User reviews

I discovered 16 of Kurosawa's best known films before returning to the one which is commonly thought of as his masterpiece. Seven Samurai is unlike any other grand classic ever produced. It's basic plot can be summed up in a single easy sentence, yet its refinement and execution rival any movie you've ever seen.

The premise: in chaotic 16th century Japan, as marauders threaten raid villages, one village hires samurai to defend it from a group of bandits. Yet Kurosawa (also co-writer) developed these characters in a way unheard of for what might pass as an epic action film. To its astonishing credit, through all of its 207 minutes running time, Seven Samurai never falters or bores. And if the script is a marvel in itself, the acting and production design than derive from it are nothing short of superlative. It is said that Kurosawa forced the villagers (from supporting role to mere extra) to live together as a community during production and be their characters, each and every one of which he had drawn out specifically. This unusual technique gave Seven Samurai a feel of authenticity unparalleled in film history.

The samurai themselves are so richly given life to in the screenplay that little more would have been needed to make them memorable characters, yet the main cast pay off at every turn, and though every one of the seven main actors give in perfect performances (never as I had feared before watching it do you confuse them, even in the chaotic battle scenes), two immortal roles have a particularly resounding effect: Takashi Shimura (Kambei Shimada), who plays the leader of the ragged band of samurai, gives his sage and venerable warrior a god-like intensity that makes the magnetic charisma of his character unquestionable. One of the easiest leaders to root for in all the history of film-making. Stealing the show however, albeit by a very thin margin, is longtime Kurosawa favorite coworker Toshiro Mifune (Kikuchiyo) as the rogue seventh, the black sheep of the herd, giving the bravura ultimate performance of a lifetime paved throughout with great roles.

The story follows them and the villagers, equally nuanced and developed, through their encounter, training, eventual bonding and the big inevitable fight for survival. Unlike subsequent very successful remakes (i.e. Magnificent Seven), seven Samurai transcended excellency by having many layers (nothing or no one is white or black: everything exists in shades of gray) and thus being very real and human. Even without the menace, its interpersonal dynamics would have made it perfect human drama, subtle, balancing comedy, intensity, realism, drama and a deep philosophy with astonishing ease, yet the menace does materialize and thus Seven Samurai unleashes its violence in a series of action scenes crafted with such vision and ingenuity as has ever reached an action film (the frenetic battle scenes at the end rather evoke Saving Private Ryan in their relentlessness).

In the end, what made this into solid gold was, at the core, Akira Kurosawa, who would, despite directing many further masterpieces (Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Red Beard, Dersu Uzala, Kagemusha, Ran), would never top this one. Throughout his life, Kurosawa kept confirming his status as perhaps the greatest director ever. If so, Seven Samurai is the ultimate proof of that truth. One of the very best films ever made and personal all-time favorite.

Having seen Kurosawa's Seven Samurai at least 10 times, I still see something new every time I watch it. I don't see how anyone, especially a non-Japanese, could possibly absorb this movie in less than 2 or 3 viewings. I've always been surprised at how each of the 7 samurai can make such an individual impression on you even if you can't understand Japanese. Although Toshiro Mifune is often considered the star, for me its Takashi Shimura who is firmly fixed at the center of the movie. He is the guiding moral force from the moment of his appearance in the film and can capture the viewer's attention in a way similar to Alec Guinness. Mifune's character can be annoying at first in his loutish behavior, but he gains stature throughout the film and eventually becomes a unifying force second only to Shimura. Minoru Chiaki as the woodcutting samurai provides a subtle humor and the others look to him to boost their morale. Daisuke Kato is another very familiar face to Japanese movie fans and provides an excellent foil to Shimura as his second in command. Yoshio Inaba is very good as the samurai who is recruited by Shimura and quickly builds a strong rapport with him. Seiji Miyaguchi as the "expert" warrior, dedicated to honing his skill as a swordsman is a very low key yet likeable character. Ko Kimura as the young hero-worshipping samurai, as well as the love interest of the peasant girl, wishes to be a great samurai, but is easily distracted by a field of flowers or a pretty face. The peasants in the village being defended by the samurai each have their own defining characteristics as well.

In addition to the wealth of interesting characters, we have a terrific action plot--the defending of the village from 40 marauding bandits by the small troop of samurai--, and a more subtle secondary plot involving the distrust of the samurai by the villagers due to the historical interaction of these two classes in feudal Japan. All of these plot and character elements are woven together into an unforgettable epic, but, at least in my opinion, its not one that can be absorbed in a single sitting. While it's similar in this sense to another of my favorite epics, Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, it is more complex given the number of characters.

I can only say that your patience with this film will probably be well rewarded if you take the time to give it multiple viewings. You will also have the pleasure of seeing many of the samurai and villagers pop up in other Kurosawa films and films of other Japanese directors. If you like Mifune and Shimura in this one, catch them in Stray Dog and Drunken Angel in very different settings and parts.

This one is 10 out of 10 without a doubt.

Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece... The Japanese equivalent to Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.. I say it's just as good, if not even better. Not only Kurosawa's most well known film, but the most widely recognized Japanese film ever made. This movie will forever be known as a milestone in motion picture history.

The story revolves around a village that has become a group of bandits' common looting and pillaging ground. The villagers cannot take this any longer and go to town to hire warriors to defend the village from the bandits. A wandering ronin, Kambei (Takashi Shimura) agrees to help them and with his help, they recruit six others that agree to take the job. The seven samurai teach the villagers how to stand up to the bandits and defend themselves. Finally, when the time comes, they engage in a fierce battle with the attacking bandits.

About once in every 20 years or so we are gifted with a film that has the meaning, power, richness, and technique that The Seven Samurai has. I cannot urge anyone enough to see this film, the images are true cinematic poetry rich with so much emotion that I cannot even describe them in words. If you have never seen any of Kurosawa's works, then please see Seven Samurai... you will witness the true beauty, excellence and magic that the art form known as film is capable of.

In 1954, Kurosawa made foreign film history with Seven Samurai. Everything about this film is just absolutely terrific. The film lasts around 3 1/2 hours, and every minute of it is unbelievable filmmaking. Kurosawa's blend of stellar craft, captivating cinematography, ravishing art direction, and unforgettable characters makes this one of the most intelligent films ever made. The first hour is devoted to devoloping the many four-dimensional characters which inhabit the film throughout. When watching the film, the audiece cares for, trusts, mourns and ultimately believes every single attribute the characters have. Samurai set up the way that many action films are made today; films like Predator and Alien still work within it's boundaries. The battle scenes are terrific and the fast-paced editing is ground-breaking. If people have a problem with subtitles and long movies, then see this and your opinions will change. The sheer filmmaking of Kurosawa will not disappoint. Also see Yojimbo and High & Low.

Akira Kurosawa was and is considered the master of east-western film-making (in that he made his Japanese films accessible for fans of American westerns while still making the movies his country found popular), and out of the few Kurosawa movies I've had the pleasure of viewing (Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, and this) I'd have to say that while Rashomon is still my favorite, I nevertheless had a blast during this one. The story has become quite influential to filmmakers from the likes of John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven) to John Lasseter (A Bug's Life): a small village has been terrorized by bandits for far too long, amid times of civil war in the nation, and so on the advice of Grand-Dad, they decide to hire four - which soon becomes seven - samurai for the job. There's no money, just food and honor, even though the village isn't exactly pleased to have samurai back in their village. Each character is drawn and executed compellingly, though for my money Toshiro Mifune proves why he became one of Japan's most notorious film actors. His work as the brave, bold outcast of the seven is awe-inspiring practically all the way through, like the hero of a western that anyone can root for since he's a true rebel at heart within a group of men with a task at hand.

Kurosawa directs his tale and main and supporting players like a grand composer, orchestrating a vivid story and extracting from great actors like Takashi Shimura (the old, wise Samurai), Ko Kimura (the disciple Samurai), Daisuke Kato (Schichiroji), and Mifune (Kikuchiyo, which isn't his real name) just the right touches of humanity, humor, tragedy, romance, and intensity. The overall intensity, by the way, isn't over-estimated; its long length (almost 3 1/2 hours) isn't distracting in the slightest since Kurosawa's editing and photography (the later helmed by Asakazu Nakai) are extraordinary. Not to compare the two films, but one thing I saw in common with Seven Samurai and a Lord of the Rings film is that, if anything else, it definitely isn't a boring experience. Along with a score by Fumio Hayasaka that gives the film just a bit more of a pulse, and a showdown that is relentless with excitement, this is one of the must-see action films for film buffs, or anyone with an serious interest in having fun with an epic.

I've been on a Toho binge for a while now and for the most part the films have been enjoyable, especially those by Kurosawa.

The earlier films were dark, bleak and unsettling viewing and therefore going into Seven Samurai I was of two minds. First I expected more of the same, in both quality and tone but then on the flipside at time of writing this is ranked as the 19th highest rated movie on IMDB which is incredible.

My expectations were that it would be good, but that's about it. Seeing Takashi Shimura in the credits also confirmed my logic that this was going to at least be an entertaining three and a half hours.

I was mistaken, Seven Samurai is not good............it's outstanding.

Wonderfully crafted, perfectly scored, incredibly choreographed, well acted and beautifully written this is well deserving of it's high place and I would consider it nothing short of a masterpiece.

If you check out my IMDB rating distribution it's very clear to see that getting anything higher than an eight is a rarity, this deserves it on so many levels.

I didn't expect this level of quality further as generally I don't tend to agree with titles in the IMDB top 250, this however I do I thoroughly unconditionally agree.

A masterpiece and essential viewing, I don't even need to give the premise of the movie in this review and must simply stress that this is film making mastery at its finest.

The Good:

Takashi Shimura

Very well shot for its time

Perfectly crafted

The Bad:

Nothing springs to mind

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Akira Kurosawas should be a household name, not Bruckheimer or Bay!

I'll put money down now that none of the remakes or movies heavily influenced by Seven Samurai comes close in quality

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 Spielberg, 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 village 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

Okay, call me an ignorant, uncultured, short-attention-span Yank if you wish, but I found this movie drawn-out and difficult to follow. It was indeed masterful storytelling with great character development, but the movie seemed to take quite a long time to get going, and when it did it was not the cinematic juggernaut I was expecting. Perhaps my expectations were too high? I don't think so. As of this writing Seven Samurai is at #6 in the all-time greatest movies list (and the only foreign-born film in the top 20), so I've obviously missed something big.

This was by no means a bad movie; it was in fact a very good movie. However, all the really excellent movies I've seen have one thing in common - they carry you away with them. You get so involved with the story and characters that you feel like you know them personally. I did not get that here. Instead I kept trying to figure out what was going on, and why people were dramatically wailing and rolling on the ground in reaction to situations that didn't seem to warrant it. Is there perhaps a cultural difference that I'm not linking into? Am I over-analyzing it? I fully expected to walk away from this film wide-eyed and and muttering 'Wow. Just….wow' over and over (as I have with so many other films on IMDb's top 100), but instead I'm left to ponder why I seem to be the only one who's not getting it. I'd watch it again, but 3-1/2 hours is a long time.

While I'd recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it, I really don't think it's worthy of a top 10 ranking. The storyline was solid, but, like most movies of it's era, the over-acting bordered on being comical. Which brings up a point...I have read several user comments about how older movies don't get a fair shake in the movie rankings. I completely disagree, I think a lot of the "timeless classics" are rated a lot higher than deserved. Fact of the matter is, modern movies ARE better than movies of bygone eras...the acting is better, the storylines are crisper, they're better directed, there's more attention to detail, etc. This is just one guy's opinion, but after watching this movie, ask yourself a question...If this movie were to come out today (with the same acting and directing), would it receive the same high acclaim it enjoys? No way.

I'm surprised that this film is rated one of the top movies of all time, it's good don't get me wrong but not that good. if you're considering watching it, then buckle up for long boring pointless scenes! it doesn't have artistic cinematography, it doesn't have good music, it doesn't have a villain, it doesn't have outstanding scenes but it does have a decent story and good characters. maybe it was something in the fifties but not these days, Kurusawa is overrated and by the way I watched thousands of movies and I don't see something outstanding in his work. Remember the movie is 3h and 27m It's watchable but not great.

Story-telling at its finest, "Seven Samurai" is a terrific film not because of a handful of memorable scenes or lines, but rather because scene-by-scene, frame-by-frame, it tells an interesting story as well as it is possible to tell it. The story and characters are developed carefully, and everything about the movie, from the settings and props to the musical score, is done carefully and expertly.

Mifune grabs the attention in most of his scenes, and Shimura's more restrained character is a nice balance. Those two have the best parts, but all seven of the samurai are memorable characters. The sequence of events that collects the seven together occupies the first part of the movie, and forms a perfect foundation for the rest. A few of the villagers are also portrayed nicely, although they are naturally overshadowed when the samurai are around.

The story always moves along nicely, with many ups and downs. It has enough unpredictability to keep you interested the whole time, without ever losing its credibility. There is plenty of action, but there is also substance behind the action to give it more significance. The only possible drawback is the long running time (you can always split it up into two installments, but it's more satisfying if you can watch the whole story through at once), but there is little that you could cut out, even if you wanted to. It holds your attention the entire time with a good story and great technique, not by resorting to sensational or sordid details.

This movie well deserves its reputation for excellence, and is one that everyone who appreciates classic cinema will want to see and enjoy.

Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" is a true masterpiece of cinema that has stood the test of time. Released in 1954, the film tells the story of a group of samurai hired to defend a small village from bandits. With its stunning cinematography, rich characters, and epic scope, "Seven Samurai" is a triumph of filmmaking that has influenced countless filmmakers over the years.

The film's pacing is deliberate, allowing for the development of its many characters, each with their own unique story and motivations. Kurosawa's direction is impeccable, capturing the beauty of the Japanese countryside and the intensity of the battle scenes. The film's climactic battle sequence is a true masterpiece of action filmmaking, with Kurosawa's camera capturing every detail of the action in stunning black and white.

"Seven Samurai" also tackles complex themes such as honor, sacrifice, and class struggle. The film's portrayal of the samurai as warriors with a strong sense of duty and honor has made it a classic of the genre, while its commentary on the plight of the peasants and their struggle against oppression is still relevant today.

Overall, "Seven Samurai" is a timeless masterpiece that should be seen by any fan of cinema. Its influence can be seen in countless films, from Westerns to science fiction to superhero movies. Kurosawa's direction and the film's stunning visuals make it a true cinematic treasure that will continue to be celebrated for generations to come.

(1954) Seven Samurai/ Shichinin no samurai (In Japanese with English subtitles) ACTION/ ADVENTURE

Almost four hours long which doesn't seem long at all because of my fascination about how other countries used to live and cope with poverty which can influence the way people live and converse with other people is fascinating. The cultural difference in which we can look at ourselves in the mirror and appreciate living on a society where there is always food available as opposed to other countries that are still struggling to find any is still going on in certain parts of the world like in North Korea and now Haiti. And the concept of offering what little food they have to samurai-to-hire to protect there helpless village is brilliant. In addition, Kurosawa also influenced several other films about involving groups of 7 or more teams fighting alongside starting with "The Magnificent Seven" to "The Wild Bunch", to "The Professionals". The seventh of sixteen films director Akira Kurosawa collaborated with Toshiro Mifune.

"THE" Hero's Journey.

In medieval Japan, a small farming town is constantly under attack by a band of bandits. One day, after the umpteenth attack, the villagers ask for advice from the oldest man in the place, who tells them to hire samurai who have fallen out of favor to defend them.

A delegation of them contacts a samurai who has lost his lord and who agrees to recruit several more men for the job. He will get the help of five proven warriors and another, a young man, who seems to be much less so, although he claims otherwise. Together they will stand up to the bandits.

Ordinary World.

Call to Adventure.

Refusal of The Call.

Meeting the Mentor.

Crossing the Threshold.

Tests, Allies, Enemies.

Approach to The Inmost Cave.

Ordeal.

The Road Back.

Return With The Elixir.

Reward.

This is a 1954, three and a half hour, Japanese movie. To the average cinema goer this is not what you're looking for. But who am I to not give this masterpiece a 10. If you put in the time you will find yourself experiencing one of the most epic and awesome movies to ever grace the screen. I found myself completely captivated and invested in this story and felt a true sense of adventure. I hadn't felt like this since I was a kid watching Star Wars or a teen watching The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Akira Kurosawa made the perfect samurai movie and it's a must watch for any fan of film. So, find a comfy couch, put your phone down, put in the time, and you will not be disappointed.

Seven Samurai (Hepburn: Shichinin no Samurai) is a rare depiction showing the harsh reality of Feudal Japan's Social Hierarchy. "The Code of the Samurai" virtues of Bushido are: Rectitude, Courage , Benevolence , Respect , Honour , Honesty , and Loyalty all these virtues are present in this Masterpiece showing that Akira Kurosawa's vision is brought to reality watch this film and for 3 Hours you will find yourself in 1586 to see an all star cast that bring this visionery masterpiece witness the true nature of the samurai and witness what happens when good people come together to stand against the forces of evil.

Kurosawa's ability to show the very human emotions and willpower (in desperate times) through the chaos and unjust atrocities is unparalleled. His storytelling lies in plain sight that throws realistic details in every frame, It's so poetically heart wrenching. Every frame is illustriously beautiful, Dynamically executed and portrayed. I'm speechless, Never seen a film 3.5 hours long with this much attention and such emotions. It shows how powerful Kurosawa's direction is!

It's undoubtedly one of the greatest films of last century. A poetic masterpiece that teaches you the art of war in a utter painful way.

"Shichinin no samurai", also known as "Seven Samurai", is a film by Akira Kurosawa released on 19 November 1956. It was a Japanese film about a small village that was having trouble with a group of forty armed bandits. The village hires a samurai to help defend the village. The samurai Kambei Shimada (Takashi Shimura) determines that he will need six other samurai to defend the village. The total of seven samurai trains the village how to defend themselves. They end up using a cunning strategy to cut some of the bandits off from the others to take out several at a time. At the same time there is an underling story of romance. This film is a very interesting film that uses filming techniques and quality far beyond its time. Akira Kurosawa was one of the first to use multiple cameras to get different angles. It has the action needed to catch the viewer with an underling story of love. It shows seven people who got together to help a village in need, which created a bond together that will last a lifetime. The village had a great victory defeating the bandits, but the samurai lost, in that they lose several of their new found friends. For me, this movie is a very inspirational film, which shows how friendship can be formed in even extreme times. It has the quality needed and the length to have a well formed plot that is difficult to see with many of the shorter films that they have now. Many films try to catch the viewer with special effects and attractive people, but this film did not have that option and had to use the plot and amazing filming techniques to attract the viewer.

You know, even though I consider myself a rather big film nerd, I can't say that I've seen much when it comes to Japanese cinema. I mean, I've seen my fair share of anime, sure, but when it comes to non-animated stuff I could count the number of Japanese movies I've seen on one hand. Even so, I know who Akira Kurosowa is. If Hayao Miyazaki is the best known Japanese animation director, then Kurosowa is the best known director of Japanese live-action films. I've only watched one other film from him so far, High and Low, and it was pretty good, but, in my opinion, RIDICOULOUSLY overrated among film nerds. Considering the fact that Seven Samurai is even more highly regarded, and my previous experience with Kurosowa, I didn't really know what to feel or what to expect. Before watching this movie, though, a fellow film-nerd told me that Kurosowa is like a Japanese Spielberg. After watching this movie, I can say that this is pretty accurate, in the context of this film, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's dive into it.

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese film, and it follows a little village of farmers in 16th century Japan. Each year, after harvest, bandits come to the village and forcefully take most of the crop. The farmers, in a desperate measure, decide to send a few people to look for Samurai that could protect the village. The problem is that Samurai are from the highest levels of society, while the farmers are poor and can only pay with food. As the film progresses and the mission to prepare the village to defeat the bandits once and for all proceeds, we see the internal conflicts, the seemingly impossible fight that's in front of the farmers and the bloody chaos that rules in 16th century, war-infested Japan.

The Spielberg comparison actually makes so much sense to me after watching this movie. Critics and film nerds alike tend to worship Spielberg, but at the end of the day he is, generally, a blockbuster director. Very accessible, very mainstream, able to dabble in different genres each time but still be adored by almost everyone with each film he releases. From my experience with Spielberg so far he tends to capture ideas that weren't really brought to the mainstream before and execute them in ways that are maybe not mind-blowing, but are definitely enough to make an impact on the mainstream - sometimes the result is pretty good, sometimes it's just okay. This is, more or less, how I feel about Seven Samurai. This movie is like the prototype, or the gen-1, or even the original, if you will, blockbuster.

We'll come back to that later, but I want to touch on some other aspects of the film. First of all, it's truly well-made visually. Kurosowa is known for his masterful blocking, and though I can't say that there are many shots that made me feel something, many of them are really pleasant and well-composed. Gotta give credit when it's due. This just goes to show you that whether a film looks good is not a question of technology first, but more a question of how good is the directing, the cinematography, the composition of each scene.

I really like the score, too. From the brooding, dark theme song, through the colorful music of the big city and to the careful, almost childish music in the background of the romance-related scenes. It's not crazy, but again, well-made. An aspect of this film I definitely enjoyed.

I think that when talking about this film as a blockbuster, one can really appreciate the scope of this movie, considering the time in which it came out. At almost 3.5 hours, and with a really big cast of characters and grand battle scenes, this film was really ambitious. It almost made the studio go broke with how much money the production needed. Nothing can take that away from this movie, but even though it's very impressive to pull this sort of plot off in the 1950's, it doesn't make this film good. You see, there are some parts of the story that I like - cool use of tropes that later became classic, some aspects of the romance subplot, the BURNING HOUSE SCENE WITH THE GIRL WAKING UP (which is WAY too good for this movie, honestly), the way that this movie manages to make us feel the setting, the location, how it teaches us about the village's structure to make one of the more realistic battle scenes I've seen, strategically speaking. But these parts are not the main thing here, and are scattered throughout the movie. Most of it I honestly find nothing more than okay, and sometimes (like almost every scene with Kikuchiyo) it's just too stiff, too forced, too shallow. A film that establishes so many characters (that are simple but still all different) might really need this runtime, sure, it's not unheard of, but the story itself is just not that interesting. I like some parts of it, but 3.5 hours that are mostly just pretty decent to mediocre blockbuster material are just not worth it. Sorry for anyone who loves this film, but this is how I feel.

Seven Samurai's scope is definitely impressive, and it has some cool, fun moments, well-composed shots and a good soundtrack. The biggest chunk of this 3.5-hour long movie, though, is somewhere between mediocre and not bad, and this just won't do in such a long film. It becomes tiresome, and along with the parts of this film that feel too over-the-top to really work, I feel like this movie is not much more than a mediocre experience. Again - it has some good, and not a lot of bad, but with such a length and not enough substance it just doesn't succeed at getting me immersed. Feeling a 5.8/10 on this one.

This is my favorite Kurosawa film, the man was a true master of the cinematic arts. If you have never seen a Kurosawa film definetly make this your first. Though extremely long at about 3 1/2 hours it is well worth the time spent.

To quickly summarize, a poor Japanese village hires 7 Samurai to protect it from being raided by bandits. Don't get me wrong there is way more to it than that, I just dont want to give anything away. This is an intense and emotional movie that hooks you from the first scene and keeps you on the line till it is all over. The battle scene at the end is in true Kurosawa form. The acting is outstanding by everyone involved from the main characters all the way down to the very last extra. Of course the best way to see any film, especially a Kurosawa film is on the big screen if you are able to. Beautifully filmed, in black and white, anyone familiar with Kurosawa's work has to wonder visually how much more gorgeous it could have been had Kurosawa had the option of color in 1954.

The camera use is brilliant and every scene is balanced visually. This film is also the first one to use "the wipe" as a way of changing from one scene to another. This technique was later used by George Lucas in his Star Wars movies. I would also recommend the DVD version that has the commentary option by the Japanese cinema expert if anyone is interested in a deeper understanding of the "hows" and "whys" of Kurosawa's film making. Any man, woman, boy or girl who just wants to see a really, really great movie, THIS IS THE ONE! An A+++ in my book.