves every inch of the hype . And it also goes without saying that the Criterion DVD is the only way to go .
Despite the long running time , the story is surprisingly easy to follow . A group of poor villagers , impoverished by constant attacks by bandits , hire a group of ronin samurai to defend their village from the impending attacks . The main character is played by Kurosawa staple Toshiro Mifune , playing the misfit of the samurai group who carries the large sword over his shoulder , and can convey his thoughts without even opening his mouth . Also putting their best feet forward are several prominent Japanese actors of the day , many of whom went on to star in future Kurosawa pictures . The battle scenes , many of which take place towards the latter quarter of the movie , are masterfully choreographed and filmed , despite the low budget of the film . Also ahead of it's time was Kurosawa's camera trickery , such as the fading , the deep focus , and trademark use of weather and lighting conditions to accentuate the mood of the film ( he uses heavy rain to signify hard times for the villagers , for example ) . For great insight into Kurosawa's technique , listen to the commentary track by Japanese film scholar Michael Jeck .
The Criterion DVD is not as full-featured as other Criterion DVDs , but this is probably due to the lack of archival material . The only real extra of note is the aforementioned commentary . It is as informative as DVD commentaries get , though so much information is given that you might be tempted to take notes . Michael Jeck is obviously an expert on the subject of not only Japanese movies , but the culture and history , and he gives plenty of side information on Japanese customs and samurai traditions . Most interesting is how he points out many nuances in Kurosawa's filming style . You will walk away with a new appreciation for the movie after hearing the commentary . On the technical side , the print is better than any previously released , and miles better than the discounted Region Free copies floating around . Though there is a bit of grain in the darker shots , for the most part the print is excellent .
Seven Samurai is a bona fide classic , and one that deserves all the praise it receives . It never feels dated , and the use of comedy , action , and drama ensures that sitting through the 3 ½ hours is enjoyable , rather than an endurance trial . The Criterion release , with the quality transfer and the excellent commentary , is the best way to experience it . Also recommended from Kurosawa are Ikiru , Hidden Fortress , and Yojimbo , and all are available from Criterion Collection .
013 4 Those complaining about the aspect ratio apparently aren't seeing the film with a film buff's eyes . The 4 : 3 format is what it was shot in originally , and it's evident from the absolute perfection of the framing of each and every shot .
As a director myself , I continually find myself slackjawed at how masterful the camerawork is . . . the three survivors at the base of the burial mound . . . lingering on the peasant / ronin's bare feet after he breaks down and reveals his past . . . I could go on and on .
I must say that I'm much happier with the ( albeit expensive ) Criterion version of the film than the VHS version . The sound holds up much , much better and the picture is as pristine as an almost 50 - year old film is likely to be .
Those expecting non-stop action are likely to be disapointed , but as a story , a character study and a very profound commentary on class struggles it's one of the finest films ever made , bar none .
025 4 Ditto Salvador Polanco's review below , as well as many other recent positive reviews . Except that I always thought the 1998 Criterion release had pretty poor image quality , very dark , flat and muddy - and was therefore thrilled to learn Criterion would re-release it this September . I pre-ordered it in July 2006 , received it last Friday and we watched it as our feature presentation Saturday evening . Before getting my copy in the mail , I had seen a few frame comparisons between the 1998 and 2006 versions on a few DVD-related websites that confirmed what I had been hoping for , but actually watching the film all the way through exceeded even those high expectations . All I can say is , WOW .
What really struck me was how much more feeling and expression came through as a result of the new transfer . This film was so much more humorous , touching and exciting than I remembered - because you can see so much more detail in the characters ' facial expressions and body language . And as a result , you get a much better idea of who each character is and how they relate to one another . It was indeed like watching this nearly perfect film again for the very first time . As though 50 years of grease and grime had been miraculously wiped away . Perhaps it is still not as clear and brilliant as the most recent versions of Casablanca , Citizen Kane or Wizard of Oz - which are virtually perfect in terms of picture quality - but considering the source material I don't think we could have expected anything better .
Bottom line , if you can afford the admittedly high price , I urge you to buy this version - even if you already own the earlier edition ( sell it used to someone who doesn't care ) . First , you will have an absolutely essential piece of cinema in its very finest DVD presentation ever . Second , you will be supporting the important work Criterion is doing to restore and preserve some of the greatest films ever made .
027 4 Well , if you haven't seen Seven Samurai then you're not really qualified to call yourself a film fan , basically . One of the most influential movies of all time , that still holds up extremely well nearly 50 years later .
Akira Kurosawa's epic tale of heroism and barbarism set the standard in so many ways it's hard to imagine that any modern film does not show its influence in some way or other . A great script , great characters , mostly great acting , splendid cinematography and action sequences that wrote the book about how these things should be filmed . Even now , after so many have tried to imitate or beat it , Seven Samurai remains a totally gripping 3.5 hour experience .
Akira Kurosawa is one of the gods of Cinema - men who seem to have been born to make films , who have it in their blood . People like Alfred Hitchcock , Stanley Kubrick , King Hu and Steven Speilberg , who make it look easy . . . who so obviously get it . In this pantheon , Kurosawa is perhaps the daddy of them all , however , and Seven Samurai is one of his finest moments .
The scale of the production is remarkable - to undertake making such an epic in post-war Japan was a feat in itself . The cast of dozens of inhabitants of a villiage specially built for the movie , the 40 bandits and their horses , all the costumes , the armour , the weapons . Few directors could have brought all of this together and still paid such attention to the smallest of details in script and scene . Credit must go to the team Kurosawa worked with too , I presume
The movie's setup became the template for many movies to follow , the most recentl example that comes to mind being the excellent Korean period movie MUSA ( The Warrior ) , for example . A motley band of characters is assembled and placed in a situation where the odds are seemingly stacked against them , and each gets there chance to really shine , prove themselves and become something more than a normal man .
Kurosawa's Samurai movies all share a little bit in common , which is the depiction of the Samurai as some noble beast , different from the common and pathetic rabble of ordinary man . In Seven Samurai the farmers are a base lot , cowardly , selfish , vain , pathetic and treacherous . How he found actors with such miserable looking faces is a mystery in itself . In contrast , the Samurai embody all the qualities that humanity would generally like to believe define it ( us ) . Brave , righteous , honest , strong and heroic . Toshiro Mifune's character stands in the middle and represents this difference - perhaps meant to suggest that mankind can strive to rise above his flaws , but mostly suggesting to me that the common man is basically a mess and we should learn to respect our betters . Kurosawa was definitely not a socialist , unless I'm mis-reading him wildly .
I'm sure many out there wonder , does a 50 year old black and white movie about Samurai really have any interest or relevance to us in the 21st century ? The answer is a definite Yes ! . Seven Samurai shows us what cinema can be , what cinema is * meant * to be . It is moving picture as art in a way that the multiplex-fillers of today cannot possibly claim to be . It's a film that satisfies on many different levels , and still provides a bench mark which today's film makers could and should use to evaluate their own contributions . True , few out there will ever be able to claim they've made a film that rivals Seven Samurai in scope or beauty , but this * is * what every director should aspire to ! The sad thing is , I just can't see a project like this ever coming out of the Hollywood studio system , where art is just another commodity and marketing is the new god
030 4 Kurosawa's immortal masterpiece gets a new finish , with Criterion's excellent print restoration technology . The extras on the DVD are few , ( a trailer and a commentary , ) but it's really the improved audio / visual quality that makes this a worthwhile DVD for your collection .
I won't go into the story of the film since that can be readily found elsewhere , but it is worth remarking that its spin-off The Magnificent Seven , while a fine film in its own right , can't hold a candle to this classic original . Roberts and Sturges in making The Mag . 7 managed to copy several scenes , but shyed away from several of Kurosawa's more controversial themes and gave less attention to camera work , particularly to shooting the landscape . I can't be sure , but it seems that Kurosawa deliberately added wind effects . His use of natural moon , fire , and sun light to complement the artificial sources is overwhelmingly powerful in intensifying a scene . His depiction of rural Japan seemlessly weaves the forces of nature and human affairs into a unity that is as rustically believable as it is beautiful .
Toshiro Mifune , that prolific Japanese film hero in other roles , is superb as the surly but lovable Kikuchiyo as is Takashi Shimura cast as the jaded and battle-worn but martially accomplished Kambei .
Shichinin No Samurai is undoubtedly one of those rare films that transcends genre boundaries and appeals universally . A true classic .
032 4 I bought this DVD with the idea that The Criterion Collection produces very high quality DVDs . Though I understand this is an old film , I was very surprised to find that the quality of the print was inferior to the DVD of the same film published in the UK by the British Film Institute ( available on amazon's UK site ) . The UK release was transferred from a new and seemingly flawless print of the film . Perhaps this Criterion edition was from an older print - at least there were regular artifacts all over the screen , and in most of the brighter shots , for example where a lot of sky is visible , the picture pulsates . This is a familiar sight to anyone who watches old movies , but I was surprised to find it on this DVD , especially considering the perfect picture of the BFI release , which is so good that it looks like the film was shot yesterday . I also found the commentary was a little bit of a let-down . I found there was too much only slightly interesting trivia , and not enough analysis . That being said , the commentary on the UK DVD was completely worthless .
. . .
033 4 Akira Kurosawa has directed some genuinely great movies , such as Rashomon , Ran , and Kagemusha . Yet another classic is his Seven Samurai , from which the American movie , The Magnificent Seven , was inspired .
This movie begins with a bleak sky ; the movie is shot in black and white , giving it grittiness and a rather foreboding atmosphere as filmed . Weather , as in other Kurosawa movies , is an important element . As with Rashomon , heavy rain falls at a number of critical points in the movie . There are other exquisite moments . For example , as the marauders / bandits examine the village that they plan to plunder once the crops are harvested , the villagers are crying out in terror at the sight of the band of forty . With that scene of terror is juxtaposed birds singing . The pairing of terror with bird song is oddly affecting and effective . And the sound track . . . . The Magnificent Seven , as we all know , had a powerful stirring sound track , featuring the well known theme . The sound track here is less overtly powerful , but no less supportive of the movie . At times , in certain scenes , the music is almost hypnotic .
The plot itself ? After the villagers realize that the bandits will return in the future as their crops are harvested , they go to the village elder , Granddad . The stooped old man suggests a simple strategy : find Samurai to protect the village and pay them with rice , three meals per day . That would be all . . . . In the historical context laid out by the movie , many Samurai were destitute and had little . Several villagers went into a nearby city to see about recruiting warriors to protect them . After seeing a clever and courageous ( and competent ) Samurai recue a child , they approach Kambei ( played , I think , by Takashi Shimura ) . Rice is enough compensation for him to agree to raise a force of seven , the minimum number that he thinks could successfully repel an invasion force of forty brigands . The heart of the movie is his recruitment of seven Samurai , including Toshiro Mifune as a boastful and slightly crazed would-be Samurai and other characters .
The centerpiece of the movie is the bonds developed among the seven Samurai and the at a distance relationship with many villagers . Villagers see the Samurai is not necessarily a lot different from the bandits , in terms of their fear of them . Nonetheless , the Samurai train the villagers for the inevitable battle with the bandits . The climactic scenes demonstrate the fury of battle , the courage of plain villagers , and the skills of the Samurai .
This is a long movie ( almost three hours ) and one must really watch the whole thing to appreciate it . A few paragraphs of prose cannot really capture the spirit and essence of this masterpiece . This movie was released in the mid - 1950s ; it still holds up well today .
036 4 Is there anyone who cares about movies who hasn't seen or doesn't know about this one ?
The greatest action movie ever made . The greatest historical epic ever made - - an epic about obscure people performing obscure deeds in an obscure little village . The first let's-assemble-a-team flick . The film that spawned more first-rate imitations and cheap knock-offs than any other Japanese art film ( with Yojimbo running a close second ) .
Three and a half hours long and not an ounce of fat on it . Every scene - - every shot ! - - performs three or four functions simultaneously : it moves the narrative forward , introduces or complicates a character , establishes a setting , introduces themes or motifs , clarifies and develops important points , etc . The directorial virtuosity on display here is awe-inspiring ( it rivals Citizen Kane in its cinematic ingenuity ) . Take for example my favorite scene , the one that introduces the three main characters , the wise leader Kambei , the admiring young Katsushiro , and the swaggering oaf Kikuchiyo . There is hardly a word spoken in this scene , yet the characters of these three men are indelibly established in the briefest of glimpses , all while keeping the audience in suspense as to how , or whether , an infant will be rescued from a crazed , panicky thief who has taken it hostage . Note the brilliant , subtle manipulation of time in this scene ( it ends with a dramatic slow-motion death , a move that Sam Peckinpah later ripped off and built an entire career around ) . And that's just one of dozens of equally remarkable scenes in the film . The cinematography is gorgeous , too - - a rich , silvery black-and-white with dazzlingly sharp deep-focus landscapes , interiors , and portraits . Freeze the film at practically any frame and you've got an Ansel Adams photograph .
Criterion has done a nice job of transferring the film to DVD . The images are crisp and clear , marred only by some tiny scratches . ( Criterion has never matched the amazing transfer job it did with Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress . ) Contrary to what some Amazon reviewers believe , the movie is presented here in its original aspect ratio : Kurosawa did not make a widescreen film until 1957 , three years after he made Seven Samurai . Extras include an interesting commentary by foreign-film distributor Michael Jeck , who gives detailed histories of the various actors who appear in the film and discusses some of the cinematic techniques that make Seven Samurai so effective and affecting .
On second thought , don't waste your time and money on this dismal little dud . Buy the deluxe super-bit two-disc collector's edition of Martin Brest's awesome Gigli instead .
037 4 I hope you all will have patience with my little essay . My parents ' recreation was the movies , and they dragged me along with them from the very beginning . So I've seen thousands over the course of , by now , almost a lifetime , and three stand out from the rest : Fantasia , which I saw when I was 5 , The Seven Samurai , which I saw when I was 16 , and City Lights , which I saw when I was about 40 . The Seven Samurai is the best . It might not be the best movie that might be made , or that should be made , or that could be made , but it is the best movie that actually has been made .
By the time I first saw it I had already seen many of what might be called the good important movies . I knew enough to be aware it had a reputation , and when Channel 28 in Los Angeles put it on their schedule it enjoyed a write-up in TV Guide : they gave it about half a page , a synopsis , a clip from the film , and a cast list . So I finally watched it with all this build-up , and was stunned .
It's hard to put into a few words why it is so good . One might break it down into its component parts as a start . How about lighting . Although there is nothing spectacular , yet there is enough ( light ) - - and it tends towards a 30s - 40s - 50s style ( it came out in 1954 , after all ) , so that in indoor scenes , for instance , the actor's face is most always brightly lit , frequently with a strong toplight or backlight . The scene with Old Gisaku ( Grandad ) in his mill where we see him for the first time being a good example . Fortunately for me I like that style . It makes sense to emphasize the actor against the ground . And it contributes to making the shots look good as photographs .
Another notable aspect is the music ; this is a powerful element right from the start : the drums under the stark black and white titles . Just from the credit sequence alone you can tell it's going to be a good , check , great movie . Fumio Hayasaka's score is probably the best score - - original score that is ( leaving out Fantasia , 2001 A Space Odyssey , and so on ) - - of any movie I can think of off-hand . It uses leitmotifs ( another technique I happen to be fond of ) , and is far more variable than most . Now that I've obtained a recording of it I seem to notice echoes ( borrowings ? ) from Lt . Kije and The Rite of Spring , but I won't hold that against it . Whatever works . Kurosawa said somewhere that sound in a movie does not just add to the visual impression , it multiplies it , and the multiplying effect here is a whopper . What it really does is to usher the viewer into a kind of magical zone few other movies have achieved . If you're going to make a great movie , it's good to have a great score on your side .
Kurosawa's staff thought he was the best director in Japan and the best editor in the world . Of course movies come in different styles , but for this style ( one might call it mid - 20th century popular ) , where the editing is used as an active storytelling element ( but not so pronounced with its montage that it just takes over ) , the touch on the editing is perhaps the best I've ever seen - - either this or something edited by Orson Welles . The Battle sequence is pretty famous , but the editing throughout is phenomenal .
Some other reviewers have noted how well the shots are set-up . Kurosawa was trained as a painter , and the care evident in the setting up of the shots seems to reflect that discipline . And there are some shots which start off with one composition , and then the actors move ( without an editing transition ) and then they end-up in a new configuration that also looks good . Negative space on the editing .
What else is there . Acting : for it's style it's probably safe to say it is among the best ; all of them , but especially Toshiro Mifune as Kikuchiyo . Seiji Miyaguchi ( who played Kyuzo ) remarked : People tell me I was good in the role , . . . It was he [ Kurosawa ] , I now know , who created that performance for me . With pure skill he somehow got the very best out of me . Story : they made it up by themselves - - not borrowed from Shakespeare or anything else ( as far as I know ) . Shinobu Hashimoto and Kurosawa squared off against each other like chess players , writing simultaneously . Hideo Oguni was the umpire . Asked whether Kurosawa tended to choose his own version , Hashimoto years later said , No , I don't think so . The story itself decided . Kurosawa said most of the best ideas came from Oguni . If you abstract everything else out of the movie , such as the music and the editing ( the way the story is told ) and focus just on the story itself , it's still a great story .
Can anything negative be said ? Yes . The subtitles aren't as good as they used to be . They were redone some years ago . No doubt they are more accurate than they were , but I prefer the older ones , which were more pungent . For instance , when Kikuchiyo surprises the other six on their journey to the village , he says something like , This way , this way . It used to be , Follow me , men . The latter has more impact because the sense of Kikuchiyo's usurping authority is stronger ( and more incongruous ) . Similarly , once in the village and the villagers have been flushed from hiding by Kikuchiyo sending the false alarm , and Old Gisaku comes up , Kikuchiyo now says something like , Are there any objections , Old Man ? He used to say , Any objections , dotard ? Not only did he use fewer words , but dotard is more insulting than Old Man , even if it is an antique expression . There are a lot of other citations that could be made : they're all over the place , really . Oh , here's another . Katsushiro discovers Shino is female , and turns away in embarrassment . Shino says something like , You're not a real samurai . She used to say , You sissy . The old subtitles had a certain flair the new ones entirely lack .
Finally , the combined effect of all these devices , in telling the story , is tremendous . The director , so to speak , did his job . The Seven Samurai is the only movie , the only movie , that creates its own ultimately believable self-contained universe along the lines of what Tolkien achieved when he wrote The Lord of the Rings . Tolkien called it , sub-creation . For that reason I would say The Seven Samurai is not only the best movie I have seen , but it is also the best directed movie .
One other thing . It's called the ANAGNORISIS . Not every story has one , but this does , one of the strongest . It's after the decisive battle ( I'm not going to tell you who wins ) . One of the survivors makes an interesting observation : We lost . That is the real climax . Go ahead , watch it , see for yourself .
038 4 Kurosawa is one of the greatest directors to ever live . The man lived and breathed film .
Seven Samurai is widely regarded as his greatest work - and that really is saying very , very much .
Now I'll reserve my comments for this exceptional dvd - but let it stand that I simply cannot think of a better movie .
Of course one expects something grand out of such a highly regarded collection as the Criterion most certainly is . It delivers in most every way .
To begin , the video presentation is top-notch . The movie was originally filmed in , and is presented here in , its full screen ratio . This simple fact already gets over the ( ironic ) hurdle that many early Criterion dvds had in that they lacked anamorphic video . Seven Samurai , of course , has no need of an anamorphic transfer because it is not letterboxed to begin with .
While the video is a far cry from anything ( recent ) we are accustomed to . . . this film has simply never looked better . It is old and very , VERY dated . I , however , never found any of the film damage distracting . Once you are half-way through the movie you suddenly realise that you are not even noticing it any longer .
The video transfer is great .
The audio is presented in the original Japanese , mono soundtrack . Many people go running when they hear that a movie is either Japanese only OR mono . This is both : )
Fact is ( and any true movie fan would agree here ) that watching ANY foreign movie dubbed is a watered-down experience . Kudos to Criterion for not wasting their time on dubbing like many other studios do .
No to address the mono track . It is quite the norm presently , for studios to go ahead and re-master their old movies in 5.1 . I haven't a clue whether the original sound setups ( they need to be available in a particular form to even make remastering a possibility ) were available - but that is aside the point .
A remastering of a grand soundtrack like this , without Kurosawa's direct involvement , would again be destroying his original vision . Kurosawa was known to be * incredibly * exact in what he wanted on his film . I would simply not trust anyone but the director himself . . . an obvious impossibility .
The audio is perfect .
Fact is , that this dvd was not made to be a crowd-pleasing , bargain-bin special . It is a polished and impressive disc for people who love film . And any one that would like to call themselves a film lover without having seen this epic is already off to a bad start .
The greatest film ever created ? I believe so . And with the ( phenomenal ) commentary and great transfer - I left the dvd without wanting any more .
049 4 Normally I wouldn't mind someone's personal review , no matter how much they do or don't like a movie , but regarding user LF's review from August 3rd , 2006 I just can't help it .
In short : You'd be best to ignore pretty much all of his critique since it's almost entirely incorrect . Save for his personal opinion of liking Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven better than Kurosawa's Seven Samurai ( Which is offensive enough as it is . Especially considering that Clint Eastwood is a huge Kurosawa fan himself , and that Clint's first big breakthrough was in Sergio Leone's excellent remake of Kurosawa's Yojimbo , A Fistful of Dollars . Not to mention comparing Unforgiven to Seven Samurai is like comparing Shakespeare to Stephen King . ) Everything else he wrote is just factually wrong :
- The plot synopsis on Amazon IS correct . Toshiro Mifune does play a farmer's son turned informal Samurai . LF is confusing Toshiro Mifune with other Kurosawa-regular Takashi Shimura , who does play the lead samurai , as LF bizarrely describes the Odysseus character , a characterization that is completely incorrect and doesn't even make sense . As far as his comparison of Shimura ( who he thinks is Mifune ) not being as good as Brando . . . Well , Humphrey Bogart wasn't Brando , neither was Richard Burton , Al Pacino or any other actor . And those actors weren't Toshiro Mifune . Comparing actors to one another is pointless . Especially given the difference in nationalities and cultures , not to mention acting styles , and how superb both Mifune and Brando are on their own .
- Seven Samurai is NOT based on the Japanese book Musashi . The movie that is based on Musashi is Samurai 1 , by Hiroshi Inagaki , which came out the same year as Seven Samurai , 1954 .
- His description of the women having no role is an ignorant remark to make regarding the female characters in the movie . Newsflash , the role of women in feudal Japan was not particularly flattering . On top of which , the character of the daughter specifically deals with that very issue : inequality between men and women , and how women are viewed as servant property that is to be treated like a commodity . To which , the daughter's character is certainly not a Love interest as he describes .
Anyway , everyone's entitled to their own opinion , so long as they actually use facts that make sense . If you are reading this review and haven't seen Seven Samurai , you really have no reason not to . It's all been covered before , by casual viewers and critics alike . Read the reviews , here and elsewhere . This movie , and Kurosawa along with it , deserve every bit of praise they regularly get . For good reason . No director , save for the likes of Jean-Luc Godard and John Huston was as consistent , prolific , and influential as Kurosawa . This is filmmaking at it's emotional and dramatic core . If you can't find emotional power in Kurosawa's movies , I don't really know how one can find it in ANY movies . And anyone who says this movie is too long belongs in the category with those that thought Mozart used too many notes . This new Criterion edition should be hitting it out of the park . Especially considering the fine job Criterion has been doing lately . The new packaging , extras , and most of all the new transfer have me counting the days til it's release ! It's gonna be worth every penny .
052 4 I wrote a review of this DVD about one year ago . However , when I was reviewing past reviews I had written , I was surprised to find that it never posted . Well , that's fine , because I have the newest DVD released by CRITERION , and WOW , it's everything [ plus more ] than I had ever hoped for . The film has been discussed at length here on amazon , and the reviews are incredibly great . This is without a doubt one of the greatest films ever produced . Akira Kurosawa made a classic masterpiece that will forever stand the test of time . The film is worth every penny I spent on it . CRITERION should be proud of this DVD , and if you have never seen the film , it's time you did . It is a great classic . And as I wrote , it is the granddaddy of ALL samurai films . There are some great samurai films out there , but this one is the ONE !
As for the CRITERION release [ lastest ] it's fantastic . While I liked the older version , this latest upgrade far surprasses anything CRITERION has released thus far by Akira Kurosawa . If you have the older version , wait until you see the latest DVD release . So many reviewers have commented on this film , that I don't think there is anything more to add , except if you like this film , get this latest version , because you will not be disappointed . I have seen this film countless times , and everytime I watch it I see something new in it . Takashi Shimura has always been my favorite actor [ especially after viewing Ikiru many years ago ] and I find his role top-notch every time I view the film . Toshiro Mifune as always is standout in his performance - - but everyone in the film [ all seven samurai's ] give something to the film that make this masterpiece eternal . HIGHLY RECOMMENDED . [ Stars : 5 plus infinity ]
053 4 This is my first Akira Kurosawa movie . I'm a martial artist and naturally I'm attracted to Samurai stories . This movie , however , is not about the fights and the moves ( although there are plenty of good fighting scenes ) . Seven Samurai examines all aspects of the qualities that make a Samurai a ' Samurai ' .
Cast is great . Toshiro Mifune is brilliant actor . He even reminds me of a person whom I used to train with at my last martial art school . He shares his ' rebel without a cause ' attitude .
The added features include a beefy documentary about Akira Kurosawa's journey and the Samurai film genre in Japan . Even though the movie is THREE HOURS LONG , it's perfect .
To you : See it NOW .
To Akira Kurosawa : Domo Arigato .
061 4 What can I tell you about Seven Samurai that you haven't already heard ? I was thinking recently about why it is that , although the dialogue in the film mostly functions to advance the plot , and the later scenes are mostly devoted to the mechanics of battle , nonetheless every one of the characters is vibrant and alive , and instantly wins one's trust and sympathy . The answer , I think , lies in gestures and facial expressions . The faces of the samurai embody distinct and memorable character types , and their mannerisms , rather than their words , serve to bring out details of their personality .
Katsushiro , the young samurai , has few if any introspective lines , but he's the most expressive depiction of the naive youth archetype that I have ever seen , in any film . The performance captures countless lifelike details - - like how he doesn't know what to do when Shino comes on to him , and how later he stands around looking shell-shocked . Or , for instance , how , when he sees Kikuchiyo brooding outside , he runs up to him with a boyish smile , evidently used to viewing Kikuchiyo as the jester of the group , and then suddenly looks bewildered when he sees that Kikuchiyo is not in the best of moods . Or his embarrassment when he throws the coins at Yohei and Rikichi in the inn and sees their obeisance . Or his amazement when he finally kills a bandit in battle , or his explosion of grief at the battle's end .
Kikuchiyo , too , is always interesting to watch . I don't have to point out his passionate nature , but it's interesting how the film puts in little details that set him apart from the samurai . The scene where he unsuccessfully tries to ride Yohei's horse is very funny , but it also underscores the fact that the other samurai have been trained to ride from birth , and Kikuchiyo's most valiant efforts just aren't enough to bridge the gulf between them . He frequently misinterprets what it means to be a samurai , and can't understand what exactly he's missing . He tops Kyuzo's feat by stealing one of the bandits ' guns and then fearlessly taunting them , and is surprised when Kambei scolds him . The distinction , of course , is that Kyuzo performed heroic deeds during his free time , whereas Kikuchiyo abandoned his post , but the latter doesn't get it .
Kyuzo himself is an iconic figure . The best scene in the entire film ( I have seen it cause a standing ovation in a theatre ) is when he returns in the morning with the stolen gun and modestly sits down to sleep . Katsushiro praises him to the skies , and after he prances away , there is a remarkable expression on Kyuzo's face , a bit flattered and embarrassed , and also empathetic to Katsushiro's youth . And Kyuzo's absolutely detached calm , as he sits by a tree and picks flowers while he waits for the bandits to arrive , is another timeless image .
Then there's Gorobei , who has almost no lines at all , but who instantly wins one over with his good-natured grin . He's the guy who immediately sees through Kambei's trap in the inn , and calls from outside , Please , no jokes ! He is rarely in the spotlight , but he seems to be closer to Kambei in character than the others . And it's funny that he's so easily amused by Heihachi - - the way he cracks up at the latter's jokes is funnier than the jokes themselves .
Kambei , as the leader who holds the group together and never loses his cool , and also has most of the meaningful lines , has probably been extensively analyzed already . But aside from his personal appeal , his methodical approach to strategy is captivating , because each of his moves looks so logical and well-thought-out , like something one ought to do in that situation , not at all like a mere plot point . One of the best conversations occurs when he asks Gorobei , How would you attack this village ? A professional approach , forsooth .
The film's power of suggestion extends to the setting itself . Kurosawa firmly insists on the distance between samurai and peasants . In the final scene with Shino , Rikichi's statements about the power of love fall on deaf ears , as they should . The villagers turn and leave , and Kambei decides not to intervene . This resolution , gloomy mainly due to the sense of inevitability that it creates , is admirably true to life . Also notable , and very understated , is the fact that all casualties among the samurai are due to guns . Perhaps this is a subtle way of suggesting that their era is already almost over , and even the utmost skill won't help them in modern war .
Everyone has already commented on the visual aspects of the film , but the imagery is unforgettable . There's a horrifying image early on when the farmers ' rice is stolen in the inn , and Yohei tries to pick up fallen grains one by one . And the most indelible sight is that of the chaotic , vicious final battle in the rain and mud . Kambei's meticulous planning , after holding out for so long , finally gives way to a total mess , a jumble of horses and people in which the samurai accomplish amazing martial feats in every shot , but the shots move so quickly that one doesn't have time to appreciate them .
This is one of the few truly flawless films in existence . It is three and a half hours long , but the length is hardly noticeable . The battles are gripping . But aside from the masterful choreography and technical innovation , the characters just come to life so vividly ! It's difficult to name another film where such thorough characterization would be implied through such indirect means . It belongs in any film collection .
062 4 Buy this DVD now ( the Criterion 2006 3 Disc re-release ) .
If you don't already own this set stop reading this review and click on the , Add to shopping cart , button . Now .
OK , you're still reading the review . That's fine , you can click , Add to shopping cart , once you're done reading it . And you will want to .
Seven Samurai ( or Shichinin No Samurai ) is arguably one of the ten greatest films of all time . Directed by the great Akira Kurosawa , it is a 3 Hour and 26 minute movie that feels like a 2 hour movie . Kurosawa ( who also co-wrote the movie with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni ) gives the movie a pace that is never rushed , but never drags . The pace is natural , giving the viewer a chance to get to know all of the main characters very well . Character development is just one of the high points of Seven Samurai . Each of the 8 or 9 main characters is well rounded . We learn quite a bit about some of them , and the information always comes at the right time . Their personal stories are all interesting , and the characters come across as real people with real lives - even if those lives would have occurred long ago .
The plot is deceptively simple . Kurosawa had a knack for using simple plots that he fleshed out which character development and interesting turns of events , and it always made for a fantastically focused story .
Here , we have a farm village that has been ravaged by bandits in a time of civil strife and civil / feudal wars in Japan . One of the farmers overhears a group of bandits as they come across the village . As they remember raiding the village not long before , they know that there won't be much to take now , but later when the barley is harvested there will be plenty to take . The villagers , desperate for a way to stop the bandits , decide to hire Samurai to defend them , but with no money to pay them , all they can offer the prospective Samurai is food an lodging .
The way in which Kurosawa plays out this simple plot is a joy to watch . Every single aspect of Seven Samurai works . The film is simply flawless . The script , the direction , the photography , the acting ( Toshiro Mifune is , as he almost always was , brilliant , but the rest of the cast , led by Takashi Shimura as the lead Samurai is excellent as well ) , the sets - it is all perfect .
Another aspect of this movie that makes it even more noteworthy are the action sequences . Seven Samurai is a drama . It is a plot driven and character driven drama , but the great character and plot moments lead up to several action sequences . Some long , some short . All of them are amazing to watch - especially considering that this movie was filmed in 1954 ! Watch carefully and you'll see some of the first ( if not THE first ) uses of slow motion in action sequences .
Kurosawa's greatest achievement with the film could arguably be the fact that Seven Samurai does an incredible job of capturing the way that period in time in Japan must have looked and sounded . The viewer really is taken into a world long since gone .
Seven Samurai not only holds up well under repeated viewings , but it actually gets better . This is an amazing film that every serious film fan should see .
And own .
The Criterion 2006 3 Disc re-release of Seven Samurai is nearly as brilliant as the film itself . The film has been cleaned up quite a bit , and the new transfer is excellent . Along with the two discs of the film itself is a 3rd disc of supplemental , Bonus , feaures , including multiple documentaries and interviews . Actually , there are more supplemental features on discs one and two as well ( including two separate audio commentaries , and another installment of Toho Masterworks ' Akira Kurosawa : It Is Wonderful to Create , series ) .
While Seven Samurai is arguably one of the ten best films of all time , an argument could even be made that it is THE greatest film of all time . Whether or not it wins that argument is up to you , but it is clearly a great , great film and a testament to the talent and genius of Akira Kurosawa as a filmmaker .
Buy this DVD set now ( if you don't already own it ) . You'll thank me later .
( Other highly recommended Kurosawa films include Stray Dog , Rashomon , Ikiru , The Hidden Fortress , Yojimbo , Sanjuro , High and Low , The Bad Sleep Well , and Ran - and that's just for starters ! )
064 4 Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai is a true classic , hands down . I was a bit skeptical to be honest about such raving reviews of this movie and when I got it , I was stoked to have gotten such a lovely package of DVD and that it was the Criterion Collection which made it feel more special . I intended to just watch some of it to get a feel for what the film felt like . . . but I ended up watching the WHOLE movie on both DVD discs it was formatted on and it was several hours well spent . The story is seemingly simple , but the character development , engaging plot and extremely addictive screenplay was too much to let down . Every moment in the movie captivated me , there wasn't the slightest of a dull moment , and when there was a still moment , the cinematography to capture each scene was so well done , they felt like paintings ; or extremely well-done photos to just look at and admire . . . this movie was purely beyond its time and I almost feel like alot of homage should be paid to this movie by all other directors and future filmmakers , or to say the least , should pay tribute to it and watch it more than once as I know I probably will watch it again , and again , and many more times in the future , with friends , with family , and ultimately by myself to admire and enjoy because this movie was purely a thing that touches the soul .
It made me laugh .
It made me cry .
It made me explode with abundancies of emotions I cannot point to just one feeling alone . . . this movie is hands down AMAZING ! THE BEST ! PERFECT ! Truly a timeless classic .
I am so glad I got this movie and will be cherishing it for so many years to come .
065 4 The original Criterion Collection release of Seven Samurai was fantastic by itself . This reissue blows it , and nearly every other DVD out of the water . It's easily the best DVD release of 2006 . All of the original content from the first release is here ( including the fantastic Michael Jeck commentary ) , along with new material , such as a nearly 3 hour interview ( subtitled ) with Kurosawa himself . The packaging is awesome as well , and impressive .
I don't think I need to talk about how great the film is . If you're reading this , you already know .
BUY IT , NOW ! ! Even if you have the first release , buy this one . It's one of the few DVD's that I can recommend to anyone .
066 4 Many of the other reviews have summarized Akira Kurosawa's excellent film , so I won't recap it since you are probably familiar with The Seven Samurai .
Rather , if you are concerned about shelling out the money for this edition when you already have the earlier release , rest easy . It is well worth the price . Having seen the movie many , many times , I was shocked at how the upgraded footage made scenes seem new and brought out many details I had missed . The supplemental materials : commentaries , documentaries , interviews , and the booklet ( with reminiscences from Mifune Toshiro ) complement the movie nicely .
If you are on the fence , go ahead and buy it . This DVD is worth it !
067 4 Seven Samurai is the greatest film made by perhaps the world's greatest film director . The string of films from Rashomon to Red Beard represents an almost unbroken run of classic films ( all but one starring Toshiro Mifune ) , not the least for the fact that Akira Kurosawa was able to infuse humanism and populism amongst the chaos and indifference in a wide variety of settings . Individuals could make a difference in an indifferent society ( Ikiru , Red Beard ) or work together for a common cause ( Seven , Sanjuro ) , while in other films the inhumanity of class culture ( The Lower Depths , Stray Dog , High and Low ) was laid bare . Yet at other times , it could be seen that Kurosawa soured on the idea that society could change for the better in films like The Bad Sleep Well and Record of a Living Being , giving way to the chaos of Fortress of Blood and Yojimbo . But whether pessimistic or optimistic , Kurosawa's films seldom fail to both entertain and inform .
Seven Samurai's principle strength is that it manages to do both on an extraordinarily high level . For a film of this length ( three hours and 27 minutes ) there is almost no wasted footage ; nothing here is simply there to be pretty and fill-in a slow patch . Everything has a purpose ; there is nothing mysterious about the motivations of the bandits , the conflicting attitudes of the villagers , the quiet charisma of Kambei ( Takashi Shimura ) which binds the samurai to a cause for which there is little to be gained besides a meal and possibly death . From the beginning there is a logical progression of human action in relation to the problem at had . The viewer has the feeling that the film has a completeness that other epic films strive for but fail to achieve .
Although at times it may seem otherwise to a viewer weaned on non-stop violence or cheap emotion , Seven is never a dull polemic . Humor abounds , and conflicts between villagers and / or the samurai are often accentuated to elicit maximum ( but never melodramatic ) emotional effect . Even during periods of quiet contemplation , Kurosawa won't let the incongruities of human existence escape unnocticed : Kyuzo sits under a tree reflecting on a flower he has picked , and an instant later he rises to kill two bandits just as serenely . When they come , the battle sequences are given over to realism , not style ; watching the attack on the bandits ' hideout , we are amazed that unlike the stylized wire-fu in current films , we see men who don't have time to pose simply hacking away before they get hacked . In the final battle sequence , Kurosawa turns up the authenticity to a fever pitch . We become so involved in the fighting ourselves that by the time the naïve , innocent Katsushiro is overcome with bloodlust we too are disappointed that all the bad guys are already dead .
Unlike the original Criterion release , the film is split on two discs rather than one , apparently to accommodate a slightly improved video transfer and two additional audio tracks , one a new 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound , the other a new commentary track . Michael Jeck's audio commentary is a holdover from the first release , and for me it is preferable since like the film it is lean and to the point - - and doesn't drown out the film track , so that one can enjoy the film with the benefit of Jeck explaining cultural idiosyncrasies and film technique . The new commentary track is split between a half-dozen film critics , one taking over a particular section of the film from the other . This gimmick is at times disconcerting , and while it may be of some interest to hear a variety of opinions , the fact that they don't compete with one another means we don't learn anything much that is new .
As one might expect from a three-disc set there are a few supplements ( whether they are worth the $49.99 price tag may be a matter of conjecture ) . The most interesting to me of these is My Life in Cinema in which Kurosawa discusses the evolution of his art . At the outset the interviewer tells him that his tall stature is not typical of the Japanese ; as the discussion goes on , apparently neither does the conformist Japanese stereotype apply to him . Despite his reputation on the set , here we see an often bemused , modest and self-deprecating individual ; Foreigners treat us ( Japanese filmmakers ) like VIPs ; in Japan we're treated like tramps he jokes at one point . Two additional documentaries are the serviceable overview of the film ( from the It is Wonderful to Create series ) and of the samurai film genre , Seven Samurai : Origins and Influences .
There is also a small booklet which contains a few brief comments from a variety of individuals , the one of greater interest is provided by Mifune , who like some other great actors of our time didn't take himself or his profession too seriously . We certainly get the sense that Mifune was proud to be a part of Seven Samurai , but as for having fun doing it , that was another matter .
If a film ever deserved special edition treatment , it is Seven Samurai . I would have preferred a more thorough and penetrating making-of documentary for a film of this caliber , and I suspect the price may scare away all but the most devoted film aficionados . Still , if you have to have it , you have to have it .
068 4 A ferocious bandit clan . A village without hope or money . Seven desperate ronin , each with their own story to tell . And a battle that will decide all their fates . Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI has inspired generations of filmgoers and filmmakers . And the great thing about SEVEN SAMURAI ? It's not a stuffy period film . This film MOVES . It's action-packed , with real characters that you care about . It's a rich tapestry of action , emotion , and bravura filmmaking that has not really been topped since .
Criterion did this film justice with the last single-disc release , especially the commentary which felt like Kurosawa 101 , entertaining and informative . Mr . Jeck's commentary remains on this new version , and Criterion has stepped up to bring us the definitive SEVEN SAMURAI disc . Commentaries . Documentaries . A two hour ( ! ) interview with Master Kurosawa himself . Essays . And a newly subtitled high-definition transfer that will have fans drooling in anticipation .
If there's one DVD to own . . . this one is it . And if you haven't seen this film yet . . . I envy you . Because when you do , your world's going to be changed . The best film ever made , now has an edition worthy of its greatness .
075 4 Donald Richie thought it was Kurosawa's finest , and suggested that it might the best Japanese film ever made .
It is a film that rewards casual viewing , careful viewing , repeated viewing and viewing over time . Isn't that rather like a wonderful book , that rewards you every time you pick it up ? I suppose that is the definition of greatness .
How was this greatness achieved ? ( This is not a rhetorical question . It truly astonishes me how this film creates meaning . . . cutting across all boundaries of nationality , language , and culture to become a meaningful personal experience for those who view it ) . This creation of greatness may be a mystery , but we can point to the some features of the film's excellence :
The achievement :
This simple but complexly nuanced human story , the music , the cinematography , the editing and the acting all conspire to create a world that becomes ours on a deeply personal level . It is a film which influences later films and filmmakers .
The story :
Based on an original concept of Kurosawa's which began as a day in the life documentary of a samurai's existence , Kurosawa developed the idea into this breathtaking film of samurai who save a village .
The actors :
These are characters you will love , people you need to have in your life : the characters of Kyuzo , Heihachi and the unforgettable Bokuzen Hidari as a bewildered peasant . . ! Takeshi Shimura , as the leader of the samurai , Gambei , is the embodiment of wisdom , and calm in the storm . And , saying that Toshiro Mifune has star power is like saying the noonday sun sheds a little warmth .
Toshiro : It's the cut of his jawline when he asks the village patriarch , Got a problem , grandad ? , and the most charming look of confusion and embarassment playing over his face when he is told by Heihachi that he is the triangle on the samurai flag . It's his energy , speed and agility and power and intelligence . Mifune sniffing out the fuse of a gun in the woods , bouncing through the brush half-naked in an abbreviated set of armor , carrying his ridiculously oversize sword on one shoulder , Mifune crying over a baby , and the incomparable scene of his embarassment that turns to rage when Mifune accuses the samurai of creating the farmer's condition .
Toshiro Mifune represents the very spirit of desire . . . the need to prove one's self : Mifune's got the animal sexuality , the physical response to emotional situations , the expressive face , the humorous and varied vocalisms ( his drunken burblings as the last samurai to audition , are nothing short of hilarious , and his fish singing is eerie and funny , too . . . also the grunted eh ? that he often uses to show confusion , and the heh of disgust . . such wonderful sounds , and so expressive ! ) Mifune's acting is wild and alive , even more than 50 years after the film's original release .
Fumio Hayasaka's music is surprising and perfect , creating humor , or a counterpoint to the action , or deepening our sympathy and understanding of the characters .
The filmography is ground-breaking :
the multiple cameras , slow-motion and attention to light and composition make each frame worthy of an 8X10 glossy . How can individual moments of such beauty be sustained throughout the movement of the film ? It is an astonishing feat . And , best of all , no image degenerates into interior design or vacuous prettiness . . . everything forwards the movement of the cinematic experience . When the film ends , we feel as if we have lived it !
It is with great respect and humility that I offer my thanks to the memory of Mr . Kurosawa . His great work leads us to treasure humanity and its struggles , to have compassion , to try to make good choices , to be socially and morally responsible , to embrace life .
078 4 I finally did it . I watched SEVEN SAMURAI , directed by Akira Kurosawa . The first thing that came to my mind after viewing the film was , Why did I wait so long ? For me , I have no argument with any of the past critics ( Pauline Kael , Siskel & Ebert , or the slew of consumers on Amazon ) . There is a reason that this magnificent film , by Kurosawa , has been given such high praise , dating all the way back to its release in 1954 , when it rightfully received the Venice Film Festival Silver Lion , and was later voted One of the Top Ten Best Films of All Time in the 1992 Sight and Sound International Film Directors ' Poll . Gene Siskel calls it One of the greatest films ever made . The film that was transformed into the popular western The Magnificent Seven . [ That's another film I have waited far too long to watch ! ]
SEVEN SAMURAI truly has something for everyone , and in its full 208 minutes of glory , the scenes fly by way too quickly . This remarkable story , based on Japanese history , depicts 16th century Japan , in the wake of a very turbulent chapter in the nation's past . Peasants and farmers are starving at the hand of ruthless bandits , who are raping and pillaging their rice fields ( as well as their people ) . Who can save them , but a group of seven bold men [ the title's samurai ] leading a group of locals into battle , to take on these evil men . There are moments that are laugh out loud hilarious , followed by great dramatic and action-packed scenes ( yes , this is a violent film - - but , I am sure , judging from the title , that doesn't surprise you ) , and even some romance . The dazzling cast includes Kurosawa regular Toshiro Mifune ( YOJIMBO ) , as well as Takashi Shimura ( IKIRU ) .
What makes this film stand out so much ( aside from the wonderful acting and engaging story ) is the innovation in cinematography that was incredibly progressive for the time that it was made ( the 1950s ) . This includes bold use of slow motion , a rapid moving camera and long-lens photography . When my mom was looking over my shoulder , ever so often , she remarked that she could have sworn that this film was shot in color . I can see why she thought that . The beautiful attention to light and shadow make you feel the color that the actors and crew must have seen , when they made this . I saw shades of gold , blue , and red ( what with all the bloodshed ) as I was watching this . You just have to watch the film to understand what I'm talking about . I really don't want to ruin the experience for you . I hope to see the DVD transfer of this , because I have heard it is far superior to the VHS version . That's hard to even imagine , for me , because this film sparkles on videotape ! Please watch this and don't wait as long as I did to enjoy SEVEN SAMURAI for the exceptional film that it is . [ As a note to all people weary of subtitles : You won't even notice them ! This film will make you feel like you understand Japanese , almost . Visually , this is a film that has the power to transcend all cultural and language boundaries . ]
081 4 The idle child is asked , If you pity these suffering villagers so much , why don't you help them yourself ?
Then the flashes of illumination dawn upon us . A scoundrel , a gambler , a rotten peddlar understands and expounds the glory of sacrifice in a sudden moment of revelation .
In an age of boundless materialism and hostility , it is a breath of the freshest air to absorb a film like this one . Its pace , its peace , its glorious morals shine on the heart and remind us of our fellowman , of his beauty , of his likeness to us . We are reminded of the virtues of Love .
Through powerful strokes of artistry , the greatest movies invite us to reflection , to learn more about ourselves and our world . In this light , Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is an epic invitation to fall in love with humanity all over again , to realize the glory of sacrificing ourselves for our brothers and sisters , and to pick the sword in the most honourable ways that we might finally know what it means to love and to be loved .
This is , personally speaking , my most cherished cinematic experience and one which moves me in new ways each time I watch it . With this , his masterpiece , Kurosawa has achieved something unique : art which transcends its own medium , which elaborates the human condition with genuine compassion , purpose , experience .
087 4 This film , along with Lawrence of Arabia , is my favorite of all time . I can't recommend it more highly .
The newly remastered Criterion edition lived up to all my standards and then some . The film looks incredible , a marked difference from the previous releases .
In this film Kurosawa introduced me to one of my favorite actors , Toshiro Mifune . Mifune's performance in this film stays with you for weeks .
I can not think of a better duo than Kurosawa and Mifune .
092 4 Seven samurai ( 1954 ) is arguably Akira Kurosawa's best film , and my favourite of those made by that wonderful Japanese director . The plot of this movie is simple enough , but it is developed in a way that enriches it , by adding depth to the characters and making the spectator realize that there is more to them than meets the eye . The rigid cast division that characterized 16th century Japan is shown , and the whole period is brought to life thanks to outstanding cinematography and excellent acting .
The story begins when the inhabitants of a very small rural village start discussing what to do about the bandits that attack them from time to time , taking everything of value with them . The farmers have very few resources and hardly any food left , but need to find a solution to their urgent problem or face certain death . An old and wise man proposes an unorthodox idea : to hire wandering samurai in very dire straits to defend the village , paying them only with food .
The others farmers deem that suggestion outlandish but , having no other options , decide to give it a try . That is the point when we accompany them in their quest for salvation to a nearby town , where they look for samurai willing to work for almost nothing . Will they get hold of some ? And what kind of people will the farmers be able to tempt with such poor offer ?
The answers to those questions , brought to life thanks to Kurosawa's mastery of the silver screen , end up giving us the opportunity to watch one of those very few movies that truly deserve to be called classics . Highly recommended . . .
Belen Alcat
096 4 Thank You Criterion . I just finished watching the new 3 DVD set and it is wonderful ! The movie itself has been beautifully restored as only Criterion can . The sound is also very well done . . . . there are not enough wonderful things I can say about the job they did on this film .
The third disc is a treat . It was very interesting watching the interview with Akira . The back ground on the movie and the rare trailers were a terrific new addition for this release . Bravo ! I cant wait for more !
101 4 For all those film goers wanting to make the leap from mainstream ( ie : hollywood , colour , english language , no subtitles , widescreen and of course . . . made in the last few years ) to anything but mainstream , you really can't get better than Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai .
Not to say you'll be jumping for joy and saying this is the best movie you've ever seen after your first viewing of it . . . . but it is the kind of movie that you will want to watch over and over again .
And on each viewing you will pick up more , you will see how the simplest of stories does have so many sub stories , and you will see how the actors ( including Toshiro Mifune ) and Kurosawa are masters in making this story not only come to life , but at the same time tug at your heart .
So take the leap , accept the subtitles , engrace all 200 + minutes of the movie and I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed .
103 4 I really wish there were more stars that I could give this movie . Akira Kurosawa's samurai masterpiece is an essential in any classics library . It tells the story of a small farming village who learns it will be the next target for a band of bandits . It is decided that the best thing to do is to hire samuria to help them defend the village . Seven very different warriors are hired to fight the bandits . They include all the samurai archetypes , the old veteran , the young warrior , the master swordsman , the tactician , the one along for a job , the jokester , and a warrior who is not a true samurai . The seven form a bond as they fight and experience great joys and sorrows through the course for the battle with the bandits .
Kurosawa has put together a movie that became the standard that all samurai , and even Amrican westerns are judged by . His use of camera is perfect . Fight scenes are very advanced and physical for the time the movie was shot . The battles are very authentic of the time period and keep the attention of even today's viewer who is used to massive amounts of blood in combat sequences .
This movie was the inspiration for the Western The Magnificent Seven . Though this is a fine movie , it cannot hold a candle to Kurosawa's original , which is a thousand times better . It is a true masterpiece of film and deserving of all the praise that it gets . Buy this movie , make some time in the day a watch this classic Japanese film . You will not be dissapointed in the least .
I'm adding this part because there needs to some clarification . A few reviews down one person makes the assertion that Kurosawa doesn't know samurai , portrayed them badly , and the fights in the movie are unrealistic . To that I say , what do you know ? Does you reading Bushido make you an expert on the ways of samurai ? Fact check time people .
1 ) Kurosawa clearly knows a lot about samurai . I would think a native of Japan would now something more than someone who read Bushido out of context . The depiction is quite accurate in the movie .
2 ) Actually I think that the samurai in this movie get a pretty fair shake . Normally they are portrayed as violent , manipulative buearocrats , because thats what they were . There is the idea samurai as described in Bushido , and then there is the reality as men who sometimes abused their authority . The Christian ideal is found in the Bible , but there are people who definetly don't follow what they read .
3 ) Lastily , I think people's view of samurai action has been manipulated by Hollywood . Movies like The Last Samurai and Zatoichi show samurai as guys who can kill five guys in one attack . That is silly . Kurosawa actually portrayed the warriors in his movie in the most acurate way he could . This was how it actually happened folks ! Forget the ideas of the lone warrior taking on fifty guys at once . That's a nice romantic view of the samurai , but the fact is there were very few people like that .
So please watch Seven Samurai for authentic samurai action .
107 4 Seven , is the number of perfection , the gathering of particular men to convey resistance and strength against a band of Thieves , entering the weak and frightened hearts of the villagers , to hopefully physically refuse the attack of the marauders , the Samurai Seven are towards some 40 of the attackers , so ; Can it be done ? You'll have to watch it my friend to know the result of such a strange Bet . Master film director Akira Kurosawa , takes you into a complete human journey of despair , friendship , blood , and strategy , all set in the warming hearts of the protagonist , a whole micro-cell of emotions and deeds , the human comedy at its splendor , sad , tragic , humorous , and violent , Art imitating Life . Proclaimed as one of the best films ever made ( which it is ) , Seven Samurai is one climax of human logic and emotions in the fields of battle , little can it be done to expose more feelings and savagery in every day against the inevitable tragedy of existence , and little can be offered to show more happiness when all its said . Kurosawa composes with extreme artistry of the image how a bunch of men can give hope in times of weakness , at the same time entering the dominions of complexity about War stratagem in killing fields . Sounds exiting ?
The film approaches the philosophical side within every man and woman , it clears the human need for social gathering , man alone can't survive , and so its better to fall united than kill with a lonely hand . Kurosawa magnifies this issues and presents them inside an intense military organization for the sake of survival , tactics , planning , eye for opportunity , and prediction of the enemy thinking , this is the very weapon in War Stratagem , organization , targeting , and accurate killing , one by one , until it is over , then you can rest , and so Kambei ( perfectly performed by Takashi Shimura ) carefully organizes both the resistance and the attack , every part moves because of his masterful strategy .
Kurosawa shows the truth about this social Class , taking away all Myths and deformations of the true Samurai , instead he delivers the real struggles and perils of such an unusual profession , the protagonist are nothing more than lonely men , skilled but miserable , without any real future , some of them are in for the Glory , others , for the thrill and excitement , in this case , they are in for the food , only one stands for the need of a Master's acceptance , the youngest is in for the experience . Don't expect to see highly choreograph battle scenes , here , the raw and almost absurd violence is shown in its real state , the intention is reality , Samurai reality , a perfect script .
Released in 1954 , the film lasted a complete year of shooting , Kurosawa pushed the producers for every resource he need to achieve his vision . Fortunately for him and us , the film was the biggest box-office success of that year in Japan , the result , a cinematic Masterpiece , crowned in 1979 by a group of high talented and respected Japanese artistic professionals , as the Best Japanese Picture ever made .
The movie contains some of the best frame compositions filmed in Cinema History , along with a dynamic development of every main character in the film , the final Canvas pushes for every emotion , situation and motion poetry ever to be cast in one single movie , plus it features the partnership of two of the greatest film giants , Kurosawa ( Akira ) , and Toshiro Mifune as the merriest Kikuchiyo . Mifune portraits with musical perfection , a man lost in his personality , in deep search of meaning and commitment , it may seems like overacting , but is the character who is overacting his emotions , like a child in a adult body , a landmark performance . The beautiful musical themes and tempos gives the final touches to this fine piece .
The DVD edition ( by The Criterion Collection ) , offers a good transferring of the movie , but its quality is not at the level of the film , scratches and dust can be seen in several of the scenes , although the ulterior visual aspects are good , a much better work could have been accomplished . The edition contains an excellent simultaneous audio commentary track by Japanese film historian , Michael Jeck , featuring deep aspects and thoughts about the making of the film , with biography of its protagonist ( cast and crew ) , along with anecdotes surrounding this mythical production .
A must for viewers , Seven Samurai , is a cinematic reference , one of the highest peaks of the Seventh Art , and a cultural mirror of long gone men , now irrelevant but indispensable in Japanese and worldwide cultures .
124 4 For purposes of this review , I'm going to assume you know the plot of Seven Samurai and its place as an esteemed film ( do a little reading up on it if you don't ) . I will focus on the product itself .
This is one of those rare remastered editions that is actually worth the buy . The movie itself is incredibly crisp and has all the lost footage , allowing the viewer to see the entire movie in a detail not seen since its theatrical release . The clarity , however , never detracts from the movie itself - it takes multiple viewing the fully grasp the content of each shot , including many details that were too small to notice in the VHS release .
The subtitles are also crisp and clean , another vast improvement over the VHS . As another review already stated , the movie is only subtitled , not dubbed , so if you have poor eyesight keep that in mind .
The movie itself is split neatly at the intermission ( which has been left intact at the end of disc one ) into a pair of DVDs , with a third disc of special features . There are two excellent bonus commentaries by film scholars - one solely by Michael Jeck , the other by four scholars ( one at a time , each getting 25% of the movie ) , including Joan Mellen ( who wrote the book - literally - on Seven Samurai ) . These commentaries are very insightful and discuss both thematic and theatrical elements of the movie .
There is also a small booklet included that has various commentaries by film critics and a small piece by Toshiro Mifune . It's short but a nice little extra .
If you like Seven Samurai , this is the edition you want , hands down .
132 4 Seven Samurai , simply put , is one of the greatest films ever made . I love movies . I love all genres , but I was NEVER a fan of foreign films . I was the typical American movie-goer . You mean I gotta read subtitles ? To hell with this . was my attitude . That all changed with two American films , that ironically has a large portion of them subtitled .
The flashback scenes to the young Vito Corleone in Godfather II were in Italian with subtitles . Two thirds of Dances with Wolves was subtitled . Those two films showed me that if the story is strong and the characters are engaging , I didn't mind subtitles .
With that in mind I approached Kurosawa . The film makers I admired most , Lucas , Spielberg , Scorsese , all cited Kurosawa as a major influence and I was very curious . My prejudice against foreign film had always prevented me from exploring . Once I had that out of the way , I was able to explore .
Turner Classics ran Seven Samurai one night . I recorded it and watched it , the next morning . I was in awe . In my life there have been three films that completely floored me , three films that left me awestruck , Star Wars at age 8 , Schindler's List , and I added Seven Samurai to that short list .
Strength of story , strength of character , strength of the filmmaker and his technique , there is not a single weak point in this film . When you factor in this was Kurosawa's first Samurai film , it make the accomplishment all the more stunning .
133 4 It amazes me that a film close to 3 1 / 2 hours long never drags for a moment , even with the fact that I watched it twice in the same evening ( the second with the DVD commentary ) . All the acting was universally excellent , but I loved Takashi Shimura as the Samurai leader Kanbei best of all . In this same year he also played a scientist in the movie Godzilla . Shimura was mostly known in Japan as a character actor , often in monster or sci-fi films - - but in many of Akira Kurosawa's films he is the star .
Slight spoilers ahead .
Look out for Kurosawa's characteristic use of weather to intensify action , especially high winds and the heavy rain of the final battle . Also , look out for the bandits cresting over the horizon as they descend down the long slope toward the beleaguered village for this final battle . The appearance of enemy hoards over the horizon will become a cliché in many later action pictures ; remember Kurosawa did it first .
And , like many of the best movies , it leaves several deep questions to be pondered . Why does this small group of Samurai defend a peasant village against a much more numerous foe ? It's obviously not for money or political advancement . It's certainly not because these peasant farmers are particularly worthy of their efforts . The other question deals with the meaning of the term ' Samurai ' itself . Many of the possible answers to these questions are embodied in the problematic ' seventh Samurai ' played by Toshiro Mifune , but the film gives no easy answers .
This is the first time I've seen this movie and it has risen to being , for me , the second best film of all time . Only bettered by Welles Citizen Kane . This film was remade in the US as The Magnificent Seven . I have yet to see this film , but can't imagine it will be any better than Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai .
Beth Palladino
134 4 It's about time that one of the best films ever made received a little preferential treatment . There is so much to this DVD you couldn't possibly be disappointed . Not to mention it is so beautifully put together you might not want to open it .
The master would be proud .
135 4 It is , in a word , fabulous . In more words :
I loved the man who played Kambei Shimada : Takashi Shimura . This film was made in 1954 and here was an actor who looked like he could star in a movie of today . He was wonderfully believable and natural - - even though I was reading subtitles the whole time . I understand from reading Roger Ebert's review of Seven Samurai that he considers Akira Kurosawa's finest movie to have been Ikiru which also starred Shimura . After the strength of his role in SS , I am eager to see Ikiru .
Of course , Toshiro Mifune was terrific as Kikuchiyo , the deranged farmer-turned-samurai . I learned a bit about him that I had been curious about . I saw him in the role of Admiral Yamamoto in Midway ( which I saw in Los Angeles in a theatre that went whole hog with the Sensurround sound system . Man ! Those planes starting up at the beginning of the film ! It was like an earthquake ! ) . His voice was overdubbed by American Paul Frees , whose voice was instantly familiar to me as the voice of Boris Badenov from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show , and as one of the voice talents in Stan Freberg's troupe ( he narrated Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America , Vol . 1 ) . The trivia I learned was that even though Mifune painstakingly learned how to sound out English phonetically , his own voice was never heard in English-speaking roles , something he regretted to his dying day .
Mifune plays the character of Kikuchiyo with wonderful verve and physicality . His mood swings are a feature of the film as Kambei Shimada marshals the farmers to defend their own village from the coming bandit attack . After a very skilled samurai stages a selfless raid on the bandit camp to capture one of their few firearms ( this is set in the 1600s ) Kikuchiyo is bothered by the gushing hero worship shown by the band's apprentice samurai . Kikuchiyo runs off and very cleverly captures a second firearm , but brings down the whole gang of bandits who manage to kill one of the band of seven . Kikuchiyo's remorse and what he does to redeem himself is a highlight of the movie , I think .
Seven Samurai is the story of down-on-their-luck samurai warriors coming to the aid of a poor village of farmers just for the chance at regular meals . The movie spotlights the suspicions some of the farmers have for samurai - - specifically the fear that their daughters will be carried off . There's the budding romance between the apprentice samurai and the daughter of the farmer who most fears the lecherous reputation of the samurai . He even cuts his daughter's hair to make her look like a boy before the samurai arrive ; but she is discovered and the apprentice is moonstruck by her .
There isn't ANY of the fancy choreography that comes standard with modern day martial arts movies . The fights are melées , for the most part , not individual mano-a-mano duels . . . but I think they are more authentic for that reason .
The slow buildup , the recruiting of the samurai to defend the village , the buildup of the defenses , the training of the villagers to stand and fight , the panicky rushing around of groups of villagers when the bandits finally do arrive , the tactics employed to whittle away at the bandits ' numbers , the things the samurai do to pluck up the courage and morale of the villagers . . . all these factors are beautifully timed and executed .
It was amazing to me to feel so strongly about a movie that required me to read all of the dialog , but I have few objections to it now that I've seen such excellent movies as Amelie , Hero , and Seven Samurai . I suppose there's an added dimension of concentration that has to be invested in a subtitled movie , but that simply makes the experience more complete , I think . I was more involved with the progress of the story and what the characters were saying and doing .
If you've never seen it , well it's about time !
136 4 Akira Kurosawa's ground-breaking film features a band of masterless samurai who accept an assignment to protect a farming village from bandits in return for food . Although they are all down on their luck in poverty-ravaged Japan , they retain their dignity and sense of ethics and honor . In addition to being an excellent action picture , it is also a fine character study that contrasts the various ways that people react to extreme hardships such as crushing poverty .
Two actors , both giants of Japanese cinema , stand out in the fine cast . Takashi Shimura is Kanbei , the wise , inspirational leader who recruits the others . Toshiro Mifune is Kikuchiyo , a farmer's son whose apparent disgust with the villages masks his sense of self-loathing . Highly recommended .
139 4 The classic praise of this movie is true - the theme is timeless , the characters are deep , the cinemetography is groundbreaking . Somehow what gets lost is that Kurosawa just knows how to tell a good story . Everything that is built on top of that is just bonus .
Toshiro Mifune comes alive as the farmer turned Samurai , who fights for acceptance from a group he idolizes . He captures the essence of the farmer / samurai conflict in his person .
Perhaps the one mistake I made was seeing this before watching the Magnificent Seven . The great western pales in comparison to this masterpiece .
The other challenge for some is pacing . Those expecting a pure rock ' em sock ' em action flick will be disappointed . Building a masterpiece takes time .
151 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
Almost everyone would know the plot of this film . The story of villagers being attacked by bandits and then hiring Samurai has been remade by Hollywood quite a few times ( Magnificent Seven , Bugs Life ) . This however is the story at its best . The performances in the film are great and Mifune can be quite humorous at times . The film itself with a running time just under 4 hours goes by incredibly quickly . I cannot praise this film enough . If you haven't seen it then I recommend you do ( In Japanese of course ) .
The picture on this DVD is quite adequate . For a film that is over 50 years old I was quite impressed how clear the picture actually was . It is presented in full-frame and is quite acceptable . Well done to those that spent their time restoring this masterpiece . The sound is Dolby Digital Mono and Japanese . It is very clear , though don't expect any surround activity . The subtitle stream is in white and doesn't conflict at all against the black and white picture . The extras are limited with an interesting commentary track , though are better than nothing .
This DVD can be recommended on the film itself . It is simply brilliant . The characters and the story just doesn't get any better than this . Well done again to the folks at Criterion for another fine presentation of a Kurosawa masterpiece .
152 4 Almost everyone would know the plot of this film . The story of villagers being attacked by bandits and then hiring Samurai has been remade by Hollywood quite a few times ( Magnificent Seven , Bugs Life ) . This however is the story at its best . The performances in the film are great and Mifune can be quite humorous at times . The film itself with a running time just under 4 hours goes by incredibly quickly . I cannot praise this film enough . If you haven't seen it then I recommend you do ( In Japanese of course ) .
The picture on this DVD is quite adequate . For a film that is over 50 years old I was quite impressed how clear the picture actually was . It is presented in full-frame and is quite acceptable . Well done to those that spent their time restoring this masterpiece . The sound is Dolby Digital Mono and Japanese . It is very clear , though don't expect any surround activity . The subtitle stream is in white and doesn't conflict at all against the black and white picture . The extras are limited with an interesting commentary track , though are better than nothing .
This DVD can be recommended on the film itself . It is simply brilliant . The characters and the story just doesn't get any better than this . Well done again to the folks at Criterion for another fine presentation of a Kurosawa masterpiece .
160 4 there's no doubt about it - this is THE greatest movie ever !
kurosawa skillfully blends action , philosophy , adventure , romance and drama in this offering .
the story is about a poor village hiring a group of samurai to defend their lives and crops from a gang of bandits . the bandits threatening the village , the hiring of the samurai leader , how he in turn selects and hires the other samurai , the interactions between the samurai and the petty villagers who don't really trust them , the dynamics between the samurai themselves ( the young samurai who wants to learn , the samurai who wants to perfect his art , the bitter samurai who is really a peasant , the leader who has to manage all the contradictions and forge them into a disciplined fighting force ) , the final defense of the village against the bandits - so the story progresses .
the development of the plot , the development of the characters , the fight scenes are all done to perfection .
the movie is in scratchy black and white , with sub-titles and nearly four hours long - but once you start watching it you cannot stop till it is over !
162 4 P > Although countless reviews have been written praising this film and although the film is not a recent one , I cannot but add another word of praise for it . Firstly , it has a very honourable theme , about the honour of being a samurai and their duty to protect the weak and uphold justice .
The story is very original and interesting ( unlike the Magnificent Seven , remember ? ) . A poor peasant village has been blundered by a group of bandits and these bandits promised to come back everytime harvest time . One of the villagers proposed to hire a samurai ( which is obviously inadequate but they are poor , so they cannot afford more ) to defend the village but his proposition was opposed by another group of people , fearing that if they fail , a worse tragedy will decend on them . Finally , with the advise of an elder in the village , they set of to find a samurai . And the story begins on how these poor people strive and suffer to find their samurai , occasionally spiced with some humour .
Besides the excellent screenplay and acting , the greatest strength in this film is the philosophy behind it . It speaks of courage ( e.g . the courage of the peasants to defend their own liberty or the lonesome but skillful samurai who braved the enemy and went into their territory to steal a rifle ) , of honour ( e.g . between the samurais where they respected each other immensely based on a strict samurai code ) , of the art of war ( e.g . on how to lure the enemies in and kill them one by one because , as Sun Tzu said , if the enemy is strong , avoid head on collision ) , of simple life and love ( yes , of course there is a love story , not a major one but enough ) , etc . etc . And you must watch how this film ends , with so much wisdom oozing out , you suddenly feel you are living among the wisest people
166 4 Charming is perhaps the last adjective one would expect to hear in connection with an old black-and-white samurai movie . But at every turn , from Gorobei's jesting response to the initial test set for him by Kambei , to Kambei's joking at the expense of the freshly de-flowered Katsushiro before the final battle , this movie shows an easy , earthy , sense of humor . This care , this willingness to psychologize each character , saves this movie from the pitfalls of most battle epics .
Yet , Kurosawa's technique is not less exalted in the action sequences . If you are familiar with Ran , or Throne of Blood , you are aware that he is the master of the big , wide-screen shot of massed cavalry advances . In Ran , for instance , the battles outside of Hidetora's castle , with the washes of orange and pink , are masterful , painterly filmmaking .
Here , the battle scenes are of a more claustrophobic nature , and all the more dramatic , as a result . The mounted bandits are shown vying at close quarters with the farmer pikemen in a grisly kaleidoscope of straining arms , tendons , hooves , spears , swords . For those who would criticize the action sequences of Seven Samurai , the following question is in order : which puts more of a demand on the imaginations - - the suspension of disbelief - - of its viewers ? A slick , cartoony CGI combat sequence ( cf , Star Wars , The Matrix , The Hulk ) , or sharp-focus photography of actual stuntmen simulating 16th-century combat ?
Ultimately , Kurosawa is able to strike a perfect balance between breadth of vision , and sharpness of focus . In doing so , he creates a full , but sharply-detailed universe for the action to unfold in .
168 4 If you're one of those people who loves classic movies , foreign or otherwise , or even if you are just a lover of great movies or a student of the arts , you owe it to yourself to see this film at least once . Why ? That's more a book than a review . . . but here goes .
In this world there are talents , and there are geniuses . Countless films are produced by talents , but great works of art are produced by geniuses . The films of people like John Ford and Frank Capra are extraordinary not just because of their genius though . They are extraordinary because of their humanity , the way that they tell the story of human beings and the world that they live in , the tragedies and triumphs of normal people in extraordinary circumstances , the epic stories that make up real history and the soul of every human being . Kurosawa's movies are like that . They reflect the same genius of people like Ford and Capra . They are very human stories .
I have seen many Kurosawa films over the years , but in my mind this is undoubtedly his greatest film . It is an epic story about a much loved period of Japanese history , a brief period equivalent to the Wild West , when Samurai roamed the streets with no master like so many wandering gunfighters . In fact , this story is the basis of the well-known western The Magnificent Seven .
But the story is not about the Samurai so much as it is about how they relate and must cooperate with the villagers they are hired to protect . Across three and a half hours you are introduced to the villagers in a truly desperate situation , and watch as they lament their plight , seek the help of the samurai , and then repeated mistrust them by hiding their possessions and women from them . The samurai who expect to be heroes after a fashion find themselves seemingly unwelcomed and feared by the peasants who not only feared them , but have killed their kind in the past as they came through the town .
And when the actual conflicts begin it's not enough just to fight samurai vs . bandits , the samurai actually have to build fortifications and arm the villagers for a long series of engagments . And as the bandits are killed one by one it becomes not a battle , but a war of attrition to see who will last longer . There are many losses along the way , and the ultimate victory leaves you with not a feeling of triumph , but of the real sense of loss that battle can give .
There are extraordinary performances all around , from the stereotypical charicatures that are the villagers to the extraordinary personalities of the samurai which range from a wize old man to a crazed eccentric buffoon ( played brilliantly by Toshiro Mifune ) , from a perfectionist swordsman to a young nobleman determined to become a hero somehow . There are numerous scenes which could be a film unto themselves , from the old man rescuing a kidnapped child to the young nobleman's first romantic encounter among the cherry blossoms . And the battle scenes are better than anything Ridley Scott or Wolfgang Peterson ( with all due respect ) ever put to film , with every sword slash meaning instant death and a final epic showdown in the muddy rain that hs to be some of the most amazing footage ever filmed .
If you like historical samurai films , you can't go wrong with Kurosawa . And if you like Kurosawa , it doesn't get an better than this film . You simply have to have the patience to get through the arduous experience that it is , and give the film time to get going ( I'd say at least an hour ) . Of course you can always watch it in pieces , and it holds up remarkably well watched that way ( thanks to the way so many segments hold up on their own like seperate short films .
Gorgeous black and white cinematography , splendid acting , fantastic plot and dialog ( even translated from Japanese ) . The film may be somewhat poor quality just because of it's age , and recording equipment when the film was made isn't what it is today obviously , but if you ask me , you'd have to be just plain crazy to let age or subtitles keep you from seeing this classic . Everyone should see this film at least once . Film lovers of all ages should buy it and cherish it forever .
169 4 I just finished watching this for the first time . In many ways , this movie is a traditional action flick . But I see why it's considered such a masterpiece : it has a very poignant , tragic subtext . Kurasawa seems to say that the samurai are actually outsiders in society despite their exalted status . The farmers - - and everyone else - - only care about them when they are in danger , but as soon as the bandits are gone , don't let the door hit you on the way out . This is symbolized beautifully when Shino turns her back on what's-his-face . ( Hey - - I only saw it once and these Japanese names are tough ) .
A lesser filmaker would have never done this . The samurai would have been carried on the farmer's arms in victory and he would have won the girl . But this movie reminds us that samurais were just lonely mercenaries without a home and the farmers they saved have already moved on with their lives .
171 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
much better image quality and fine extras . this is a magical film and an expression of all that is possible in cinema . you can see the significant and substantial influence of Ford and you will realize why Kurosawa was always considered the most Western of Japanese auteurs after studying this film . this nearly four hour epic never wanes in its excitement , tension , and anticipation . perhaps the greatest action film of all time and definitely one of the top 20 films .
I originally got this version via Netflix , and it contains the film on a good but not earth-shattering quality , on one disc . The second is special features . Michael Jeck's commentary is included , and personally , I think it is * the * definitive commentary . Whether you're a film student or not , Jeck's commentary gives you the deepest possible insight into the director and his control of the film , down to nearly frame-by-frame analysis of the more complex shots . Jeck will make you want to view certain parts of the film in slow motion , and if you do , you're rewarded with extra detail that will completely amaze you .
The 3 - disc version I'm reviewing now : Remember the above part about an earth-shattering quality ? We have that here . The 3 - disc version contains a completely superior picture and sound quality that will blow you away . This does split the movie onto two discs , but the original was made with an intermission anyway , so this is certainly acceptable . You also get not only Jeck's commentary , but even an extra commentary , as well as an art book and some extra features . This version is worth purchasing for the superior movie quality alone , but the extra materials make the transition even sweeter .
Get this movie now , if you don't have it already . When you do , get the 3 - disc Criterion version . Even if you have the 2 - disc version , you owe it to yourself to upgrade today and appreciate this film to the maximum .
045 4 I'm a 22 year old movie buff . As such , I don't really have a frame of reference for this movie because I grew up with special effects-laden , plotless epics that seem to always fall short of their scope . I didn't think there was any way I could connect with Seven Samurai , a movie made 50 years ago . Luckily , I was very wrong ! This movie is amazing . Although I love movies with huge battles ( Two Towers and Braveheart , for example ) , there was something refreshing about watching a climactic confrontation between less than 100 people . The movie is more intimate and dramatic because you get to know almost ever character who is fighting . You care about everyone and it actually affects you when someone is killed . The acting is great and the character development is impressive . The parallel stories of love , honor , family dynamics , etc work perfectly with the overarching tale of a fight for a village . Some of the scenes and vistas are surprisingly stunning , even in black and white . I definitely think that this movie has to be approached with a certain perspective to really be appreciated by someone my age , but it definitely rewards ! It is truly worthy of it's place at the forefront of Japanese ( and world ) cinema .
051 4 There are times when you should buy the newer version over the old . And there are times when someone might be milking a lucrative cash cow dry and then putting the original versions out . You know who I'm talking about .
Anyhow , the original Criterion copy was just the film and from what I remember , very little for extras except the subtitles and the commentary , which is also here . I think it was their second release . It now has a roundtable discussion by film experts . The second disc has a documentary on Kurosawa that some may have seen elsewhere . The third disc has a 2 hour documentary on Kurosawa that's about 2 hours long , and a one hour doc on Seven Samurai that's about an hour long .
That's without getting into the film itself . It's a great film but you need to put a few hours aside for it .
It definitely looks and sounds a lot cleaner , the quality is definitely a major improvement that renders the original copy obsolete , you'll notice that it's a lot brighter than the older copy and you can see more detail than you could in the older copy .
077 4 One of the greatest movies of all time just got better . ( Better picture quality . ) I'm teaching an Introduction to Film class next semester and each week we'll be discussing a different topic in film studies - - photography , editing , sound , acting , drama . I'll be using this film to illustrate every single topic , b / c it literally is like a textbook on how to make a film . I agree with the previous reviewer who said that this movie made me into a lifelong fan of film-making . The question of how Kurosawa created a timeless epic out of a gang of misfit samurai takes at least a lifetime to figure out . Needless to say , most of the remakes and knockoffs of this movie pale in comparison . You can't improve on a classic . I recommend this film to anyone and everyone . If you haven't seen Seven Samurai , you don't know squat about films .
098 4 akira kurosawa's masterpiece gets the ' do-over ' from criterion . this is by all accounts the definitive dvd version of this landmark film , absolutely no question about it . i have had this disc since the day it was released and i have yet to look at all of the extras , let alone watch the movie all the way through . i'm one of those frame-by-frame , shot-by-shot viewers . i have seen the film several times over the years , mostly on criterion's original release of the film , this is going way back . if you have never seen this film don't waste your time with any other version than this one . it does not disappoint . KYDU
113 4 Seven Samurai is one of those movies your hear referred to constantly by full-time film afficionados . Those are the kinds of movies I'm usually leery of . Finally I broke down and rented Seven Samurai , and found it to be well worth the praise-indeed , worthy of its position as one of the all-time great movies . The story is a rousing one , the cinematography instantly affecting . I liked the dvd so much I purchased a copy . I appreciate Criterion's decision to have commentary from a full-fledged Japanese film fan . He knows the material inside out and provides a wealth of small details , as well as appreciative remarks that no director would feel comfortable making . Highly recommended .
127 4 Looking at Amazon's reviews , I think I've seen some crossover between a few versions of the Criterion Collection versions of this movie , so I'll cover the two most well-known together . The movie itself is beyond words in terms of everything from camerawork , to story , to lasting impact - it's not if you should buy this film , but what version to get .
The 2 - disc version seen elsewhere : I originally got this version via Netflix , and it contains the film on a good but not earth-shattering quality , on one disc . The second is special features . Michael Jeck's commentary is included , and personally , I think it is * the * definitive commentary . Whether you're a film student or not , Jeck's commentary gives you the deepest possible insight into the director and his control of the film , down to nearly frame-by-frame analysis of the more complex shots . Jeck will make you want to view certain parts of the film in slow motion , and if you do , you're rewarded with extra detail that will completely amaze you .
The 3 - disc version I'm reviewing now : Remember the above part about an earth-shattering quality ? We have that here . The 3 - disc version contains a completely superior picture and sound quality that will blow you away . This does split the movie onto two discs , but the original was made with an intermission anyway , so this is certainly acceptable . You also get not only Jeck's commentary , but even an extra commentary , as well as an art book and some extra features . This version is worth purchasing for the superior movie quality alone , but the extra materials make the transition even sweeter .
Get this movie now , if you don't have it already . When you do , get the 3 - disc Criterion version . Even if you have the 2 - disc version , you owe it to yourself to upgrade today and appreciate this film to the maximum .
156 4 If you hate black and white movies with subtitles , think again . One night when I was sleeping at my friend's house he asked me that since I love Japanese history if I wanted to watch The Seven Samurai . Like any teen being asked to watch a three and a half hour long foreign black and white film I didn't expect to like it . I watched it and was instantly amazed at the quality of this masterpiece . This movie is well written , well acted and is highly entertaining . Surprisingly it will even make you laugh and it isn't at corny acting . For anyone who hates black and white movies with subtitles , watch this and it will change your mind . So if you like Japanese history and swords then I would highly recommend this work of art .
If your idea of a fantastic movie is The Fast and the Furious , run away right now ; what you're looking at now is the movie version of Kryptonite .
Assuming the audience has some depth perception , this becomes THE film to own , and should be a cornerstone in any great DVD collection . Fans will recognize the label of the famous Criterion Collection displayed proudly across the disc case , and under normal circumstances that's indicative of a DVD packed to the gills with extras for the real film fan . The only issue with this disc ( and hence the 4 - star rating ) is that the DVD is VERY slight on the extras , essentially giving you the film and that's it .
Normally , this wouldn't be worth docking a point , given that this is both a very early DVD , and also given that this is the only place to get the genuine , 3 + hour Japanese version of the film . When it was picked up by RKO for it's first U.S . release decades ago , the film had been greatly reduced in length , and there have been various other cuts throughout the years . This version is easily the most complete , and that alone is quite substantial .
In all honesty , it's BECAUSE of the importance of the film that I feel like I got a little cheated with this disc . Were this a film of any lower calibur , I think I'd be fine , but this is SEVEN-FREAKING-SAMURAI we're talking about ! If you're a Kurosawa fan , you really , really want to get as much as possible out of this film . As it stands , a real fan is forced to go to external sources on the film ( not hard to find ) to get all the juicy extra information that compliments it , which really isn't so bad , but the thought of what could have been had this film been released a year or two later on DVD makes me winsome .
What's crucial to point out , however , is that this shortcoming is really in no way the fault of Criterion , who have always had the utmost respect for the films they produce . It's much more a time factor : This is disc #2 in the collection ( they're well beyond #200 by this point ) and at the time , the special editions as we know them did not exist . Packing the entire film onto a single disc was a feat in and of itself , and taking into account where the technology was at the time , this really is the best the fans could have hoped for : Seven Samurai , uncut , looking and sounding as good as it was ever going to .
So , think of the 4 - star rating as a time-adjusted thing . This movie is still required , but know what you're getting so there's no dissapointment .
And Kurosawa fans , take heart : Criterion's putting out a fantastic-looking version of Ikiru , which is arguably the best Kurosawa film ever , and they're bringing all the fans ' expecations to bear . It looks like it's going to be perfect .
In the meantime , Seven Samurai is a no-brainer for any film fan .
It's an honest-to-God classic , and one of the best films ever made .
011 4 To get this out of the way right now , Seven Samurai , as a film , is a 5 - star picture . Provided the audience has an inkling of what they're getting into , this movie can be easily considered one of Akira Kurosawa's best efforts . The expert directing , multi-layered story , and mounds of social commentary make for a film that sits up there with Citizen Kane at the top of many critic's top 10 lists . It's a truly outstanding film , and one that holds up to many repeat viewings and careful analysis .
As an aside , this movie will be quite lost on those raised on modern-day Hollywood films . Anyone going into it expecting a shallow , sword-swinging thrill ride will come away confused ( and probably angry ) at the slow pace , the three-hour runtime , the subtitles , the fact that it's in black and white , the fact that it's not particularly violent , the fact that they talk so much , etc . etc . ad nauseam . I'd figure this would go without saying , but there it is again , just in case : If your idea of a fantastic movie is The Fast and the Furious , run away right now ; what you're looking at now is the movie version of Kryptonite .
Assuming the audience has some depth perception , this becomes THE film to own , and should be a cornerstone in any great DVD collection . Fans will recognize the label of the famous Criterion Collection displayed proudly across the disc case , and under normal circumstances that's indicative of a DVD packed to the gills with extras for the real film fan . The only issue with this disc ( and hence the 4 - star rating ) is that the DVD is VERY slight on the extras , essentially giving you the film and that's it .
Normally , this wouldn't be worth docking a point , given that this is both a very early DVD , and also given that this is the only place to get the genuine , 3 + hour Japanese version of the film . When it was picked up by RKO for it's first U.S . release decades ago , the film had been greatly reduced in length , and there have been various other cuts throughout the years . This version is easily the most complete , and that alone is quite substantial .
In all honesty , it's BECAUSE of the importance of the film that I feel like I got a little cheated with this disc . Were this a film of any lower calibur , I think I'd be fine , but this is SEVEN-FREAKING-SAMURAI we're talking about ! If you're a Kurosawa fan , you really , really want to get as much as possible out of this film . As it stands , a real fan is forced to go to external sources on the film ( not hard to find ) to get all the juicy extra information that compliments it , which really isn't so bad , but the thought of what could have been had this film been released a year or two later on DVD makes me winsome .
What's crucial to point out , however , is that this shortcoming is really in no way the fault of Criterion , who have always had the utmost respect for the films they produce . It's much more a time factor : This is disc #2 in the collection ( they're well beyond #200 by this point ) and at the time , the special editions as we know them did not exist . Packing the entire film onto a single disc was a feat in and of itself , and taking into account where the technology was at the time , this really is the best the fans could have hoped for : Seven Samurai , uncut , looking and sounding as good as it was ever going to .
So , think of the 4 - star rating as a time-adjusted thing . This movie is still required , but know what you're getting so there's no dissapointment .
And Kurosawa fans , take heart : Criterion's putting out a fantastic-looking version of Ikiru , which is arguably the best Kurosawa film ever , and they're bringing all the fans ' expecations to bear . It looks like it's going to be perfect .
In the meantime , Seven Samurai is a no-brainer for any film fan .
It's an honest-to-God classic , and one of the best films ever made .
018 4 Clocking in at just under four hours with not a scrap of filler , Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI is every bit as legendary at its enthusiasts would have you believe .
The basic story is extremely simple . In a period of social chaos , a small farming village learns it will once more be attacked by a band of thirty bandits after the harvest . At first the farmers despair , but village elder Gisaku ( Kokuten Kodo ) recalls that in his childhood a similar village met a similar situation by hiring Samurai to defend them . The villagers accordingly send representatives to the city , where they are able to convince Samurai Kambei Shimada ( Takashi Shimura ) to undertake the defense .
If the plot sounds familiar , it should : Hollywood would translate it into the extremely popular 1960 western THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN - - but fine though that film is , it pales beside THE SEVEN SAMURAI , which effectively turns an action film premise into a character study of the first order and endows the story with both tremendous simplicity and artistry . Much of this is due an extraordinary ensemble cast , which includes the celebrated Toshiro Mifune ( who would later appear in Kurosawa's THRONE OF BLOOD and YOJIMBO ) ; above this , however , is Kurosawa's remarkable vision that draws upon the visual motif of the circle .
The circle is a powerful presence in SAMURAI . The village is presented as a roughly circular pattern of houses ; the farmers meet in circles ; in due time the Samurai enter the circle and stand at the center of the circle , directing the defense - - and indeed the circle will become the defense , as Shimada works to find means to draw the bandits into the circle and to their doom . The motif will be elaborated : tied to the cycle of seed time , growth time , and harvest ; tied to the cycle of life ; and ultimately showing the quiet bitterness of life for those who operate outside the circular codes of community : the Ronin , the Samurai who have no master and no community , and whose lives are not valued by the community except for aid at a moment of crisis .
Shot in simple black and white , as much ( if not more ) a detailed character and culture study as it is an action film , THE SEVEN SAMURAI is extremely simple and yet extremely subtle , and ultimately one of the most powerful films it has been my pleasure to review . The quality of the Criterion DVD transfer is very good , but by no means flawless - - although it survives well , the film has not been digitally restored , and artifacts are frequent . There is little in the way of bonus material , but the commentary by Michael Jeck is quite fine . Strongly recommended .
GFT , Amazon Reviewer
085 4 SEVEN SAMURAI is one of the greatest movies ever made , but I believe classifying this as a samurai film does it an injustice . It is a precisely crafted film that reveals more with each viewing , a film that is not about action , but rather about selfless bravery , perserverance , fraternity , and the things that make a man .
There is simply no amount of praise for SEVEN SAMURAI that could ever be deemed excessive . Perhaps THE burning building film .
For those who have yet to see it ( lucky you ! ) , DO NOT watch the trailer first . Major spoilers there . Actually , perhaps the luckiest viewer would be the one who is watching it for the umpteenth time over a span of several decades .
Hire hungry samurai , and buy it now ! ! ! ! !
089 4 For about 15 years , whenever anyone has asked me my favorite movie , I have unhesitatingly replied that it was a dead heat between SEVEN SAMURAI and the Astaire / Rogers classic TOP HAT .
Many elements combine to make SEVEN SAMURAI one of the great films ever made . For me , at least , none of these reasons have anything to do with its being a samurai film .
First and foremost , it is an inconceivably gorgeous film to look at . Watching it on DVD , you can stop virtually any frame in the film and be struck with the balance and composition in the shot . Kurosawa and his cinematographer make every shot a work of art .
This is first and foremost a film about faces . After you have seen it , image after image of a person's face will come to mind . And not just the major characters . Most of the peasants in the village will continue in the imagination as vivid individuals .
The cast is utterly unsurpassed . Toshiro Mifune is extraordinary as the false samurai , but the key character is the head samurai as played by Kurosawa mainstay Takashi Shimura . Just as he holds the seven samurai and the village together , so he holds the film together . But the cast is superlative not just seven or eight characters down , but 20 and 25 down . So many of the minor characters are vividly memorable ! I think in particular of the peasant whose face looks like some of the Japanese masks you see sometimes .
For me , the action is actually the least interesting part of the film . The greatness in the movie is the tension between the samurai and the villagers , as they gradually lose their distrust and dislike of one another , and become unified both in life and in death . In other words , the greatest action in the film is in interpersonal relations , not in swordplay .
Trivia : when first released in the US , the title was THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN . Since the Western remake of the film , it has been known as SEVEN SAMURAI .
091 4 First , I would like to state , as many others have done , that this film ( just like Casablanca ) will never be available in a widescreen format , because it was never filmed in one .
Second , I would like to say to any person who enjoys such epics as Braveheart , Full Metal Jacket , Star Wars , and you know , pretty much any other movie after 1954 in which somebody gets killed , IT ALL COMES BACK TO THE SEVEN SAMURAI .
This Three hour Japanese epic tour de force sets a precedent which virtually every cinematic epic since has followed .
In conclusion , WATCH THIS MOVIE , even if you don't feel like buying it . So the digital transfer isn't perfect , it looks as good on DVD as it looks on VHs , and that's really all I expected to get when I watched this .
once again WATCH THIS MOVIE
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
A film like Seven Samurai is what makes you buy a dvd player , or begin to appreciate foreign film . Kurosawa is an auteur , a director whose vision so saturates the film that it becomes indistinguishable from that vision ; no one else could have made the film . But if you imagine a Kurosawa film made by Hitchcock or Bergman , it will also enable you to see what makes Kurosawa so special . In this timeless tale of struggles between the weak and the powerful , Kurosawa gives us a situation utterly dynamic . Everything is in motion . The wind is blowing . The rain is not just falling but drenching everything . And Toshiro Mifune is hypermanic .
Intense realism in a true jidai-geki , or historical film , was the goal of Kurosawa when he set out to make Seven Samurai , a film in which desperate villagers enlist the services of ronin , or masterless samurai , to protect them from a group of returning bandits . Throughout the film , from beginning to end , you feel this story could really have happened , and yet at the remove of history , you can see that these people and these struggles are similar to our own . At the same time , Kurosawa is a consummate artist - - his eye for beautifully framed and dynamic shots is breathtaking , and it's awesome to be able to rewatch scenes using a dvd player , or easily skip ahead to a particular scene , or view the spectacular action sequences in slow motion or at a drop-gorgeous standstill . Kurosawa seems to effortlessly incorporates compelling narrative with universal themes while making a stunning visual masterpiece . And there is humor too . Kurosawa also wanted to make entertaining films , and he succeeded .
Hitchcock said that fiilming in black-and-white had achieved such a level of artistry that it was a shame color became a possibility ( and indeed he chose to film Psycho in b w even though color had become commonplace at the time ) , and you won't find a better composed or lit black-and-white film than Seven Samurai .
All of the actors are terrific , but Toshiro Mifune is transcendant as the buffoon with a story that is revealed layer by layer throughout the film . He is the embodiment of comedy and tragedy , and Mifune's talents are on display and such a joy to watch .
The film is nearly three-and-a-half hours long , but at the end of it you will be sorry it's over . Watch it again while listening to the excellent 1988 commentary track by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck , who does a masterful voiceover , discussing the film's production , Kurosawa's technique and biography , film history and theory , Mifune's style , actors careers and lives , musical themes , and a host of other interesting details . You'll learn that Kambei , the inspirational samurai leader , is played by Takashi Shimura , who also played the head scientist in Godzilla ; that when the studio shut down production - - twice - - because it was running over budget , Kurosawa went fishing , confident that the studio was in too deep to cancel the project ; that Kurosawa was the first director to show a film in which a team is assembled for a mission , or that shows an attacking horde as it rises on the horizon . It will make you want to watch the film a third time . But what a tragedy not to have a director's commentary track !
Seven Samurai will change the way you think about film , and this Criterion Collection print is crisp and clean and sounds beautiful . There is also a trailer and a handy index to the commentary . The enclosed pamphlet includes a short but interesting undated essay by film critic Davd Ehrenstein . If you are at all interested in expanding your appreciation of film , you must see this brilliant tale of life and virtue as told by a genius at visual storytelling . If you want to learn more about non-Western film , this should be one of the first seven that you see . And if you already have the film but love it dearly , you should get this print ; it's very clean and the commentary track will add to your enjoyment .
014 4 What can one say about this movie that hasn't already been said ? It's an amazing , classic work that holds one's attention consistently , regardless of its length . The picture is as crisp and clear as it can be , given the well-known dearth of good prints of the film . So , I'll reserve my main comments to the supplementary material .
First , the trailer included on the DVD is short , sweet , and a good peek into the world of 1950s Japanese trailers . I'd never seen a trailer for a Japanese film of that era before , and this was a nice treat . Nothing spectacular , but I'm glad it's on the DVD .
Second , the commentary . It was , by and large , interesting , but too often distracting . Many of Michael Jeck's comments on Kurosawa's family history , the Japanese studio system , and Kurosawa's marriage are of incidental interest to the movie at hand and probably should have been consigned to a second interview with Jeck ( or a booklet contained with the DVD ) . Yes , Jeck's comments about specific shots are fascinating to anyone with more than a passing interest in how films are constructed , but his choices for scenes to comment on seem somewhat haphazardly chosen . Why , for instance , is so much of the last third ( the most action-packed , visually stunning third ! ) of the movie accompanied by commentary that has nothing to do with what's on the screen ? Jeck has an enormous knowledge of Kurosawa and Japanese cinema , but his comments for this particular DVD should have been more directed to what we were seeing on screen .
Additionally , a personal quibble : Jeck makes a big deal about almost everything the wonderful Toshiro Mifune does on screen , but very little about the ( arguably ) equally-wonderful Takashi Shimura . Jeck treats the film as though it's all Toshiro's show , and I think that's a disservice to the fine Mr . Shimura .
Overall , this is the crown jewel of my personal DVD collection . Minor disagreements with Jeck's commentary aside , it's a real treat for any lover of Kurosawa's work or movies in general .
040 4 Farmers find themselves living in fear , knowing that their harvest will come and that thirty bandits will drift in soon after and claim it . They know that this will leave them nothing , too , and that the already meager lives they lead might soon come to a closing . So , in order to keep what is theirs , they opt to do what any rational farmer would do . They go to recruit themselves four samurai that would be willing to work for no glory , three meals a day , and for the knowledge that they are doing something grand . Thus it begins . . .
When I was a kid and watched Seven Samurai , I always enjoyed the theme being presented . I liked the thought of those Samurai taking a village set in the middle of a defensive wasteland , with fields on one side and approachable mountains on the other , and seeing how seven try to even the odds with thirty . I also liked the introduction of each character as they were meticulously blended into a story that carried itself for well over 200 minutes , crafting a tune for every flavor you would care to see . After picking it up this release some year later , however , I found something in the story I had missed when I was younger . I actually listened to the dialogue and absorbed the words being stated , saw the games being played and the poses for wince they came , and I noticed for the first time that this movie wasn't a story on nobility . It was a story on players and the chess games played behind the scenes . And that made me like this movie all the more .
While sitting the table with a well-rounded cast , an enemy that isn't simply something to wholesale slaughter , and tactical maneuvering from the most unlikely of places , Seven Samurai actually sets a viewer down and submerges them in a world that they think they know at first . It introduces the supposed good and the opposing evil , letting you taste the reasoning of those joining in the protection of those farmers . It also shows you their struggles and how hard it is to find an honest Samurai willing to help them , highlighting what it takes to live . In the process of definement moving away from that , however , it goes a step beyond that little gambit and it shows you that little world in a way you rarely see it . Here , the lines of love , good , ill , and helplessness are all blurred as an in-depth game is showcased and exposed . And that makes it truly stand apart from many films I've seen in my life .
Its really hard to find fault in this film unless you're looking for something short and easy to decipher . It does take its time in showing you all the details , in crowning its cast , and in illustrating the true art in war . That's really the beauty of the film , too , and is recommended to those wanting more from their movie than killing and faceless lines . This is what I would honestly go so far as to call a classic .
054 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
A film like Seven Samurai is what makes you buy a dvd player , or begin to appreciate foreign film . Kurosawa is an auteur , a director whose vision so saturates the film that it becomes indistinguishable from that vision ; no one else could have made the film . But if you imagine a Kurosawa film made by Hitchcock or Bergman , it will also enable you to see what makes Kurosawa so special . In this timeless tale of struggles between the weak and the powerful , Kurosawa gives us a situation utterly dynamic . Everything is in motion . The wind is blowing . The rain is not just falling but drenching everything . And Toshiro Mifune is hypermanic .
Intense realism in a true jidai-geki , or historical film , was the goal of Kurosawa when he set out to make Seven Samurai , a film in which desperate villagers enlist the services of ronin , or masterless samurai , to protect them from a group of returning bandits . Throughout the film , from beginning to end , you feel this story could really have happened , and yet at the remove of history , you can see that these people and these struggles are similar to our own . At the same time , Kurosawa is a consummate artist - - his eye for beautifully framed and dynamic shots is breathtaking , and it's awesome to be able to rewatch scenes using a dvd player , or easily skip ahead to a particular scene , or view the spectacular action sequences in slow motion or at a drop-gorgeous standstill . Kurosawa seems to effortlessly incorporates compelling narrative with universal themes while making a stunning visual masterpiece . And there is humor too . Kurosawa also wanted to make entertaining films , and he succeeded .
Hitchcock said that fiilming in black-and-white had achieved such a level of artistry that it was a shame color became a possibility ( and indeed he chose to film Psycho in b w even though color had become commonplace at the time ) , and you won't find a better composed or lit black-and-white film than Seven Samurai .
All of the actors are terrific , but Toshiro Mifune is transcendant as the buffoon with a story that is revealed layer by layer throughout the film . He is the embodiment of comedy and tragedy , and Mifune's talents are on display and such a joy to watch .
The film is nearly three-and-a-half hours long , but at the end of it you will be sorry it's over . Watch it again while listening to the excellent 1988 commentary track by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck , who does a masterful voiceover , discussing the film's production , Kurosawa's technique and biography , film history and theory , Mifune's style , actors careers and lives , musical themes , and a host of other interesting details . You'll learn that Kambei , the inspirational samurai leader , is played by Takashi Shimura , who also played the head scientist in Godzilla ; that when the studio shut down production - - twice - - because it was running over budget , Kurosawa went fishing , confident that the studio was in too deep to cancel the project ; that Kurosawa was the first director to show a film in which a team is assembled for a mission , or that shows an attacking horde as it rises on the horizon . It will make you want to watch the film a third time . But what a tragedy not to have a director's commentary track !
Seven Samurai will change the way you think about film , and this Criterion Collection print is crisp and clean and sounds beautiful . There is also a trailer and a handy index to the commentary . The enclosed pamphlet includes a short but interesting undated essay by film critic Davd Ehrenstein . If you are at all interested in expanding your appreciation of film , you must see this brilliant tale of life and virtue as told by a genius at visual storytelling . If you want to learn more about non-Western film , this should be one of the first seven that you see . And if you already have the film but love it dearly , you should get this print ; it's very clean and the commentary track will add to your enjoyment .
055 4 A film like Seven Samurai is what makes you buy a dvd player , or begin to appreciate foreign film . Kurosawa is an auteur , a director whose vision so saturates the film that it becomes indistinguishable from that vision ; no one else could have made the film . But if you imagine a Kurosawa film made by Hitchcock or Bergman , it will also enable you to see what makes Kurosawa so special . In this timeless tale of struggles between the weak and the powerful , Kurosawa gives us a situation utterly dynamic . Everything is in motion . The wind is blowing . The rain is not just falling but drenching everything . And Toshiro Mifune is hypermanic .
Intense realism in a true jidai-geki , or historical film , was the goal of Kurosawa when he set out to make Seven Samurai , a film in which desperate villagers enlist the services of ronin , or masterless samurai , to protect them from a group of returning bandits . Throughout the film , from beginning to end , you feel this story could really have happened , and yet at the remove of history , you can see that these people and these struggles are similar to our own . At the same time , Kurosawa is a consummate artist - - his eye for beautifully framed and dynamic shots is breathtaking , and it's awesome to be able to rewatch scenes using a dvd player , or easily skip ahead to a particular scene , or view the spectacular action sequences in slow motion or at a drop-gorgeous standstill . Kurosawa seems to effortlessly incorporates compelling narrative with universal themes while making a stunning visual masterpiece . And there is humor too . Kurosawa also wanted to make entertaining films , and he succeeded .
Hitchcock said that fiilming in black-and-white had achieved such a level of artistry that it was a shame color became a possibility ( and indeed he chose to film Psycho in b w even though color had become commonplace at the time ) , and you won't find a better composed or lit black-and-white film than Seven Samurai .
All of the actors are terrific , but Toshiro Mifune is transcendant as the buffoon with a story that is revealed layer by layer throughout the film . He is the embodiment of comedy and tragedy , and Mifune's talents are on display and such a joy to watch .
The film is nearly three-and-a-half hours long , but at the end of it you will be sorry it's over . Watch it again while listening to the excellent 1988 commentary track by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck , who does a masterful voiceover , discussing the film's production , Kurosawa's technique and biography , film history and theory , Mifune's style , actors careers and lives , musical themes , and a host of other interesting details . You'll learn that Kambei , the inspirational samurai leader , is played by Takashi Shimura , who also played the head scientist in Godzilla ; that when the studio shut down production - - twice - - because it was running over budget , Kurosawa went fishing , confident that the studio was in too deep to cancel the project ; that Kurosawa was the first director to show a film in which a team is assembled for a mission , or that shows an attacking horde as it rises on the horizon . It will make you want to watch the film a third time . But what a tragedy not to have a director's commentary track !
Seven Samurai will change the way you think about film , and this Criterion Collection print is crisp and clean and sounds beautiful . There is also a trailer and a handy index to the commentary . The enclosed pamphlet includes a short but interesting undated essay by film critic Davd Ehrenstein . If you are at all interested in expanding your appreciation of film , you must see this brilliant tale of life and virtue as told by a genius at visual storytelling . If you want to learn more about non-Western film , this should be one of the first seven that you see . And if you already have the film but love it dearly , you should get this print ; it's very clean and the commentary track will add to your enjoyment .
122 4 I felt compelled to check out what kind of people would rate this superb piece of art with anything less than 5 stars . This is what I found ; One reviewer gave it a 5 star review , but only 4 stars . . . . . high standards I guess . Another 4 star reviewer ought to learn how to compose a sentence , before criticizing others . One guy gave it a star and remarked that it didn't make sense . Please don't hire this guy for flight traffic control . I wonder if he knows they were speaking Japanese . Then we have a reviewer who states ; it shows it's age . Isn't that amazing , it's set in the 17th century .
One reviewer dropped a star for remastering quality , not film quality . The 2 star reviewer had trouble constructing grammatically correct sentences . I didn't go any farther than Michael with the defective DVD . He gave it 1 star and asked advice from the review board help desk . Well . . . . . . . . . . no , I'm not even going there . But in lieu of insulting Michael , I'm going to watch this excellent movie tomorrow . . . . again .
163 4 First of all , to the guy who said the Seven Samurai is a rip off of the Magnificent Seven , you're wrong . The Magnificent Seven is actually a remake of this film .
As for the film , I say that it has fantastic cinematography , and wonderful characters . The plot is simple , but just allows the characters to shine that much brighter .
The quality of the video on the DVD isn't spectacular , but when you consider the film's age some scratches can be expected .
In conclusion , its a great film and a good transfer , you can't go wrong with this one .
165 4 I first saw Seven Samurai late at night on PBS when flipping through the channels as a teenager . The movie kept going and going , it was so long , but I was totally absorbed and before I knew it I had spent the whole night watching it and didn't go to bed until around 4am in the morning . Now I'm 37 years old and it remains one of my favorite movies . When Criterion released a DVD of the movie in 1998 I bought a copy right away .
I enjoyed watching the movie once again , and got the added benefit of Japanese film expert Michael Jeck's excellent commentary . After reading the reviews about the higher video quality of this new Criterion release , I bought the new DVD as well and have enjoyed watching it on my 50 inch plasma . It's worth every penny to have the best copy of this great movie .
The one thing that puzzles me though is the different subtitles on the new release . Michael Jeck's commentary on the 1998 release was partly based around the subtitles . For example , in the part when three of the Samurai go and set the bandits ' fort on fire and cut down the bandits as they come running out , afterwards one of the Samurai tells Kikuchiyo Well done because he came up with the idea . Mr . Jeck points out that this is actually the moment when Kikuchiyo is accepted and becomes a full fledged member of the Seven Samurai . On the new release , according to the subtitles , the Samurai simply says We did it . What was the point of changing the subtitles like that ? Still , Seven Samurai is a timeless classic .
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
Since there are over 300 reviews of this magnificent film already posted , I would like to discuss some aspects of this film that are rarely discussed .
The first of these two themes is the various roles and attributes of the heroic male . The second of the two themes is the depiction of classism and a stratified society .
However , before I comment on these two themes I must praise Kurosawa , the Director , for the incredible battle scenes . The level of realism , chaos , and accident is very high , giving the viewer a superb look into battle . As the layout of the village is drawn and repeatedly shown to the viewer in Kambei's maps , we fully understand the battleground and the rationale for defending specific sites and barrocading others . We understand Kambei's master strategy and its execution . We understand when it goes wrong or astray and we watch Kambei immediate correct the situation if possible . We see beserk men hacking at each other rather than an over stylized ballet posing as a battle scene . These battle scenes are masterful and rare . That being said , I would like to discuss the two themes I outlined above .
First , we see three distinct ways or paths of the hero in this film . We see the character Kyuzo , the master swordsman , a completely skilled killing machine , swift as a scorpion and calm as a cool breeze . He is a craftsman , sure of his talent and skill . He is also serene , having obviously attained a detachment from emotion and day-to-day worries . He takes his skill seriously , as seen in his first scene where a dueling partner progresses from sticks to swords and Kyuzo kills him within seconds . A second revealing scene is the great sequence where wildman Kikuchoiyo and steel-nerved Kyuzo become a team to track and kill the three bandit scouts . The third scene is wisely left to our immagination . Kyuzo learns that three of the bandits hidden in the forrest around the village has a rifle . Kyuzo leaves the compound alone in the fog of night and many hours later returns with a rifle in hand . He hands the rifle to Kambei and goes calmly to sleep . We see that Kyuzo , though a self contained killing machine , can work in partnership with a wildly unpredictable partner as well as follow instructions from the wise leader , Kambei . Kyuzo is seen in all cultures and in all times . He is the totally proficient warrior . He is the warrior that all younger warriors wish to emulate . But he is incomplete because he lacks one virtue , purpose beyond himself . Yet he is wise enough to be persuaded by Kambei and to follow Kambei's wise direction . It is purposefully ironic that Kyuzo is shot in the back by one of the three rifles in the film , since no one can beat him face to face with sword technology .
The character of Kikuchoiyo , the wild man who wishes to become a Samurai , the man who can not contain his energy or emotion , the force of nature , is an incredible character . He is the exact opposite of Kyuzo , the serene killing machine . He has little control of his emotions , is spontaneous and rage driven . Yet his character undergoes the most transformation in the film . He goes from being a lying drunken bully imposter to a force of great good , primarily through the strategic hands off mentoring of Kambei . We learn that he is not from a Samurai family but is the orphan of farmers killed by bandits . Kikuchoiyo first gives us a hint as to his background when he informs the samurai that farmers always have hidden resources on which to call , this secrecy being necessary for thier survival . However when the bandits attack the old miller and his family in the grist mill , Kikuchoiyo comes to the rescue and saves a baby boy from the dying arms of its mother . Kikuchoiyo breaks down in mid-action , holding the child in a stream with warfare surrounding him , and wails that this exact thing happened to him as a child . In the Jungian sense , Kikuchoiyo reclaimed his orphan child self at this point , he saves a real child but he also saves an inner psychic child within himself and thus this allows him to be a true Samurai rather than an imposter Samurai . He is a fighting force , full of emotion and power . He taps into the natural , biological forces of injustice in the final battle scenes . Ironically , this is what brings about his end , for those who fight with pure emotion exceed their bounds . When the rifleman bandit kills Kyuzo from behind a wooden screen , Kikuchoiyo is overtaken with rage and attacks the screen trying to pull it apart to reach the bandit . He takes a bullet in the belly but goes on fighting until he collapses .
This brings us to the final penacle of heroism , Kambei , the mastermind Samurai leader with a vast range of intellectual , interpersonal , and warrior skills . Kambei has a range of leadership skills including ; ability to make realistic assessments so as not to support unrealistic optimism , ability to use small resources to bring down much larger forces , ability to fight on the edges , the fringes , to deplete the resources and power of his enemy , ability to mentor other men by drawing out their unique talent and using that talent for the greater good , ability to judge the greater good from immediate gains , ability to change course in the middle of battle when the facts reveal that a new strategy is needed , abiltiy to recover quickly from loss and mve forward , and an ability to use humor and a personal relationship to move men toward action . Finally , he has incredible humility which allows him to make realistic assessments of conditions and resources and dynamics . Humility is an underestimated asset . Humility is essential to the leader because egotism and grandiosity cloud a man's vision . Humility keeps vision clear - an essential for survival and leadership .
Now we come to the second theme of the film , which is understanding the actions of all the characters witin a context of classism and a stratified society . The meek , clownlike , foolish farmers gradually are seen as far from timid fools . They survive amidst overwhelming odds . They hire ronin , which were the masterless unemployeed samurai soldiers that roamed Japan in the 16th century . In the end , four of the seven samurai are burried with distinction in the village cemetary , but as Kambei points out , it is the farmers that won the battle , they overcame a threat to their existence , the samurai being a tool by which they overcame the threat . When the village women kill a single bandit in a chicken house using garden hoes , we see evidence of the willingness of these farmers to fight for survival . However , the farmers , like the samurai , owe much to the realistic strategic leadership of Kambei .
Within this epic masterpiece are two subplots of great interest . First , young farmer Rikichi always seems to be hiding something and as the story progresses we learn that his young wife was stolen by the bandits and is now their sex slave . Rikichi volunteers to attack their camp and we learn it is to find his wife . However , as he peeps into the bandit lair , he sees her despondent and in deep grief . When she sees flames at both ends of the shack , her first instict is to scream , but her second is to remain silent in hopes that she and the bandits will all burn to death . She eventually runs from the shack but when she sees Rikichi , her overwhelming shame forces her to run back into the burning building where she is lost . The second subplot was the seduction of the young warrior Katshushiro by Shino , the daughter of Farmer Manzo . I have never seen such masterful body language as is demonstrated by Shino as she seduces the young man while maintaining the pretend role of the persued .
This is a fantastic work of art that almost defies description due to its depth and mastery of storytelling . It is a film where many forces of art converge to produce a rare masterpiece .
028 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
Since there are over 300 reviews of this magnificent film already posted , I would like to discuss some aspects of this film that are rarely discussed .
The first of these two themes is the various roles and attributes of the heroic male . The second of the two themes is the depiction of classism and a stratified society .
However , before I comment on these two themes I must praise Kurosawa , the Director , for the incredible battle scenes . The level of realism , chaos , and accident is very high , giving the viewer a superb look into battle . As the layout of the village is drawn and repeatedly shown to the viewer in Kambei's maps , we fully understand the battleground and the rationale for defending specific sites and barrocading others . We understand Kambei's master strategy and its execution . We understand when it goes wrong or astray and we watch Kambei immediate correct the situation if possible . We see beserk men hacking at each other rather than an over stylized ballet posing as a battle scene . These battle scenes are masterful and rare . That being said , I would like to discuss the two themes I outlined above .
First , we see three distinct ways or paths of the hero in this film . We see the character Kyuzo , the master swordsman , a completely skilled killing machine , swift as a scorpion and calm as a cool breeze . He is a craftsman , sure of his talent and skill . He is also serene , having obviously attained a detachment from emotion and day-to-day worries . He takes his skill seriously , as seen in his first scene where a dueling partner progresses from sticks to swords and Kyuzo kills him within seconds . A second revealing scene is the great sequence where wildman Kikuchoiyo and steel-nerved Kyuzo become a team to track and kill the three bandit scouts . The third scene is wisely left to our immagination . Kyuzo learns that three of the bandits hidden in the forrest around the village has a rifle . Kyuzo leaves the compound alone in the fog of night and many hours later returns with a rifle in hand . He hands the rifle to Kambei and goes calmly to sleep . We see that Kyuzo , though a self contained killing machine , can work in partnership with a wildly unpredictable partner as well as follow instructions from the wise leader , Kambei . Kyuzo is seen in all cultures and in all times . He is the totally proficient warrior . He is the warrior that all younger warriors wish to emulate . But he is incomplete because he lacks one virtue , purpose beyond himself . Yet he is wise enough to be persuaded by Kambei and to follow Kambei's wise direction . It is purposefully ironic that Kyuzo is shot in the back by one of the three rifles in the film , since no one can beat him face to face with sword technology .
The character of Kikuchoiyo , the wild man who wishes to become a Samurai , the man who can not contain his energy or emotion , the force of nature , is an incredible character . He is the exact opposite of Kyuzo , the serene killing machine . He has little control of his emotions , is spontaneous and rage driven . Yet his character undergoes the most transformation in the film . He goes from being a lying drunken bully imposter to a force of great good , primarily through the strategic hands off mentoring of Kambei . We learn that he is not from a Samurai family but is the orphan of farmers killed by bandits . Kikuchoiyo first gives us a hint as to his background when he informs the samurai that farmers always have hidden resources on which to call , this secrecy being necessary for thier survival . However when the bandits attack the old miller and his family in the grist mill , Kikuchoiyo comes to the rescue and saves a baby boy from the dying arms of its mother . Kikuchoiyo breaks down in mid-action , holding the child in a stream with warfare surrounding him , and wails that this exact thing happened to him as a child . In the Jungian sense , Kikuchoiyo reclaimed his orphan child self at this point , he saves a real child but he also saves an inner psychic child within himself and thus this allows him to be a true Samurai rather than an imposter Samurai . He is a fighting force , full of emotion and power . He taps into the natural , biological forces of injustice in the final battle scenes . Ironically , this is what brings about his end , for those who fight with pure emotion exceed their bounds . When the rifleman bandit kills Kyuzo from behind a wooden screen , Kikuchoiyo is overtaken with rage and attacks the screen trying to pull it apart to reach the bandit . He takes a bullet in the belly but goes on fighting until he collapses .
This brings us to the final penacle of heroism , Kambei , the mastermind Samurai leader with a vast range of intellectual , interpersonal , and warrior skills . Kambei has a range of leadership skills including ; ability to make realistic assessments so as not to support unrealistic optimism , ability to use small resources to bring down much larger forces , ability to fight on the edges , the fringes , to deplete the resources and power of his enemy , ability to mentor other men by drawing out their unique talent and using that talent for the greater good , ability to judge the greater good from immediate gains , ability to change course in the middle of battle when the facts reveal that a new strategy is needed , abiltiy to recover quickly from loss and mve forward , and an ability to use humor and a personal relationship to move men toward action . Finally , he has incredible humility which allows him to make realistic assessments of conditions and resources and dynamics . Humility is an underestimated asset . Humility is essential to the leader because egotism and grandiosity cloud a man's vision . Humility keeps vision clear - an essential for survival and leadership .
Now we come to the second theme of the film , which is understanding the actions of all the characters witin a context of classism and a stratified society . The meek , clownlike , foolish farmers gradually are seen as far from timid fools . They survive amidst overwhelming odds . They hire ronin , which were the masterless unemployeed samurai soldiers that roamed Japan in the 16th century . In the end , four of the seven samurai are burried with distinction in the village cemetary , but as Kambei points out , it is the farmers that won the battle , they overcame a threat to their existence , the samurai being a tool by which they overcame the threat . When the village women kill a single bandit in a chicken house using garden hoes , we see evidence of the willingness of these farmers to fight for survival . However , the farmers , like the samurai , owe much to the realistic strategic leadership of Kambei .
Within this epic masterpiece are two subplots of great interest . First , young farmer Rikichi always seems to be hiding something and as the story progresses we learn that his young wife was stolen by the bandits and is now their sex slave . Rikichi volunteers to attack their camp and we learn it is to find his wife . However , as he peeps into the bandit lair , he sees her despondent and in deep grief . When she sees flames at both ends of the shack , her first instict is to scream , but her second is to remain silent in hopes that she and the bandits will all burn to death . She eventually runs from the shack but when she sees Rikichi , her overwhelming shame forces her to run back into the burning building where she is lost . The second subplot was the seduction of the young warrior Katshushiro by Shino , the daughter of Farmer Manzo . I have never seen such masterful body language as is demonstrated by Shino as she seduces the young man while maintaining the pretend role of the persued .
This is a fantastic work of art that almost defies description due to its depth and mastery of storytelling . It is a film where many forces of art converge to produce a rare masterpiece .
034 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
I had the old Criterion edition of Seven Samurai , and while it was great to have the now reconstituted entire 207 minute version of this glorious film , it was a bit disappointing that in many places the transfer was made with badly damaged stock , but I assumed Criterion , as usual , got the best master material available , so it was a minor distraction to having this masterpiece restored to its original length .
When I saw that they were coming out with a new edition with a superior transfer I bought it . Well , it is terrific . The picture quality is vastly improved and the sound track as well . It is very clean , with just a few very minor flaws , hardly noticeable . There are some additional scholarly commentaries , worthwhile for context , as well as some new documentary materials and interviews on this 3 disc set , beautifully packaged , with a booklet of interesting essays .
Many other reviewers have done a fine job of explaining why this film is a must-see for movie-lovers , and why it is not only one of the most important and popular Japanese films , but why it takes a place at the top of any list of world-class masterpieces , beloved everywhere . If you have never seen it , by all means rent or buy this copy and immerse yourself in Kurosawa's world filled with humanity and humor , duty and honor , joy and sorrow . For me , and I see by other reviewers , it is one of the easiest and most pleasant 3 - 1 / 2 hours one can spend entranced by movie magic .
Kurosawa was a tremendous technician and a ground-breaking director and all his films have been influential to film-makers the world over , and none more so than The Seven Samurai . He was also a man of great passion and subtlety , and this film has so much more to offer than simple action , although that action is some of the finest ever staged and put on film . A masterpiece acknowledged by film-makers and audiences alike , this exhilarating film is so well worth your while .
069 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
This is one of the most ( if not the most ) famous Japanese film of all time . It is also Kurosawa's most popular film . This film has often been imitated but never surpassed . It's plot is of villagers who are repeatedly robbed by wandering bandits . In an act of despiration the village elder recalls that when he was a child that people hired samurai to protect their villages . So the village does the same for when the bandits return .
The fight scenes are excellently choreographed and the cimematography has been imitated by others an uncountable number of times . An interesding note that that is the first US edition where the Japanese language curse-words are translated in the subtitles . Something too risque for audiences at the time of release . I don't know why so many people are turned off by foreign language films . Internationally US films are popular because English is taught in all the schools . Being American myself , I think it should only be fair that we return the favor to our international film audience and watch their films also . We have missed quite a lot .
076 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
One of the greatest movies of all time just got better . ( Better picture quality . ) I'm teaching an Introduction to Film class next semester and each week we'll be discussing a different topic in film studies - - photography , editing , sound , acting , drama . I'll be using this film to illustrate every single topic , b / c it literally is like a textbook on how to make a film . I agree with the previous reviewer who said that this movie made me into a lifelong fan of film-making . The question of how Kurosawa created a timeless epic out of a gang of misfit samurai takes at least a lifetime to figure out . Needless to say , most of the remakes and knockoffs of this movie pale in comparison . You can't improve on a classic . I recommend this film to anyone and everyone . If you haven't seen Seven Samurai , you don't know squat about films .
099 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
I first saw Seven Samurai in 1955 when I began my tour of duty with the U.S . Army in Japan . What an excellent way to be intruduced to the Japanese culture . What a great story . After all these years , seeing the film on DVD is like reliving the moment when I first saw Kurosawa's masterpiece in Opama , Japan . If anything , the film is even more powerful today , for as you watch the story unfold , a story unadorned with needless and flashy special effects , you realize you are watching the power of simplicity , human courage , and selfless sacrifice for the greater good of humanity . Every DVD collection should contain this release . As the poet Keats said : Beauty is truth , truth beauty . . . . In my opinion those words sum up the power of Kurosawa's epic film .
109 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
This movie is justly hailed as one of the great movies of all time . The story is wonderful , the acting is fine , the music is moody and appropriate , and the photography is fabulous in adding to the drama and emotion of the story . And though it is 3 hours and 27 minutes in length , it doesn't feel long . The time is used for interesting character development and to enrich the story by connecting us with the characters and their struggles . Just compare the richness of this film with The Magnificent Seven and you will have to admit that the remake , while good , is inferior largely because of the cuts that needed to be made to keep the movie to two hours .
The misery of the villagers and loneliness of the samurai are palpable . The small and dusty village aches of poverty and desperation and the samurai always seem aware that they are a feared necessity to the farmers and will never be accepted or even justly thanked .
The bandits are a mass force of nature about to once again take everything from the farmers but their lives . We don't get to know any of them beyond the way they dress and this mass energy makes them even more threatening and fearsome . After being beaten down by the bandits for so long , the farmers decide , at least tentatively , to fight or die . The old man of the village sends them to the city to recruit hungry but strong samurai . The recruitment scenes are a classic in introducing us to seven heroes and their varying characters .
When the samurai arrive at the village and no one comes to greet them we see the beginning of the fracture and the residual fear of the peasants . The fortification of the village and the training of the farmers for battle add to the rich character development of the movie . There is even a wonderful scene on the harvest before the fields are flooded . Can you imagine the luxury such a scene in a Hollywood film ? But it adds so much to our understanding of these characters that it is worth the extra time and more .
Then comes the first skirmish quickly followed by the three amazing battles and the nights between . The camera work here keeps us breathless with the speed at which the fighting happens . The camera work keeps it all close and personal . Pain , fear , anguish , and courage fill the frame throughout these unforgettable scenes .
There is so much to talk about in this movie that these little reviews are really not enough . This is a fabulously restored disk with a few extras ( but who cares - it is this wonderful movie that makes the disk worth everything ) . Seven Samurai is a movie I never tire of watching and always lets me find new things to enjoy . Amazing .
114 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
The commentary on the DVD version of Seven Samurai is extremely informative for any Gaijin . The commentator explains all kinds of subtleties not apparent to the non-Japanese viewer , such as how many of even the smallest non-speaking parts are played by famous actors familiar at the time throughout Japan . Lots of fascinating stories behind the stories . Really taught me to appreciate Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune . If you own a DVD player you must buy this DVD , even if you already own the film on tape . I wish all Japanese films had English-language commentary like this one .
116 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
The reason this film , the greatest adventure epic ever made , is not released in a letterboxed or widescreen format is that it is NOT a widescreen film . Believe it or not , it is possible to capture magnificent vistas and breathtaking action in the standard 4 : 3 academy ratio , and that is exactly what Kurosawa did .
125 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
Words fail to praise the action-packed period film that Akira Kurosawa created in 1954 Japan . Two years after the allies released the Japanese from occupation , Kurosawa directed the best film ever , in my opinion , for those that desire evil to be overthrown and justice to prevail . The plight of the peasants is graphically detailed in breath-taking scenes of beauty and poise . Coming to their aid is the most virtuous samurai in film history , ready at a moment to battle the bandits that would rob , rape , and murder the helpless peasantry . The camera angles and positioning are excellent beyond belief , the costumes are real , and the mud is thick for the final battle scene . Any movie fan that doesn't have the recent Criterion Collection Seven Samurai is missing out on a classic . Honor , loyalty , skill , and faith come alive on the screen in 17th century Japan .
158 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
Despite the tempting price on this classic movie . . . The Criterion Collection has announced that it will re-release Akira kurosawa films in Hi-Def transfers including High and Low , Seven Samurai , Yojimbo , new transfers and new supplements . . .
167 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai ( Criterion Collection Spine #2 ) ( DVD )
If you're one of those people who loves classic movies , foreign or otherwise , or even if you are just a lover of great movies or a student of the arts , you owe it to yourself to see this film at least once . Why ? That's more a book than a review . . . but here goes .
In this world there are talents , and there are geniuses . Countless films are produced by talents , but great works of art are produced by geniuses . The films of people like John Ford and Frank Capra are extraordinary not just because of their genius though . They are extraordinary because of their humanity , the way that they tell the story of human beings and the world that they live in , the tragedies and triumphs of normal people in extraordinary circumstances , the epic stories that make up real history and the soul of every human being . Kurosawa's movies are like that . They reflect the same genius of people like Ford and Capra . They are very human stories .
I have seen many Kurosawa films over the years , but in my mind this is undoubtedly his greatest film . It is an epic story about a much loved period of Japanese history , a brief period equivalent to the Wild West , when Samurai roamed the streets with no master like so many wandering gunfighters . In fact , this story is the basis of the well-known western The Magnificent Seven .
But the story is not about the Samurai so much as it is about how they relate and must cooperate with the villagers they are hired to protect . Across three and a half hours you are introduced to the villagers in a truly desperate situation , and watch as they lament their plight , seek the help of the samurai , and then repeated mistrust them by hiding their possessions and women from them . The samurai who expect to be heroes after a fashion find themselves seemingly unwelcomed and feared by the peasants who not only feared them , but have killed their kind in the past as they came through the town .
And when the actual conflicts begin it's not enough just to fight samurai vs . bandits , the samurai actually have to build fortifications and arm the villagers for a long series of engagments . And as the bandits are killed one by one it becomes not a battle , but a war of attrition to see who will last longer . There are many losses along the way , and the ultimate victory leaves you with not a feeling of triumph , but of the real sense of loss that battle can give .
There are extraordinary performances all around , from the stereotypical charicatures that are the villagers to the extraordinary personalities of the samurai which range from a wize old man to a crazed eccentric buffoon ( played brilliantly by Toshiro Mifune ) , from a perfectionist swordsman to a young nobleman determined to become a hero somehow . There are numerous scenes which could be a film unto themselves , from the old man rescuing a kidnapped child to the young nobleman's first romantic encounter among the cherry blossoms . And the battle scenes are better than anything Ridley Scott or Wolfgang Peterson ( with all due respect ) ever put to film , with every sword slash meaning instant death and a final epic showdown in the muddy rain that hs to be some of the most amazing footage ever filmed .
If you like historical samurai films , you can't go wrong with Kurosawa . And if you like Kurosawa , it doesn't get an better than this film . You simply have to have the patience to get through the arduous experience that it is , and give the film time to get going ( I'd say at least an hour ) . Of course you can always watch it in pieces , and it holds up remarkably well watched that way ( thanks to the way so many segments hold up on their own like seperate short films .
Gorgeous black and white cinematography , splendid acting , fantastic plot and dialog ( even translated from Japanese ) . The film may be somewhat poor quality just because of it's age , and recording equipment when the film was made isn't what it is today obviously , but if you ask me , you'd have to be just plain crazy to let age or subtitles keep you from seeing this classic . Everyone should see this film at least once . Film lovers of all ages should buy it and cherish it forever .
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai is a true classic , hands down . I was a bit skeptical to be honest about such raving reviews of this movie and when I got it , I was stoked to have gotten such a lovely package of DVD and that it was the Criterion Collection which made it feel more special . I intended to just watch some of it to get a feel for what the film felt like . . . but I ended up watching the WHOLE movie on both DVD discs it was formatted on and it was several hours well spent . The story is seemingly simple , but the character development , engaging plot and extremely addictive screenplay was too much to let down . Every moment in the movie captivated me , there wasn't the slightest of a dull moment , and when there was a still moment , the cinematography to capture each scene was so well done , they felt like paintings ; or extremely well-done photos to just look at and admire . . . this movie was purely beyond its time and I almost feel like alot of homage should be paid to this movie by all other directors and future filmmakers , or to say the least , should pay tribute to it and watch it more than once as I know I probably will watch it again , and again , and many more times in the future , with friends , with family , and ultimately by myself to admire and enjoy because this movie was purely a thing that touches the soul .
It made me laugh .
It made me cry .
It made me explode with abundancies of emotions I cannot point to just one feeling alone . . . this movie is hands down AMAZING ! THE BEST ! PERFECT ! Truly a timeless classic .
I am so glad I got this movie and will be cherishing it for so many years to come .
003 4 Lest anyone be dissuaded from purchasing this masterpiece because they believe it is not presented in its original aspect ratio , it should be known that THE 1 : 33 : 1 ASPECT RATIO ON THIS DVD IS CORRECT . Akira Kurosawa did not begin working with the widescreen format until later in the 1950s . Anyone who asserts otherwise is mistaken .
This is a true 5 star films that ANYONE will enjoy . It's particulary recommended to those who would never dream of watching a movie with subtitles . Anyone looking for a great action movie should take a chance on this . Unlike that copy of Armageddon you watched once and is now collecting dust on your shelf , this is something you'll watch again and again . For those who love John Ford-type westerns , The Seven Samurai puts a marvelous spin on that classic genre . Even if you don't like action movies , you'll respond to this movie . It offers genuine human drama with an insight into a different culture and time that becomes increasingly fascinating with repeated viewings .
Of course , it's also recommended to those who already know and love this film . The picture on this DVD is much sharper and crisper than the one you're used to seeing on that worn-out VHS tape . As a bonus , it has a very insightful secondary audio track with commentary from a Japanese film historian that will help you develop a new appreciation for one of your old favorites .
063 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai is a true classic , hands down . I was a bit skeptical to be honest about such raving reviews of this movie and when I got it , I was stoked to have gotten such a lovely package of DVD and that it was the Criterion Collection which made it feel more special . I intended to just watch some of it to get a feel for what the film felt like . . . but I ended up watching the WHOLE movie on both DVD discs it was formatted on and it was several hours well spent . The story is seemingly simple , but the character development , engaging plot and extremely addictive screenplay was too much to let down . Every moment in the movie captivated me , there wasn't the slightest of a dull moment , and when there was a still moment , the cinematography to capture each scene was so well done , they felt like paintings ; or extremely well-done photos to just look at and admire . . . this movie was purely beyond its time and I almost feel like alot of homage should be paid to this movie by all other directors and future filmmakers , or to say the least , should pay tribute to it and watch it more than once as I know I probably will watch it again , and again , and many more times in the future , with friends , with family , and ultimately by myself to admire and enjoy because this movie was purely a thing that touches the soul .
It made me laugh .
It made me cry .
It made me explode with abundancies of emotions I cannot point to just one feeling alone . . . this movie is hands down AMAZING ! THE BEST ! PERFECT ! Truly a timeless classic .
I am so glad I got this movie and will be cherishing it for so many years to come .
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
For purposes of this review , I'm going to assume you know the plot of Seven Samurai and its place as an esteemed film ( do a little reading up on it if you don't ) . I will focus on the product itself .
This is one of those rare remastered editions that is actually worth the buy . The movie itself is incredibly crisp and has all the lost footage , allowing the viewer to see the entire movie in a detail not seen since its theatrical release . The clarity , however , never detracts from the movie itself - it takes multiple viewing the fully grasp the content of each shot , including many details that were too small to notice in the VHS release .
The subtitles are also crisp and clean , another vast improvement over the VHS . As another review already stated , the movie is only subtitled , not dubbed , so if you have poor eyesight keep that in mind .
The movie itself is split neatly at the intermission ( which has been left intact at the end of disc one ) into a pair of DVDs , with a third disc of special features . There are two excellent bonus commentaries by film scholars - one solely by Michael Jeck , the other by four scholars ( one at a time , each getting 25% of the movie ) , including Joan Mellen ( who wrote the book - literally - on Seven Samurai ) . These commentaries are very insightful and discuss both thematic and theatrical elements of the movie .
There is also a small booklet included that has various commentaries by film critics and a small piece by Toshiro Mifune . It's short but a nice little extra .
If you like Seven Samurai , this is the edition you want , hands down .
020 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai [ VHS ] ( VHS Tape )
Once in a while a movie comes along of such pure genius that it sets the standard for everything in its genre that comes after it ; The Seven Samurai is one of them . The plot is simple enough ; a small Japanese village in the 16th century is periodically pillaged by a roving gang of brigands and hires seven samurai for protection . If this seems similar to The Magnificent Seven , it is ; the Mag Seven was a direct [ remake ] of The Seven Samurai , and a much inferior film . Kurosawa got everything right in this movie . The acting , the cinematography , and above all , the directing , are absolutely perfect . Toshiro Mifune was never better than in his portrayal of Kikuchiyo , the wannabe samurai who despises his farm roots . Takashi Shimura is strong and sympathetic as Kambei Shimada , the aging samurai who recruits the other six , Yoshio Tsuchiya is excellent as Rikichi , the village peasant who has his own reasons for wanting revenge on the brigands , and Seiji Miyaguchi gives a fascinating performance as Kyuzo , the expert swordsman whose one interest is perfecting his skill as a killing machine . The climactic battle , shot in a torrential downpour , is like nothing I have ever seen on film . The word awesome seems inadequate in attempting to describe the total experience of The Seven Samurai . It's among the ten best films ever produced in any country in the history of film-making .
123 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition ( Criterion Collection Spine # 2 ) ( DVD )
For purposes of this review , I'm going to assume you know the plot of Seven Samurai and its place as an esteemed film ( do a little reading up on it if you don't ) . I will focus on the product itself .
This is one of those rare remastered editions that is actually worth the buy . The movie itself is incredibly crisp and has all the lost footage , allowing the viewer to see the entire movie in a detail not seen since its theatrical release . The clarity , however , never detracts from the movie itself - it takes multiple viewing the fully grasp the content of each shot , including many details that were too small to notice in the VHS release .
The subtitles are also crisp and clean , another vast improvement over the VHS . As another review already stated , the movie is only subtitled , not dubbed , so if you have poor eyesight keep that in mind .
The movie itself is split neatly at the intermission ( which has been left intact at the end of disc one ) into a pair of DVDs , with a third disc of special features . There are two excellent bonus commentaries by film scholars - one solely by Michael Jeck , the other by four scholars ( one at a time , each getting 25% of the movie ) , including Joan Mellen ( who wrote the book - literally - on Seven Samurai ) . These commentaries are very insightful and discuss both thematic and theatrical elements of the movie .
There is also a small booklet included that has various commentaries by film critics and a small piece by Toshiro Mifune . It's short but a nice little extra .
If you like Seven Samurai , this is the edition you want , hands down .
140 4 This review is from :
Seven Samurai [ VHS ] ( VHS Tape )
I must confess I had some misgivings in ordering this film due to its age and the lack of special effects in the 1950s cinema . I was wrong and I'm happy that I purchased this excellent movie which is a real masterpiece . Kurosawa has made an epic film with an endless array of virtues : great characters ( where young Mifune gives an unforgettable resital as a renegade self-declared samurai ) , a moving story of the plight of the ordinary farmers in medieval Japan , sentimental scenes , a short but lovely look to the japanese landscape under every kind of weather , great costumes and marvelously realistic actors who are the real ace of the film , usually speaking only with their facial expressions . The Seven Samurai is more modern than its age shows and although lacking the abundant bloodletting of modern Hollywood is extremely powerful in its battle scenes and surprisingly revealing in the tactics of the period . The proximity of the movie to the World War II years , shows why the Allies were forced to fight such an extremely brutal war in order to subdue militaristic Japan . The old national virtues of discipline , arms proficiency , courage , calmness in adversity and self-sacrifice , all so vividly shown in the film , become terrible weapons when misused .
141 4 I must confess I had some misgivings in ordering this film due to its age and the lack of special effects in the 1950s cinema . I was wrong and I'm happy that I purchased this excellent movie which is a real masterpiece . Kurosawa has made an epic film with an endless array of virtues : great characters ( where young Mifune gives an unforgettable resital as a renegade self-declared samurai ) , a moving story of the plight of the ordinary farmers in medieval Japan , sentimental scenes , a short but lovely look to the japanese landscape under every kind of weather , great costumes and marvelously realistic actors who are the real ace of the film , usually speaking only with their facial expressions . The Seven Samurai is more modern than its age shows and although lacking the abundant bloodletting of modern Hollywood is extremely powerful in its battle scenes and surprisingly revealing in the tactics of the period . The proximity of the movie to the World War II years , shows why the Allies were forced to fight such an extremely brutal war in order to subdue militaristic Japan . The old national virtues of discipline , arms proficiency , courage , calmness in adversity and self-sacrifice , all so vividly shown in the film , become terrible weapons when misused .
the humorous Gorobei Katayama ( Yoshio Inaba , 1921 - 1998 ) , the no-nonsense highly skilled Kyuzo ( Seiji Miyaguchi , 1913 - 1985 ) , Heihachi Hayashida ( Minoru Chiaki , 1917 - 1999 ) and Shichiroji ( Daisuke Katô , 1910 - 1975 ) . Then , there's also the very humorous , samurai-want-to-be named Kikuchiyo ( played the world-renowned actor Toshirô Mifune , 1920 - 1997 ) . The seven travel back to the village and begin preparations for the coming battle with the bandits , but some of the villagers are afraid of what will happen to their daughters with seven samurai roaming around ; especially Manzo , who forces his daughter Shino ( Keiko Tsushima ) to disguise herself as a boy .
Though Seven Samurai is approximately 206 minutes ( nearly 3½ hours ) long , it never becomes tiresome . Instead , the film is very engaging , emotional and powerful as the story develops in large part due to superb acting , exquisite cinematography and the overall realism of the film . The acting skills of both Takashi Shimura and Toshirô Mifune stand out brilliantly . Toshirô Mifune , who made many other excellent historically based Japanese films , also appeared in many western films including the character of Adm . Isoroku Yamamoto in the 1976 World War II epic Midway and the character of Lord Toranaga in the 1980 TV-miniseries adaptation of James Clavell's novel entitled Shogun . Memorable scenes in Seven Samurai include Kambei disguising himself as a priest , Kambei's technique of testing each samurai's reactionary skills , the battle between Kyuzo and the foolish samurai , Manzo disguising Shino , Kikuchiyo's drunkenness , the walk to the village with Kikuchiyo , the arrival at the village , Kambei studying the terrain , Kikuchiyo instructing villagers , the battle scenes and the graveyard scenes . Other memorable characters in the film include Rikichi's wife ( Yukiko Shimazaki ) and the bandit chief ( Shinpei Takagi , 1902 - 1967 ) .
Overall , I rate Akira Kurosawa's cinematic masterpiece Seven Samurai with a resounding 5 of out of 5 stars . It often brings tears to my eyes each time that I watch the film . I highly recommend the DVD version of the film to everyone . Sadly , the DVD is only available in full screen , but that does not detract from Akira Kurosawa's grand vision . Seven Samurai was remade in 1960 as the epic western The Magnificent Seven , which starred Yul Bryner , Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson portraying gunfighters instead of samurai .
130 4 While it is hard to convince most people these days to watch an old black and white movie with subtitles , if you don't see this movie , than you can not call yourself a movie buff .
Other than the excellent story and wonderful interaction between the charcters , this movie really is the basis for most movies that have followed , only this is the best they will ever get .
This is a must see for everyone who enjoys a movie for more than special effects and half naked women . This is a film that will endure long after most of todays modern films will ever hope to .
The extras are worth every penny you spend for this Remastered Edition .
See this movie .
