Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)

...hour of excellent fighting. Seven Samurai succeeds in trying to install national pride with the film’s central struggle being a metaphor for post-war Japan. The Samurais being Ronins is very apt as Japan had lost its Emperor, who at the end of the war was only a symbolic head of state. In the film the Samurai are strict follows in Bushido. Kurosawa wanted to restore Bushido to it original glory as through World War II it was used to commit ...
...as sub-human. People had by then lost faith in all that was traditional and were more intent on modernisation. The Bandits are a metaphor for America. The Bandits see a poor village and attack it making it poorer, like the crippling reparations demanded by America. The Bandits also have superior weapons, three guns, but the Samurai use their skill, beliefs and cunning to defeat the vast numbers of the enemy. They battle fiercely for the muddy land, ...

toastfuf 03.05.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)

...plot itself is quite simple. Seven out of work samurai are hired by a small town which is having the life blood drained out of it by bandits. It was the first movie which took the formula of having a group of hard men assembled to solve the problems of a group of others and is a formula which has been much copied since. Of course, few, if any, have matched Kurosawa's superb direction because this man is an absolute genius. He knows exactly how to ...
...in the place of the characters whilst at the same time never letting us in on the secret that this is what he is trying to do. Modern action movies have their dramtic poses, the lighting positioned perfectly to show every bulging muscle, every tough angular facial feature...but we know it and we have come to expect it. Not with Kurosawa, it is never obvious what he is doing unless you sit down and analyse the movie and then you truly see his genius. ...

wampyrii 27.09.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)

The Seven Samurai is set in 16th century Japan ata time when rival Daimyo battled it out on the battle field for supremacy of japan. The story itself centres around 2 key players...thes being Kambei (Takasha Shimura) and Kikuchiro (played with wonderful gutso by Toshiro Mifune). kambei is a ronin samurai who is enlisted by a group of desperate and at times comic peasent village farmers who are constantly being raided by local bandits. Kambei then ...
...films such as the magnificent seven were remakes of this master film. To sum up Kurasawas epic is a delight...it will depress you...make you laugh...think...and wonder...it has it all and the only real down side to both of the DVD releases are the serious lack of extra features (one features a ltd commentary and the other a full length commentary)but this can be forgiven for the quality of the film making at hand. And to further convince you...along ...

vampireinthemoonlight 11.05.2002 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)

Seven Samurai is a Japanese film made by Akira Kurosawa in the year 1954. Now, before you click on the 'back' button on your browser, hear me out! Yes, it is made in black in white, and the film quality isn't Lucasfilm standard. But the great thing about this movie is that it is a simple story, yet so complex. So much of the traditions of the Japanese and Samurai are blended into the film, without ever obstructing the actual story. The story is ...
...bandits every year at harvest time. They decide that enough is enough, and go out to look for some Samurai who can assist them in repelling these attacks. The Samurai were very well respected and held high esteem in Japanese society wheras farmers were lower in the system. The caste system was still very much in use in Japan until not so long ago. So you can imagine the tribulation of the villagers in hiring protection from a higher caste. The ...

abdulawwal 11.11.2002 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)

...hour or so they find seven samauri (most of whom are shamed in someway) who travel to the village and begin to train the villagers. Just over an hour later the villagers are trained (there's a little bit of romance in there too!!) and the final 40 or so mins in concerned with the action. And plenty of it there is - all good old-fashioned samauri swordplay. OK - now if you were paying attention you will have managed to do a quick calculation and ...
...and yes it is. I'm afraid it is a little slow and today would have probably been trimmed to the more normal 100 mins!!! This coupled with the fact that its in black and white and Japanese probably hasn't helped its popularity over here in the west. However, it is a classic and was the basis for The Magnificent Seven. If you have nothing better to do then its well worth a watch - but three hours is a long time to read subtitles. ...

Xcom 24.09.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)

...'The Magnificent Seven'. Dealing with seven warriors who are paid by villagers to protect their homes from bandits. Yet at three hours plus you'd imagine it to be hard going. Far from it, being the master of cinema that Kurosawa was he manages to keep you interested in each of the characters and absorbed and moved by the plight of the villagers. The battle scenes are some of the best ever seen and the vivid monochrome camerawork is fluid and imaginative ...

JSpencer 26.07.2000 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)

This is number 3 in my list, shortly after Godfather and Citizen Kane. This is absolutely mesmerising. The action jump cuts are a sight to behold. The plot is flawless, and the whole look and feel are something to behold. The slowmo sections are breathtaking and this film has been revered for generations. The acting [especially Tosh] is absolutely bang on and unsurpassed. I won't go into any detail that might spoil your enjoyment of this true classic. ...

ProfPavilion 13.07.2000 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)

...not as unbelievable that they then have different attitudes. Therefore although there are seven of them, each samurai is a different person. PS i have put 'weak' for special effects, thats because i had to make a choice, bear in mind there are no special effect in this movie. ...

Bandit_Haze 27.06.2000 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Seven Samurai, The (Shichinin no samurai)