AWARDS:
WINNER: 1954 Venice Film Festival: Silver Lion: Akiro Kurosawa
NOMINATION: 1954 Academy Awards USA: Best Art-Direction; Best Costume Design
SYNOPSIS:
Hailed as the greatest film in the history of Japanese cinema, and arguably the greatest of all jidai-gecki (historical swordplay films), Akira Kurosawa's epic action drama seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope in the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. While the climactic battle against raiding thieves remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed, the film is most triumphant as a peerless example of character development, illuminating every essential detail of villagers and samurai alike. Featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, Kurosawa's undisputed masterpiece has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development, and cannot be adequately summarized by even the most comprehensive synopsis; it must be seen to be fully appreciated.
REVIEW:
If you've seen THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, or A BUG'S LIFE, you're already familiar with the basis of this story. But if you haven't actually seen Akira Kurosawa's epic film that started it all, then you're missing out. Kurosawa crafted the hero film to end all hero films, or rather, the hero film that all others drew from. It tells the story of a 19th century Japanese town under siege from an evil band of brigands. Faced with another year of starvation and shame, the town sends out for samurai assistance. Though finding samurai who will work for nothing isn't easy, they manage to scrape together a rag-tag collection of swordsmen who, after initial mistrust, set about training the villagers to defend themselves against far greater numbers. Sounds familiar? Well, it's been copied a million times by lesser directors, but never pulled off so beautifully and perfectly.efilmcritic.com
The biggest success of the joint endeavors between great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and screen legend Toshiro Mifune, SEVEN SAMURAI, is also on many critics' lists of the greatest films of the century.... A tour de force performance by Mifune as the peasant-cum-samurai combines the multi-faceted attributes of a fierce medieval warrior with the comic antics of a Buster Keaton. In an incredibly physical performance, he struts, crows, grins, weeps, and fights ferociously as one of the seven proud, hungry samurai hired by a poor village to defend it from marauding bandits. Nobody does it better! reelmoviecritic.com
