Seven Samurai (1954) Shichinin no samurai (original title)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Akira Kurosawa (screenplay) &
Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

19 November 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Will Take Its Place With the Seven Greatest Films of All Time!

Plot:

A poor village under attack by bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Bandit | Farmer | Rice | Battle

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Toshirô Mifune	...	Kikuchiyo (as Toshiro Mifune)
Takashi Shimura	...	Kanbei
Keiko Tsushima	...	Shino
Yukiko Shimazaki	...	Wife (as Yukio Shimazaki)
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Farmer Manzo
Daisuke Katô	...	Shichiroji (as Daisake Kato)
Isao Kimura	...	Katsushiro (as Ko Kimura)
Minoru Chiaki	...	Heihachi
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Kyuzo
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Farmer Mosuke
Bokuzen Hidari	...	Farmer Yohei
Yoshio Inaba	...	Gorobei Katayama
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Farmer Rikichi
Kokuten Kôdô	...	Grandad (as Kuninori Todo)
Eijirô Tôno	...	Thief (as Eijiro Tono)
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Bandit Scout (as Ueda Kichijiro)
Jun Tatara	...	Coolie A
Atsushi Watanabe	...	Bun Seller
Toranosuke Ogawa	...	Grandfather of Kidnapped Girl
Isao Yamagata	...	Samurai
Sôjin	...	Blind Player (as Sojin)
Gen Shimizu	...	Samurai Who Kicks Farmers (as Hajime Shimizu)
Keiji Sakakida	...	Gosaku
Shinpei Takagi	...	Bandit Chieftain (as Shimpei Takagi)
Shin Ôtomo	...	Bandit Second-in-Command
Toshio Takahara	...	Samurai with Gun
Hiroshi Sugi	...	Tea Shop Owner
Kan Hayashi
Sachio Sakai	...	2nd Coolie
Sôkichi Maki	...	Strong-Looking Samurai
Ichirô Chiba	...	Buddhist Priest
Noriko Sengoku	...	Wife of Gono Family
Noriko Honma	...	Woman Farmer
Masanobu Ôkubo	...	Samurai
Etsurô Saijô
Minoru Itô	...	Samurai
Haruya Sakamoto	...	Samurai
Kyorô Sakurai	...	Samurai
Hideo Shibuya
Kiyoshi Kamoda	...	Samurai
Senkichi Ômura	...	Bandit Who Escapes
Takashi Narita	...	Bandit Who Escapes
Shôichi Hirose	...	Bandit
Kôji Uno	...	Bandit
Masaaki Tachibana
Kamayuki Tsubono	...	Bandit
Taiji Naka	...	Bandit
Chindanji Miyagawa	...	Bandit
Shigemi Sunagawa	...	Bandit
Akira Tani	...	Bandit
Akio Kusama	...	Bandit
Ryûtarô Amami	...	Bandit
Jun Mikami	...	Bandit
Haruo Nakajima	...	Bandit
Sanpei Mine	...	Farmer
Masahide Matsushita	...	Samurai
Kaneo Ikeda	...	Samurai
Takuzô Kumagaya	...	Ginsaku's Son (as Jirô Kumagaya)
Ippei Kawagoe	...	Farmer
Jirô Suzukawa	...	Farmer
Junpei Natsuki	...	Farmer
Kyôichi Kamiyama	...	Farmer
Haruo Suzuki	...	Farmer
Gorô Amano	...	Farmer
Hikaru Kitchôji	...	Farmer
Kôji Iwamoto	...	Farmer
Hiroshi Akitsu	...	Gono Husband
Akira Yamada	...	Farmer
Kazuo Imai	...	Farmer
Eisuke Nakanishi	...	Farmer
Toku Ihara	...	Farmer
Hideo Ôtsuka	...	Farmer
Shû Ôe	...	Farmer
Yasuhisa Tsutsumi	...	Farmer in Front of Gono
Yasuo Ônishi	...	Farmer
Tsuneo Katagiri	...	Farmer in Front of Gono
Megeru Shimoda	...	Farmer
Masayoshi Kawabe	...	Farmer
Shigeo Katô	...	Farmer
Yoshikazu Kawamata	...	Farmer
Takeshi Seki	...	3rd Coolie
Haruko Toyama	...	Ginsaku's Daughter-in-Law
Tsuruko Mano	...	Woman Farmer in Front of Gono
Matsue Ono	...	Woman Farmer
Tazue Ichimanji	...	Woman Farmer (as Tazue Ichimanji)
Masako Ôshiro	...	Woman Farmer
Kyôko Ozawa	...	Woman Farmer
Michiko Kadono	...	Farmer's Wife
Toshiko Nakano	...	Farmer's Wife
Shizuko Azuma	...	Farmer's Wife
Keiko Mori	...	Farmer's Wife
Michiko Kawabe	...	Farmer's Wife
Yûko Togawa	...	Farmer's Wife
Yayoko Kitano	...	Farmer's Wife
Misao Suyama	...	Woman Farmer
Toriko Takahara	...	Woman Farmer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Samurai Wandering Through Town (uncredited)
Ken Utsui	...	Samurai Wandering Through Town (uncredited)
Ren Yamamoto	...	Farmer (uncredited)

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits
Akira Kurosawa		(screenplay) &
Shinobu Hashimoto		(screenplay) &
Hideo Oguni		(screenplay)

Produced by
Sôjirô Motoki	....	producer (as Sojiro Motoki)

Original Music by
Fumio Hayasaka

Cinematography by
Asakazu Nakai		(photography) (as Asaichi Nakai)

Film Editing by
Akira Kurosawa

Production Design by
Takashi Matsuyama

Art Direction by
Sô Matsuyama		(art direction) (as So Matsuyama)

Costume Design by
Kôhei Ezaki
Mieko Yamaguchi

Makeup Department
Midori Nakajo	....	hair stylist
Junjiro Yamada	....	hair
Junjiro Yamada	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Hiroshi Nezu	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sakae Hirosawa	....	assistant director
Hiromichi Horikawa	....	assistant director
Toshi Kaneko	....	assistant director
Masaya Shimizu	....	assistant director
Yasuyoshi Tajitsu	....	assistant director

Art Department
Kôhei Ezaki	....	art consultant
Koichi Hamamura	....	property master
Yoshirô Muraki	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Masanao Uehara	....	sound assistant
Fumio Yanoguchi	....	recording

Camera and Electrical Department
Masao Fukuda	....	still photographer
Mitsuo Kaneko	....	assistant lighting technician
Shigeru Mori	....	lighting technician
Takao Saitô	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Hiroshi Nezu	....	editing manager

Music Department
Masaru Satô	....	assistant to composer

Other crew
Shigeru Endo	....	archery
Kôhei Ezaki	....	folklore researcher (as Kohei Ezaki)
Yuji Hamada	....	accountant
Ienori Kaneko	....	archery
Toshio Nakane	....	acting office
Teruyo Nogami	....	script supervisor
Takeharu Shimada	....	production assistant
Yoshio Sugino	....	fencing

Production Companies

• Toho Company

Distributors

• Toho Company (1954) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (US network premiere)
• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Films Incorporated (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Janus Films (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Landmark Films (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1989) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Cowboy Pictures (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Toho Company (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• Shoval Film Production (2003) (Israel) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2009) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Atlantic Film (2002) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Cinédis (1955) (France) (theatrical)
• Jaguar Film (1965) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Rosenbergs Filmbyrå (1965) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Studio 43 (????) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (2002) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Television och Smalfilm (1965) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige AB (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Tocantins (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Toho Company (2009) (Japan) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Toho Video (1996) (Japan) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Toho Developing Co.  film developing
• Toho Genzosho  video editing

Also Known As:

"Shichinin no samurai" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

207 min | 160 min (international version) | Argentina:163 min | Sweden:202 min (2002 re-release) | UK:150 min (original version) | UK:190 min (1991 re-release) | USA:141 min | USA:203 min (re-release) | USA:207 min (restored version) | Spain:202 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Stereo (re-release prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Brazil:10 | Czech Republic:U | Spain:T | Australia:M (VHS version) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 (re-rating) (2002) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | Switzerland:14 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

Seiji Miyaguchi, who played the taciturn samurai Kyuzo, had not touched a sword at all before this movie. Editing and careful cinematography were both used to give the impression that he was a master.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the samurai are giving battle advice to the peasants, who sit around them forming a circle, the camera does a rather wide circle shot of them. You can see the dolly track behind the seated peasants.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bandit second-in-command:We'll take this place next.
Bandit Chief:We took it last autumn. They haven't got anything worth taking yet. Let's wait.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.4" (2011)

Kurosawa's triumphant epic- totally & successfully driven by character and story

Akira Kurosawa was and is considered the master of east-western film-making (in that he made his Japanese films accessible for fans of American westerns while still making the movies his country found popular), and out of the few Kurosawa movies I've had the pleasure of viewing (Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, and this) I'd have to say that while Rashomon is still my favorite, I nevertheless had a blast during this one. The story has become quite influential to filmmakers from the likes of John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven) to John Lasseter (A Bug's Life): a small village has been terrorized by bandits for far too long, amid times of civil war in the nation, and so on the advice of Grand-Dad, they decide to hire four - which soon becomes seven - samurai for the job. There's no money, just food and honor, even though the village isn't exactly pleased to have samurai back in their village. Each character is drawn and executed compellingly, though for my money Toshiro Mifune proves why he became one of Japan's most notorious film actors. His work as the brave, bold outcast of the seven is awe-inspiring practically all the way through, like the hero of a western that anyone can root for since he's a true rebel at heart within a group of men with a task at hand.

Kurosawa directs his tale and main and supporting players like a grand composer, orchestrating a vivid story and extracting from great actors like Takashi Shimura (the old, wise Samurai), Ko Kimura (the disciple Samurai), Daisuke Kato (Schichiroji), and Mifune (Kikuchiyo, which isn't his real name) just the right touches of humanity, humor, tragedy, romance, and intensity. The overall intensity, by the way, isn't over-estimated; its long length (almost 3 1/2 hours) isn't distracting in the slightest since Kurosawa's editing and photography (the later helmed by Asakazu Nakai) are extraordinary. Not to compare the two films, but one thing I saw in common with Seven Samurai and a Lord of the Rings film is that, if anything else, it definitely isn't a boring experience. Along with a score by Fumio Hayasaka that gives the film just a bit more of a pulse, and a showdown that is relentless with excitement, this is one of the must-see action films for film buffs, or anyone with an serious interest in having fun with an epic.