‘If you only think of yourself, you’ll only destroy yourself...’
As a teacher of Film Studies and a cinema obsessive, there are some films that are non-negotiables. Citizen Kane. Vertigo. Apocalypse Now. Many others. There will always be those that slip through the net, however. Seven Samurai is one of those movies for me. It is an intimidating prospect weighing in at over three and a half hours long, particularly as there is a much beloved American remake up for grabs as well. The original’s are usually best however, and so, I went for Seven Samurai over The Magnificent Seven for now, and boy, was this an odyssey…
A village of hapless farmers are in the midst of being ravaged by a local gang of bandits. At their wits end, and with no other options available to them, the villagers decide to enlist the help of, you guessed it, seven samurai , an enigmatic group of Japanese warriors.
Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, Seven Samurai is an epic of astonishing proportions, especially when considering the era in which it was released. Legendary director Akira Kurosawa does a great job in establishing a distinct personality for each samurai (the angry one, the laughing one, the novice, the experienced old hand, the leader and erm… dopey and bashful?), which perhaps justifies the film’s absurdly long running time (although not really). The villagers are a bit more nondescript, but this is a minor gripe for a film that is beautifully shot and contains plenty of gripping and memorable moments (not least the many battle sequences).
While Seven Samurai is not a film that I will rush to watch again, it’s place in the canon of classic Japanese cinema is assured, and for any budding cinephiles out there, Kurosawa’s masterpiece is essential viewing.