FILM: Seven Samurai - Akira Kurosawa (1954)

[BloodBoal 7,538]

 

Seven Samurai - Akira Kurosawa (1954)

 

 

Endlessly remade in various forms (and not just in The Magnificent Seven), this tale of a village living under the threat of local bandits and looking for a bunch of heroes to help them is masterfully told by director Akira Kurosawa. It's quite a simple story, yet the movie is 3 hours and 30 minutes long, and one could fear that it's going to be one overly long and boring ride, yet it doesn't feel long or boring.

 

The movie has a clear, simple structure, which makes it really easy to follow: the first third (so basically the first hour or so) is dedicated to introducing each of the samurai and getting to know them better, then the middle part is about getting to know more about the villagers and the village's geography, and then the last third revolves around the battle between the bandits and the samurai/villagers. Since each part is given about (more or less) the same amount of time, it means Kurosawa was able to develop each aspect of the story slowly and carefully. A lot of time is spent to clearly show and explain the topography of the village and its surroundings, which is vital to understanding the strategy the samurai put in place, as well as understanding what happens during the battle (and where it happens). I've rarely seen a film giving such a clear sense of geography: you quickly and easily understand where everything is located, what's at stake, and the strategy adopted by the samurai accordingly, so when the battle begins, you're not confused in any way. This is really superb storytelling right there.

The cast is on the whole quite solid, with special mentions to the great Takashi Shimura as the wise and clever master Kambei, Seiji Miyaguchi as the stoic and downright badass Kyuzo and of course Toshirô Mifune as the wacky and really likeable Kikuchiyo. The actors really managed to make their characters stand out, notably by adding little mannerisms to their performances to make the character their own.

The movie has some great visuals to offer too. Kurosawa had a knack to capture great moments with all the seven samurai in the shot (which isn't necessarily as easy as it sounds in a 4:3 format). Great use of natural lighting throughout the film too. So visually, the film is also a success, though the battle scenes are bit more chaotic in that regard (the editing doesn't help in that regard).

Finally, regarding Hayasaka's score: it hasn't much to offer, as there really isn't that much music in the film anyway (there's probably less than hour all in all). First, there's that drum rythm heard in the overture, and which reappears often throughout the film, then there's some more romantic music for Katsushiro and Shino, and finally there's the Seven Samurai's theme: that's basically all there is in the score (exaggerating a bit, but not that much). But that's not what's there is bad. In fact, it's rather effective, but I could have done with a bit more music. The Samurai's theme is a solid melody, full of nobility but also with a tinge of sadness in it (the characters being quite a tragic bunch). It's pretty good and is given quite a few cool variations throughout the film (funnily enough, I find the melody of JNH's theme for the Mariner in Waterworld to be a bit reminiscent of that one). Nothing to write home about, but still good. Would probably buy a rerecording, if they ever did one, though.

 

Perhaps not a perfect film (some of the samurai, like Heihachi or Gorobei, could have been developed a bit more , I think the film could have benefited from having a bit more music here and there, the editing of the battle scenes could have been improved upon a bit, etc.), but it's still a stellar piece of filmmaking. Loved it!

 

9/10

 

 

 

 

 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

One of the best films ever made!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

Agreed, and a good review, to boot.

[Brónach 1,302]

 

On 21/10/2016 at 1:41 PM, BloodBoal said:

Finally, regarding Hayasaka's score: it hasn't much to offer, as there realy isn't that much music in the film anyway (there's probably less than hour all in all). First, there's that drum rythm heard in the overture, and which reappears often throughout the film (which was basically ripped off in Poledouris' Wolf Witch cue from Conan The Barbarian (well, it's a simple drum rythm, but still!)), then there's some more romantic music for Katsushiro and Shino, and finally there's the Seven Samurai's theme: that's basically all there is in the score (exaggerating a bit, but not that much). But that's not what's there is bad. In fact, it's rather effective, but I could have done with a bit more music. The Samurai's theme is a solid melody, full of nobility but also with a tinge of sadness in it (the characters being quite a tragic bunch). It's pretty good and is given quite a few cool variations throughout the film (funnily enough, I find the melody of JNH's theme for the Mariner in Waterworld to be a bit reminiscent of that one). Nothing to write home about, but still good. Would probably buy a rerecording, if they ever did one, though.

 

I actually like the score. After all these years, I still remember the drum music, the Shino music, the samurai thing, the Kikuchiyo theme, and cues for the villagers and other stuff, like the low chanting.

 

The cinematography in this film is a miracle.

 

This movie is one of those that's as perfect as a movie can aspire to be. Which includes getting into your head and never leaving. I discovered it when I was 12 (I think I was 12? I don't remember)  and happened to put the DVD on the computer (I still didn't have a DVD player). People have many personal movie classics, this one happens to be "mine".

 

 

 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I have the Criterion blu-ray but I haven't watched it yet.

[filmmusic 1,826]

I'm not really into samurai films and I don't know how I would feel about this.

But I'd like to watch it because it is considered a masterpiece, to see what is all the fuss about.

 

I've seen recently Kurosawa's Rashomon, and it was quite a chore to sit through.

However i liked High and low a lot.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Throne of Blood is the best Kurosawa film I've seen

[Brónach 1,302]

On 16/9/2017 at 2:40 PM, filmmusic said:

I'm not really into samurai films and I don't know how I would feel about this.

But I'd like to watch it because it is considered a masterpiece, to see what is all the fuss about.

 

Well, it's like a western, but better because swords and commentary on feudalism and shit.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It's confusing! Everything was in black and white and nobody spoke English. I didnt really understand it.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I don't think samurai films are inherently better than Westerns because they have swords or whatever.  I respond more to Westerns because it's the mythology of my own culture.

[Brónach 1,302]

When I said it was better I didn't mean they're better, just that they have a cool imagery and interesting setting to me personally. As for relatedness to culture... in that case maybe neither, because colonization of native american land didn't happen here, and we had feudalism but not like Japanese feudalism, and I've been seeing both genres since I was very young at the same time so I dunno!

 

There was funny talk here recently, because apparently the little princess' mum had exposed her to Kurosawa films. It must have been the mum because the Borbons aren't known for their relationship to culture, and it was hilarious how they tried to propagandize the situation saying "see, she's cultured, she watches this and that!". And I thought "I hope the little princess actually understands those Kurosawa movies". I hope it was Ran or something of the sort