SEVEN SAMURAI Movie Review

Shichinin No Samurai
The Magnificent Seven

In 16th-century Japan, a small village is plundered annually by bandits who steal not only the food supply, but some of the farmers’ lives and all of their self-respect. After the intimidating raid that opens the film, the farmers reach a breaking point; they're divided, however, between whether to simply hand over the grain and beg for mercy or to make a stand and fight, which will at least lead to a death that will finally put them out of their misery. Yet there is a third way. The farmers recall hearing about a village that was protected by hiring freelance samurai—but since all these poor farmers can offer as pay is a roof and meals, the village elder offers some pointed and practical advice: “Find hungry samurai.” They do, and much of the greatness of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece has to do with the not-so-simple reasons for each man's decision to become a part of this makeshift army. With each viewing, this nearly four-hour film seems richer and more exciting; the personal dramas that drive each of the seven toward the film's final battle are etched with crystalline precision, and the battle scenes themselves are miracles of choreography, design, and power. Much has been written about the film's visual style—the use of telephoto lenses to bring the action shockingly close and the relentless motion that propels everything forward—yet Seven Samurai is, above all, a great story: a timeless fable told with an electrifying yet eloquent grace. Toshiro Mifune's Kikuchiyo—buffoonish at first but ultimately tragic—makes the biggest splash among the players; yet the quiet, thoughtful power of Takashi Shimura as Kambei, the first samurai to sign on, provides the film's memorable moral anchor. Remade in the U.S. as The Magnificent Seven (which itself spawned a number of sequels), Seven Samurai‘s debt to the American western is clear. Yet what Kurosawa has fashioned is a wholly original vision of modest men standing against a chaotic universe. It's one of the greatest films ever made. (Cut to various lengths over the years by American distributors, it's now available in the definitive 208 minute version.)

NEXT STOP … The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Harakiri, The Wild Bunch

1954 204m/B JP Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Kuninori Kodo, Ko Kimura, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Kato, Bokuzen Hidari; D: Akira Kurosawa; W: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni; C: Asakazu Nakai; M: Fumio Hayasaka. Venice Film Festival ‘54: Silver Prize; Nominations: Academy Awards ‘56: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (B & W), Best Costume Design (B & W). VHS, LV, DVD HWV, HHT, CAB