Seven Samurai

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A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food. A giant battle occurs when 40 bandits attack the village.

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Critics Consensus

Arguably Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, The Seven Samurai is an epic adventure classic with an engrossing story, memorable characters, and stunning action sequences that make it one of the most influential films ever made.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

The glorious vigour and strength of this film is presented with such theatrical relish and flair: its energy flashes out of the screen like a sword.

Rated: 5/5

Oct 27, 2021

Full Review

Marjory Adams

Boston Globe

There are many excellencies in [Seven Samurai]. The acting of the men who are unknown to American audiences but whose talents are obvious; the careful building of suspense; the realism of the battle scenes... [and] the beauties of the countryside.

May 4, 2021

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Helen Bower

Detroit Free Press

[Seven Samurai ] rates my unqualified whoops of approval.

May 4, 2021

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Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

Seven Samurai” remains a timeless masterpiece. Kurosawa's editing prowess, evident in the climactic sequence, cemented the film's status as a timeless classic, echoing the eternal struggle for justice and sacrifice in feudal Japan

Rated: 10

Mar 3, 2024

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Howard Waldstein

CBR

If Akira Kurosawa's entire body of work is full of forays into different types of stories, then Seven Samurai marks the moment where all of his most pertinent themes coalesce into a single, three-and-a-half-hour film.

Jun 27, 2023

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Austin Faricy

Honolulu Star-Bulletin

As usual in a Kurosawa epic, the film is deliberate about getting started, but once the battle is joined, all is breakneck fury.

Mar 16, 2023

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George A

If movies were given triple crowns this would be my choice. Best movie Best actor Best director

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/23/24

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Aaron Y

There is something of a cliche in film reviews that goes something like this: "I laughed, I cried, it moved me." And countless times, throughout the last 150 or so years of Cinema, such praise has been heaped on one undercooked turkey after another. This is NOT one of those movies. Seven Samurai is the magnum opus of one of the art's most remarkable visionaries and storytellers, Akira Kurosawa. There was a time, long ago, when I was a teenager and everything in media seemed to thoroughly disappoint me. A film would have an excellent title or premise, you rent it and find yourself so bored that you're fastforwarding all the way through just to get to the good part and when you finally reach it you feel like you've been suckered. That is how I approached this movie when I first heard about it. I believed it was going to be some WWII picture about Japanese soldiers channeling some ancestral pride to win the day. Boy was I wrong! It was my first time experiencing Kurosawa and through the entire film I merely sat there spellbound. The film tells the story of a simple village of farmers in medieval Japan who are about to be attacked by 40 bandits and must hire 7 samurai warriors to protect them. Throughout the movie's long, very, very, long runtime, the settings, characters, moods and motivations all develop organically. Nothing feels forced or shoehorned like it might be nowadays. Nothing is wasted, nothing is overplayed, the audience is never treated like it's stupid. The film explores the importance of coming together and having to make sacrifices in times of crisis while the ideals of two different societies clash against each other in ways that will not be reconciled. The filmmaking is nothing short of masterful. Kurosawa's masterful use of the telephoto lense, simple music, scene composition, straightforward dialogue, fight choreography, even the weather effects are all done so well in every way to compliment the story on the screen. The messages it conveys about society, class division, sacrifice, human behavior and so much more are all still prevalent today. Yet it can still find moments of wonderful humor. Over the last 25 years I have seen the film numerous times and I maintain to this very day from when I first saw the film so long ago that this is, simply, the greatest motion picture ever made. And if you, my dear reader may forgive the use if a terrible cliche; it made me laugh, it made me cry, it moved me. This movie is a masterpiece. Set aside about 4 hours and just watch it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/16/24

Full Review

Marco F

4.5 Stars from me. It is a fantastic film that stands the test of time as one of the greatest movies of all time. The reason for me not giving it five out of five stars is because of my own personal taste. I do not think it is the greatest film from Mr.Kurosawa, but I recognize and agree the impact it has had.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

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Andrew H

Seven Samurai is a perfect masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/06/24

Full Review

Blu B

All Time Classic. You can see SOOOO many films from The Avengers, The Dirty Dozen, to a Bug's Life have been inspired by this and it's very easy to see why. The pacing is very intentional with no scene feeling wasted and making full use of it's 3 plus hour runtime that never feels bloated or boring. The cinematography is amazing and has the classic Kurosawa style of framing and direction that most directors are lucky if they get even close to once in their carrers. The action scenes are amazing to watch and the amountt of humanity and practical effects involved is stunning. The characters are amazing and memorable as well. Some stick out more than others from the crew which is fully intentional. Kikuchiyo is my favorite of the whole crew. The music is very unnerving but very catchy at the same time. And of course the editing is masterful and most of the time always keeps the seven together and never feels jumpy even when we focus on individual stories. I will say while it is very deliberate and never feels boring it can be long and defintely one should pause at the intermission. But everyone should watch this once. It's amazing how you can see the building blocks for SOOOOO many films here from different generations and eras of Hollywood.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/24

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ACUMEN

The earthiest film of all time! A masterpiece that was taken from the Criterion Colleciton and mistranslated. It is advisable to get the VHS version to get the true weight of the words delivered.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

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Akira Kurosawa

Director

Toshiro Mifune

Kikuchiyo

Takashi Shimura

Kambei Shimada

Yoshio Inaba

Gorobei Katayama

Seiji Miyaguchi

Kyuzo

Minoru Chiaki

Heihachi Hayashida

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Seven Samurai: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food. A giant battle occurs when 40 bandits attack the village.

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Screenwriter: Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Toho Company
Genre: Action
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 19, 1956, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $271.7K
Runtime: 3h 28m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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