← Back to Reviews
in
#661 - Seven Samurai
Akira Kurosawa, 1954
A village of impoverished farmers hires a group of wandering samurai to protect them from a ruthless clan of bandits.
The plot of Seven Samurai follows some poor farmers trying to figure out how to deal with a bandit clan threatening to commit their yearly raid on the farmers' village. After consulting with the village elder, a small group of farmers heads to the nearest town in order to hire a group of samurai to fight against the bandits. Though their meager reward (no money, just food and board until the job is done) initially draws nothing but derision from the local mercenaries, they have a stroke of luck when they encounter an ageing ronin (Takashi Shimura) who volunteers his services despite the lack of payment because, well, it's the right thing to do. He proves an intriguing enough figure that he is able to attract even more samurai to the cause, all of whom cover a variety of recognisable archetypes - the eager novice (isao Kimura), the dispassionate master (Seiji Miyaguchi), the affable sidekicks (Daisuke Katô and Yoshio Inaba), the cheerful comic relief (Minoru Chiaki), and most memorably the disrespectful wannabe (Toshiro Mifune). Their motives vary as well, whether it's the promise of adventure, the chance to refine one's skill, or simply looking for a place to belong. Of course, things end up being complicated well before the bandits show up as the naturally fearful villagers treat their newfound protectors with suspicion and distrust...
I think when it comes to reviewing films that have earned such immense reputations as this one has, I feel like I have to at least try to think of them in negative terms so as to prove something at least somewhat new and interesting to say. Seven Samurai is over sixty years old, three-and-a-half hours in length, black-and-white, subtitled, not nearly as action-packed as its simple plot might suggest, and the deliberately theatrical style of acting from every player is bound to alienate anyone who might expect a certain degree of realistic nuance. This marks the third time I've watched it in a decade - the last time was two years ago, the time before that was way back in 2007 - so it's a classic that I don't exactly feel like I can bust out every so often. The main motivation for this viewing was that I had the chance to see it in a theatrical context, and while it is a generally good film I would not consider it totally essential to watch the film in a theatre. Be that as it may, Seven Samurai holds up very well between these rather infrequent viewings. Yeah, the acting does come across as a bit stilted or overdone, especially when it comes to watching Mifune's manic fool devour the scenery in many different ways, but honestly it's too damned charming to watch him work. If anything, Mifune is the stand-out here as the wild man who could very easily have been annoying due to his clownish antics and vitriolic monologues, but he gets more than enough depth to justify his superficial immaturity (such as his angry monologue about the farmers' true nature or a certain scene taking place in front of an old mill). Each characters does get enough character traits to sufficiently define them through moments great and small, while the actors playing them do commendable jobs in bringing them to life.
Though Seven Samurai is probably a bit too drawn-out to properly qualify as an action movie, what action it does feature is handled with considerable skill. It may spend a lot of time on set-ups (most notably all the scenes where the samurai plot out their defence, whether it's by training the locals to wield bamboo spears or surveying the surrounding locations), but that only means that it results in good pay-offs. One can definitely identify how much it serves as a blueprint for many a recognisable action film for reasons that go beyond its utilitarian plot and colourful cast of characters playing off one another. Slow-motion deaths are probably the most immediately obvious innovation one can identify, though it's also pretty impressive how Kurosawa can pace any scenes of violence (when he opts to show violence, that is). Scenes range from one-on-one duels to stealthy ambushes to all-out battles, most of which are captured without the use of background music (not like the music's necessarily bad but many scenes really do feel more effective when there isn't any music) and vary in terms of how elegantly or realistically they unfold.
Despite its reputation as the grandfather of modern action movies (to the point where I could pick apart ways in which other movies openly or subtly paid homage to it - Mifune's sticking several swords into a mound of dirt in preparation for the final battle definitely felt like a precursor to Chow Yun-fat hiding spare pistols in potted plants during John Woo's A Better Tomorrow), it manages to attach a considerable amount of tragedy to many scenes of violence. This is even after the fight scenes start off as awesome (case in point - Miyaguchi's introductory scene where a non-lethal duel with an arrogant warrior soon proves to be the latter's undoing) but as time wears on and the numbers of the good guys start to dwindle, the true cost of what's going on bubbles to the surface. That's enough to make up for certain plot holes that start to pop up after a few viewings, such as one samurai's usage of a longbow that you'd think would figure more prominently into their strategy, especially when the bandits themselves are established as having not only bows but rifles.
Attempting to actually find serious fault with Seven Samurai beyond matters of an extremely subjective perspective are a bit difficult. Even though it indulges that hoariest of action-movie clichés by having the young and handsome Kimura begin a secret romantic tryst with the daughter of one very overprotective farmer, there are enough particulars at play so that it manages to come across as a platonic ideal for the trope rather than vacuous cliché. With a film of this length, one can always question whether it really needs to be as long as it is (especially when Western-themed remake The Magnificent Seven is almost half the length of Kurosawa's film) but I'd say that it more than earns its right to be epic. Even elements that threaten to date the film such as the melodramatic performances or the jaunty background score don't prove to be significant distractions. It works as a solid combination of character study, action thriller, and post-war allegory (which is understood most prominently through the bandits' usage of rifles against their sword-wielding opponents). The film's reputation should say volumes, but I'll reiterate anyway - this film is the very definition of essential viewing. Anyone with even a passing interest in cinema, whether as high art or escapist entertainment, definitely owes it to themselves to at least try watching this. Love it or hate it, it's definitely a rewarding experience.
Akira Kurosawa, 1954
A village of impoverished farmers hires a group of wandering samurai to protect them from a ruthless clan of bandits.
The plot of Seven Samurai follows some poor farmers trying to figure out how to deal with a bandit clan threatening to commit their yearly raid on the farmers' village. After consulting with the village elder, a small group of farmers heads to the nearest town in order to hire a group of samurai to fight against the bandits. Though their meager reward (no money, just food and board until the job is done) initially draws nothing but derision from the local mercenaries, they have a stroke of luck when they encounter an ageing ronin (Takashi Shimura) who volunteers his services despite the lack of payment because, well, it's the right thing to do. He proves an intriguing enough figure that he is able to attract even more samurai to the cause, all of whom cover a variety of recognisable archetypes - the eager novice (isao Kimura), the dispassionate master (Seiji Miyaguchi), the affable sidekicks (Daisuke Katô and Yoshio Inaba), the cheerful comic relief (Minoru Chiaki), and most memorably the disrespectful wannabe (Toshiro Mifune). Their motives vary as well, whether it's the promise of adventure, the chance to refine one's skill, or simply looking for a place to belong. Of course, things end up being complicated well before the bandits show up as the naturally fearful villagers treat their newfound protectors with suspicion and distrust...
I think when it comes to reviewing films that have earned such immense reputations as this one has, I feel like I have to at least try to think of them in negative terms so as to prove something at least somewhat new and interesting to say. Seven Samurai is over sixty years old, three-and-a-half hours in length, black-and-white, subtitled, not nearly as action-packed as its simple plot might suggest, and the deliberately theatrical style of acting from every player is bound to alienate anyone who might expect a certain degree of realistic nuance. This marks the third time I've watched it in a decade - the last time was two years ago, the time before that was way back in 2007 - so it's a classic that I don't exactly feel like I can bust out every so often. The main motivation for this viewing was that I had the chance to see it in a theatrical context, and while it is a generally good film I would not consider it totally essential to watch the film in a theatre. Be that as it may, Seven Samurai holds up very well between these rather infrequent viewings. Yeah, the acting does come across as a bit stilted or overdone, especially when it comes to watching Mifune's manic fool devour the scenery in many different ways, but honestly it's too damned charming to watch him work. If anything, Mifune is the stand-out here as the wild man who could very easily have been annoying due to his clownish antics and vitriolic monologues, but he gets more than enough depth to justify his superficial immaturity (such as his angry monologue about the farmers' true nature or a certain scene taking place in front of an old mill). Each characters does get enough character traits to sufficiently define them through moments great and small, while the actors playing them do commendable jobs in bringing them to life.
Though Seven Samurai is probably a bit too drawn-out to properly qualify as an action movie, what action it does feature is handled with considerable skill. It may spend a lot of time on set-ups (most notably all the scenes where the samurai plot out their defence, whether it's by training the locals to wield bamboo spears or surveying the surrounding locations), but that only means that it results in good pay-offs. One can definitely identify how much it serves as a blueprint for many a recognisable action film for reasons that go beyond its utilitarian plot and colourful cast of characters playing off one another. Slow-motion deaths are probably the most immediately obvious innovation one can identify, though it's also pretty impressive how Kurosawa can pace any scenes of violence (when he opts to show violence, that is). Scenes range from one-on-one duels to stealthy ambushes to all-out battles, most of which are captured without the use of background music (not like the music's necessarily bad but many scenes really do feel more effective when there isn't any music) and vary in terms of how elegantly or realistically they unfold.
Despite its reputation as the grandfather of modern action movies (to the point where I could pick apart ways in which other movies openly or subtly paid homage to it - Mifune's sticking several swords into a mound of dirt in preparation for the final battle definitely felt like a precursor to Chow Yun-fat hiding spare pistols in potted plants during John Woo's A Better Tomorrow), it manages to attach a considerable amount of tragedy to many scenes of violence. This is even after the fight scenes start off as awesome (case in point - Miyaguchi's introductory scene where a non-lethal duel with an arrogant warrior soon proves to be the latter's undoing) but as time wears on and the numbers of the good guys start to dwindle, the true cost of what's going on bubbles to the surface. That's enough to make up for certain plot holes that start to pop up after a few viewings, such as one samurai's usage of a longbow that you'd think would figure more prominently into their strategy, especially when the bandits themselves are established as having not only bows but rifles.
Attempting to actually find serious fault with Seven Samurai beyond matters of an extremely subjective perspective are a bit difficult. Even though it indulges that hoariest of action-movie clichés by having the young and handsome Kimura begin a secret romantic tryst with the daughter of one very overprotective farmer, there are enough particulars at play so that it manages to come across as a platonic ideal for the trope rather than vacuous cliché. With a film of this length, one can always question whether it really needs to be as long as it is (especially when Western-themed remake The Magnificent Seven is almost half the length of Kurosawa's film) but I'd say that it more than earns its right to be epic. Even elements that threaten to date the film such as the melodramatic performances or the jaunty background score don't prove to be significant distractions. It works as a solid combination of character study, action thriller, and post-war allegory (which is understood most prominently through the bandits' usage of rifles against their sword-wielding opponents). The film's reputation should say volumes, but I'll reiterate anyway - this film is the very definition of essential viewing. Anyone with even a passing interest in cinema, whether as high art or escapist entertainment, definitely owes it to themselves to at least try watching this. Love it or hate it, it's definitely a rewarding experience.