Shichinin no samurai (1954)

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

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Akira Kurosawa (screenplay by), Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay by)

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima

Top Rated Movies #19 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Kikuchiyo (as Toshiro Mifune)
Takashi Shimura	...	Kambei Shimada
Keiko Tsushima	...	Shino
Yukiko Shimazaki	...	Wife (as Yukio Shimazaki)
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Farmer Manzo
Daisuke Katô	...	Shichiroji
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	...	Old Man Gisaku (as Kuninori Todo)
Eijirô Tôno	...	Thief

Storyline

A veteran samurai, who has fallen on hard times, answers a village's request for protection from bandits. He gathers 6 other samurai to help him, and they teach the townspeople how to defend themselves, and they supply the samurai with three small meals a day. The film culminates in a giant battle when 40 bandits attack the village.

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | 16th century | battle | japan | epic | 

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Taglines:

Unmatched for suspense and spectacle!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Haruo Nakajima, who is most well known for playing the title monster of Gojira (1954) until 1972, make a brief appearance as a bandit scout swiftly killed by Kyuzo.

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Goofs

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.

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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.

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Alternate Versions

The film's original Japanese release version runs 207 minutes, plus intermission, which includes 4 minutes of entr'acte music against a blank screen. This is the version that has been generally shown worldwide since the 1980s, though sometimes it is shown without the intermission and entr'acte, resulting in a listed running time of 203 minutes. The initial U.S.A. release was re-titled 'The Magnificent Seven' and released November, 1956, with English subtitles, and ran 158 minutes. Some European releases were even further shortened to 141 minutes. Landmark Films re-released the film in the U.S. in December 1982, the first time outside Japan the film saw a major release with its running time intact (although the intermission and entr'acte were removed). Later U.S.A. releases by Avco-Embassy Pictures, Janus Films, and Films Incorporated, and by BFI in the UK, are also the full original version of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in The Black Adder: The Black Seal (1983)

User Reviews

Story-Telling At Its Finest

Story-telling at its finest, "Seven Samurai" is a terrific film not because of a handful of memorable scenes or lines, but rather because scene-by-scene, frame-by-frame, it tells an interesting story as well as it is possible to tell it. The story and characters are developed carefully, and everything about the movie, from the settings and props to the musical score, is done carefully and expertly.

Mifune grabs the attention in most of his scenes, and Shimura's more restrained character is a nice balance. Those two have the best parts, but all seven of the samurai are memorable characters. The sequence of events that collects the seven together occupies the first part of the movie, and forms a perfect foundation for the rest. A few of the villagers are also portrayed nicely, although they are naturally overshadowed when the samurai are around.

The story always moves along nicely, with many ups and downs. It has enough unpredictability to keep you interested the whole time, without ever losing its credibility. There is plenty of action, but there is also substance behind the action to give it more significance. The only possible drawback is the long running time (you can always split it up into two installments, but it's more satisfying if you can watch the whole story through at once), but there is little that you could cut out, even if you wanted to. It holds your attention the entire time with a good story and great technique, not by resorting to sensational or sordid details.

This movie well deserves its reputation for excellence, and is one that everyone who appreciates classic cinema will want to see and enjoy.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

26 April 1954 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Seven Samurai

Filming Locations:

Japan

Box Office

Budget:

JPY125,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,942, 28 July 2002

Gross USA:

$318,649

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$322,773

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

207 min 160 min (international) 202 min (2002 re-release) 150 min (original) 190 min (1991 re-release) 158 min (cut) (original) 203 min (re-release) 207 min (restored) 202 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo (re-release prints)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1