Akira Kurosawa's Film Seven Samurai
One of the Best and Most Popular Foreign Films of All Time
Apr 30, 2009
Made back in the early 1950s, Seven Samurai was the equivalent of today's big screen action blockbusters. In fact, the genre may never have existed if it weren't for Kurosawa's masterpiece kicking off cinema's love affair with action movies.
Why Has the Story of the Seven Samurai Endured?
The story of Seven Samurai has been told over and again in so many ways it's become a movie staple. The basic plot involves a motley band of samurai coming together to help train and defend a poor village from bandits. The good and righteous fighting for the poor and helpless seems like such a simple concept. Yet the beauty of Seven Samurai, and the reason it has endured for so long, is that on closer inspection the lines between good and bad are blurred. The samurai themselves are argumentative and conflicted, whilst the villagers are at times devious and less than trustworthy. The bandits, the outward focus of the hostility, barely get a look in. There's more than enough to contend with at the village before they even arrive.
The Famous Audition Sequences in Seven Samurai
Just like in John Sturges' much loved American re-make The Magnificent Seven (1960), part of the fun of Seven Samurai comes from the clever scenes that introduce each main character. The audition sequence has become a familiar cinematic convention, used to great effect in later films such as The Dirty Dozen, but it was Seven Samurai that invented it.
As each samurai is recruited, character revealing scenes play out to inform the audience all about them. The first samurai the villagers encounter is the noble ronin Kambei (Takashi Shimura). After watching his single-handed rescue of a little girl from a madman threatening to kill her if anyone so much as dares to approach, the villagers decide Kambei is their man. He accepts the challenge even though they can offer little more than food by way of payment, but he says he will need six more men.
The Main Characters in Seven Samurai:
In addition to the leader Kambei (Takashi Shimura), the following samurai are recruited.
- Katsuhiro (Isao Kimura), who is Kambei's young apprentice and the film's love interest. Katsuhiro falls for one of the village girls.
- Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), who is friendly, a little on the large side, and slips comfortably into the role of Kambei's lieutenant. He's not heavily featured in the film.
- Shichiroji (Daisuke Kato), who is another podgy samurai who has fought previously alongside Kambei. Also not heavily featured in the film.
- Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), who is introduced as a skilled axe man and a bit of a joker. He is not featured very heavily in the film.
- Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi), who is a brooding, charismatic fellow, who demonstrates incredible swordsmanship. Kyuzo is quiet and calm, an enigmatic loner.
- Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune), who is a drunken kook, melodramatic and undisciplined. Kikuchiyo is rather puffed up at times, and a terrible show-off. The village children take to him immediately, but his skills do not match his swagger. Kikuchiyo, played by long time Kurosawa collaborator Mifune, shares nearly as much screen time as Kambei, and provides much of the comic relief.
Kurosawa's Artistic Vision Brought to the Screen
Akira Kurosawa, perhaps Japan's most famous film director, trained as a fine artist before turning his hand to films. He also, famously, storyboarded all his scenes as full size paintings. This artistic vision is fully realised in Seven Samurai, with each shot composed exactly and exquisitely. The film retains its passion and vitality to this day, although modern viewers might find its pace a little slow. Seven Samurai does stretch to well over 3 hours, the advantage being this ensures the story and characters are fully developed. Despite the long running time, the film is laced with action, and all the battle scenes are beautifully edited to maintain the speed and momentum of the fights. Viewer patience and attention to detail is well rewarded by the masterpiece that is Seven Samurai.
Further reading: Another wandering samurai film which may be of interest is Takashi Kitano's 2003 epic Zatoichi.
- Seven Samurai ( Shichi-nin no samurai)
- Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
- Starring: Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Seiji Miyaguchi, Isao Kimura
- Written by: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
- Released: 1954 (Japan)
- Running time: 206 minutes (original release)
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