Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

In 1954 Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) was the largest single undertaking by a Japanese director at that time. It was a monumental movie at 3 ½ hours long, and inspired the American remake The Magnificent Seven and several other projects. It has been mentioned as a pioneer in the genre of recruiting a team of specialists, examples such as The Dirty Dozen and Ocean’s Eleven. The movie currently ranks #11 on IMDB with an average of 8.8.

Director Akira Kurosawa had already made name for himself with Rashômon (1950) and Ikiru (1952). I’ll be reviewing these movies a little later this week. He was recognized as the most western of Japanese directors, and it is therefore appropriate that the samurai genre draws upon the same roots and influences as the American Western. In fact John Ford was one of Kurosawa biggest influences, and Kurosawa would in turn be a great influence for directors such as Sergio Leone and George Lucas.

Seven Samurai centers around a 16th century farming village that finds itself a popular pillage for travelling bandits. Knowing that the bandits will return after the next harvest, the villagers go in search of samurai to protect them. Knowing that samurai are unlikely to be lured by farmers with nothing more to offer than rice, the town’s elder delivers the classic line, “find hungry samurai.” The recruitment is an especially difficult mission given the lack of riches and the caste system that existed at that time. Samurai were born of noble descent, and the distinction between the classes is made evident throughout the movie. The farmers fear the samurai, and adopt a lock-up-your-daughters mentality. It’s revealed in one scene that the villagers have killed passing samurai in the past. Similarly the samurai have nothing but contempt for the lowly farmers.

Two of the samurai are Kurosawa regulars and serve as extreme ends for the seven. Takashi Shimura plays Kambei, the first samurai to be sympathetic to the villagers’ cause. He’s the leader of the group, an aging but wise veteran. Toshir¨­ Mifune plays Kikuchiyo, the last of the recruited samurai. Kikuchiyo initially appears as a drunk who has falsified his samurai family line. The rest of the group are reluctant to bring him along but Kikuchiyo follows them regardless. Kikuchiyo is nevertheless a useful addition. He’s well skilled in samurai ways, but it’s later revealed that he has a farming heritage that bridges the empathy and respect between the two castes. He’s also a great addition to the script, a showman who adds plenty of comic relief. His inability to ride a horse is a running joke. In one scene he seems to be doing OK, disappears behind a barn, and the when the horse reemerges from the other side of the barn Kikuchiyo is seen running after it. In a later scene we hear him berating the animal: “call yourself a horse?” Each of the samurai is allowed significant character development and we get to know each in detail.

The samurai each display their own exemplary skills, and each is allowed his own moment of heroism. The villagers become well trained in military defense too, and it won’t be too much of a spoiler to say that they are victorious. But there are a few surprises along the way. Not all of the samurai survive and there are moments of ignominious death. The battle scenes are extremely well crafted, and the military strategy depicted clearly on Kambei’s cloth. Kurosawa was definitely under no pressure to limit the timescale as he allows the attack scenes to play out over several smaller battles. As strong and impressive as the battle itself is, Seven Samurai is much more detailed than that. It mixes in a good blend of character psychology and eastern philosophy. This is exceptional storytelling, so much so that I have no complaint about its 207 minutes. There really isn’t a wasted scene, or any part of the movie that drags. The only exception would be the 10 minute intermission that made its way onto the DVD but then that’s what the remote is for.

Kuorsawa’s direction is exceptional. He catches the mannerisms of his characters perfectly in the close ups, but he also does a great job of the long shots too. The distant sunset backgrounds are memorable shots today and it’s only a shame that he didn’t have the benefit of color photography to show us the full extent of these. He’s also great at capturing the shots of bandits emerging from the mountains on horseback. It’s worth mentioning that the movie was Oscar nominated for Best Black & White Art Direction and Best Black & White Costume Design. The production has become a little dated over the years, as the occasional struggle is poorly lit and loses a little detail. At times however, the omission of detail is Kurosawa’s intention in a couple of classic scenes which I won’t mention here.

Seven Samurai is certainly a classic and benchmark in movie production. It has created quite a legacy for itself over the years. It’s a memorable movie with memorable characters, scenes and quotes and is definitely one that demands repeated viewing. I watched it for the first time on DVD this week, then was surprised to see it on TCM the same day and just had to watch it again.

Verdict: 5 Stars Essential Viewing – especially for fans of Westerns, war movies or Japanese cinema.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older