MyRating:
YYYYY + A CROWN
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Isao Kimura, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yoshio Inaba, Daisuke Kato, Minoru Chiaki, Keiko Tsushima, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Bokuzen Hidari, Kamatari Fujiwara
Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) is, without a doubt, one of the greatest and most influential films of all time by the legendary Japanese director, the great Akira Kurosawa. So influential, not only it became the pride and gem of the Asian filmmaking and set a new standard in the filmmaking industry at that time, aside from becoming Japan's highest grossing movie, but it also strongly inspired and influenced the West, whom adapted the film later on into the western version, The Magnificent Seven in 1960. Seven Samurai is one of Kurosawa's bests, a timeless cinematic epic masterpiece ever made in the movie history.
A timeless classic? Needless to argue, as every movie lover would agree. The black and white picture of this film is showing nothing more than the fact that this is an old movie, a more than 50-year old film which was released in 1954, but once you have seen this movie, you would certainly be grateful to become one of the witnesses of the brilliant filmmaking that this movie has achieved more than 50 years ago. This movie may have a lifelong impact and stay at a special place in your heart. And nothing good or bad that I said would add or detract even a drop in the ocean of greatness this movie has set itself to be.
The story (co-written by Akira Kurosawa) is actually a simple one, yet so strong, about a poor village of farmers, tired living under the terrors of a gang of ruthless bandits, hire seven free samurai (ronin) to help them defend themselves from the bandits, who will return to attack their village and plunder their crops after harvest time. A powerful story telling, combined with great characterizations, wonderful cast, solid actings, and a brilliant direction by Kurosawa, were the perfect mix of potion that made this a standout movie that stands against the test of time.
The movie was felt so complete, as it contains of drama, action, romance, as well as comedic moments. The story was emotionally attached with the values of friendship, dignity and sacrifice. The setting of the Japanese small town and villages in 1587, the timeline as the movie was set, brought your senses back to that era and gave a secluded feeling at the same time, as if you were there, in the era of samurai warriors, with their samurai swords tied to their waists, walking proudly across the streets, and in the era where you will feel theaten by the barbaric bandits, freely roaming the earth.
The characters in this movie are the characters who will make you care for their fates, all hands down to the excellent characterizations. The movie did take its time to introduce its characters one by one, some intimately on their backgrounds, their reasoning, their motives, their feelings inside and their fears. The plot of the samurai recruiting and gathering process was interesting to watch as the introduction to all the heroes, and this movie was among the first films that used such plot, which was followed by many movies afterwards.
The variation of the seven samurai characters also gave a perfect combination to the group, as there are the leader and the strategic thinker Kambei Shimada (Takashi Shimura), the reckless and hot-headed would-be samurai Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune), the inexperience young warrior Katsushirō Okamoto (Isao Kimura), the wise skilled archer and second in command Gorōbei Katayama (Yoshio Inaba), the nice swordsman and once Kambei's lieutenant Shichirōji (Daisuke Kato), the friendly and cheerful fighter Heihachi Hayashida (Minoru Chiaki) and the serious and highly dangerous samurai Kyūzō (Seiji Miyaguchi). There are also several villager characters who have important roles in the story, as the seven samurai train the villagers how to fight and defend themselves. By the end of the movie, you will feel that you have known them all very well. And you will feel sorry for the characters who died.
There was a forbidden love romance, that added up a conflict to the plot, between the youngest samurai (Isao Kimura) and the poor village girl (Keiko Tsushima). Afraid of her beautiful daughter might get raped by the bunch of samurai coming to their village, the father asks the daughter to dress-up like a boy. But it's only time before the young samurai finds out that she is actually a girl. And they fall in love. 
The actings were great and rock-solid. As the leader of the samurai, Takashi Shimura, one of the finest character actor Japan ever had, was always fun to watch, with his cool, charismatic and sympathetic performance. While Toshiro Mifune's character was the most interesting one. Rude, temperamental, half crazy attitudes, but with a good heart, gave a different color to the characters of the other fellow samurai. And his character and memorable performance set a dynamic tone to the whole story. Mifune was the most famous and considered as the greatest Japanese actor of his time, who worked together with Kurosawa in 16 movies. The other actors also acted very well, including the stone-faced samurai Seiji Miyaguchi, who looked cold and without mercy at the beginning, but also managed to steal our hearts at the end .
The final battle between the samurai, the villagers and the bandits was a breathtaking scene. A long scene of combat with a careful strategic battle plan to ambush and defeat the bandits, including protecting the all entry posts to the village, flooding part of the village, and alluring the bandits to come inside the village before the villagers gang them up. The actions may look and feel a bit old due to its age, but still very well crafted and impressively shot, especially if you put yourself in that era. Watching this movie was an absolute enjoyment. Never a bore moment despite its long running time (giving the running time of 207 minutes for the restored version). The wonderful feeling of watching this movie will forever stay in my heart. It's a masterpiece and an absolute classic. And I would like to add by saying that this is one of the movies that you should watch before you die. (MJ)
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