Seven Samurai (1954)

Akira Kurosawa’s monumental, scintillating tale of hired samurai protecting a peasant village: period thriller and moral/political fable in one.

Rice farmers hire a band of samurai to defend them against marauding bandits in Akira Kurosawa’s influential epic, a touchstone for action movies ever since.

Akira Kurosawa followed the breakthrough international acclaim for Rashomon (1950) and Ikiru (1952) with this three-and-a-half-hour jidaigeki (period drama) set during Japan’s turbulent 16th century. Strongly influenced by the poetic westerns of John Ford, Kurosawa’s story of farmers recruiting a motley troupe of samurai to help them fend off bandits in turn had a huge impact on subsequent westerns and action films – from Hollywood remake The Magnificent Seven (1961) onwards.

The early section’s gathering together of the diversely talented fighters is a trope in action movies to this day, while the restrained use of slow-motion in the frenzied final faceoff has since been abused to far less subtle ends. Kurosawa expertly sustains the suspense over a lengthy duration, instilling the story with an almost Shakespearian grandeur.

“So ambitious and successful in its ambition that it seems to embody the most exciting aspects of the cinematic medium: epic sweep, not of place but of classes, from samurai to peasant to bandit to outsider; stunning photography that recreates 16th-century Japan, from its beautiful heights (the flower-picking scene) to its muddy depths (the final, agonising battle); wonderful performances, not only by Mifune Toshirō as the intense outsider who yearns to be a samurai, but also by Shimura Takashi as the samurai’s canny, world-weary leader and the finefeatured Miyaguchi Seiji, whom I refer to as Cool Old Guy. And with a moving, indeed shattering finale that suggests the sorrow of war both on the personal and on the historical side.” Susan Napier

“My list is light on epics, in part because depth of character impresses me more than scope. But Kurosawa gives us both.” Peter Debruge

“Exciting and moving, its handling of characters and story makes it maybe the best film school that cinema has to offer.” Mårten Blomkvist

“When I was a kid, I watched an episode of the TV programme Movie Masterclass (1988), presented by Mamoun Hassan, that analysed this film’s framing, movement and editing, scene by scene. It blew my mind. Decades on, Kurosawa’s dynamism still leads the way.” Leigh Singer

“Because Kurosawa transcended action cinema even as he invented it. Because he made it rain and rain. And because of his gaggle of ohso- human heroes: Shimura, Inaba, Katō, Miyaguchi, Chiaki, Kimura – and Mifune Toshirō like a cat on a hotplate.” Ian Nathan

“Seven Samurai reminds us how moving pictures move. The whole film celebrates thrilling energy with compassion and empathy for the underprivileged.” Peggy Chiao

“The intricacy, ferocity and poignancy of Seven Samurai enable it to define a genre.” Katie Smith-Wong

“Kurosawa is Eisenstein’s principal heir and the genius of Japanese cinema.” Joan Mellen

“The eastern to top all westerns. Kurosawa’s absolute highlight and a film to be studied in terms of blending the exterior and the interior, the grand and the small, the there-and-then and the timeless.” Andrei Liimets

“Sixty-eight years after its release, Kurosawa’s masterpiece still defines everything that I want an action film to possess – a meaningful story with deep characterisations, beautiful shots and purposeful action, and a rhythm that immerses me in its every moment. There are very few action films that achieve this tapestry and Seven Samurai remains the best of them all.” Richard Propes

“Kurosawa’s samurai epic marked a peak in the influential Japanese filmmaker’s most critically appreciated period. Together with star Mifune Toshirō, theirs was a collaboration which produced 17 years of films that belong in any catalogue of the greatest films ever made.” Tambay Obenson

“Where would cinema be without Kurosawa Akira?” James Harrison

1954 Japan
Directed by
Akira Kurosawa
Produced by
Sojiro Motoki
Written by
Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni, Akira Kurosawa
Featuring
Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Seiji Miyaguchi
Running time
200 minutes

Ranked in The Greatest Films of All Time poll

Sight and Sound

Who voted for Seven Samurai

Critics

Mohammed Hashem Abdel-Salam
Egypt
Panos Achtsioglou
Greece
Ian Aitken
Hong Kong
Isra Al Kassi
UK
Rommy Albers
Netherlands
Tunico Amâncio
Brazil
Abbas Baharloo
Iran
Nicolas Barbano
Denmark
Eurico de Barros
Portugal
Marten Blomkvist
Sweden
Guido Bonsaver
Italy/UK
Stuart Brown
UK
Per Juul Carlsen
Denmark
Dylan Cave
UK
Peggy Chiao
Taiwan/China
Renata Clark
Czech Republic
Pablo Conde
Argentina
Phil De Semlyen
UK
Peter Debruge
USA
Bryony Dixon
UK
Glenn Erickson
USA
Angie Errigo
USA/UK
Swarnavel Eswaran Pillai
USA
Mark Feeney
USA
Nora Fiore
USA
Leonardo García Tsao
Mexico
Sean Gilman
USA
Mark Harris
USA
James Harrison
UK
Maori Holmes
USA
Philip Horne
UK
Dimitris Kerkinos
Greece
Andy Lea
UK
Albert Lee
Hong Kong
Jean-Marc Leveratto
France
Andrei Liimets
Estonia
Tara Lomax
Australia
Ross Maclean
UK
Joan Mellen
USA
Frédéric Mercier
France
Cornelius Moore
USA
Eddie Muller
USA
Susan Napier
USA
Venkateswaran Narayanan
India
Ian Nathan
UK
Angela Ndalianis
Australia
Michael Newton
Netherlands
Hubert Niogret
France
Michael Nordine
US
Tambay Obenson
USA
Julie Pearce
UK
Domino Renee Perez
USA
Edward Porter
UK
Richard Propes
USA
Charles Ramírez Berg
USA
Katie Rife
USA
Andy Rotman
USA
Pablo O. Scholz
Argentina
Leigh Singer
UK
Katie Smith-Wong
UK
Jez Stewart
UK
Ben Stoddart
UK
Brian Tallerico
USA
Lou Thomas
UK
Kenneth Turan
USA
Casper Tybjerg
Denmark
Anthony Wall
UK
K. F. Watanabe
USA
Grant Watson
Australia
David West
UK
Jason Wood
UK

Directors

Hanna Bergholm
Finland
Sofia Coppola
USA
Michaël Dudok de Wit
Robert Eggers
USA
Andreas Fontana
Switzerland
Alex Gibney
USA
Srdan Golubović
Serbia
Mark Gustafson
USA
Margo Harkin
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Chad
Walter Hill
USA
Rajkumar Hirani
India
Ahmed Jamal
UK
Eric Khoo
Singapore
Isaki Lacuesta
Spain
Nikhil Mahajan
India
Martin Mcdonagh
Ireland
Radu Muntean
Romania
Fernando Navarro
Spain
C.J. "Fiery" Obasi
Nigeria
Sir Horace Ové
UK
Frank Oz
USA
Babak Payami
Iran/Canada
Alexander Payne
USA
Mani Ratnam
India
Michael Schultz
Chris Shepherd
United Kingdom
Clement Virgo
Canada

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