Movie-A-Day #84: Seven Samurai

Renz

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Often imitated, but never duplicated, this film by the great director Akira Kurosawa is one of the most influential films ever made IMO.

Set in Feudal Japan, Seven Samurai tells the story of a village of farmers who are yearly attacked by a band of 40 mounted brigands. In an attempt to save their crops and women from being stolen, the villagers enlist the help of a Samurai warrior who agrees to help them. He then recruits six other Samurai and they return to the village to help train the farmers how to fight back against their tormentors.

The plot has been adapted by many other directors over the years, from films like The Magnificent Seven to The Three Amigos and even Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life. All I can say is that any serious fan of cinema needs to see this film.

Released in 1954 and filmed in black-and-white, I at first thought the film would seem dated or too slow by the standards of today, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The plot and characters pull you in and you genuinely care about what happens to the Samurai and the villagers. Kurosawa does a masterful job in illustrating the class struggle between the Samurai and the poor farmers and how the two have to co-exist if they are to defeat their enemy. Eventually there develops trust and genuine affection between the two groups.

Kurosawa also comments on the sacrifices that Samurai make when they agree to follow the code of bushido. The director does a wonderful job in depicting the hardships faced by the people of that time.

Don't let the sub-titles scare you off. This film is definitely worth seeing.
 

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jf-08

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Sweet Lucy was a dancer
but none of us would chance her
because she was a SAMURI

She made electric shadows
beyond my fingertips
but none of us
knew the reason why.

She came on like a pleaser
I had to touch and squeeze her
Enjoy a little paradise.

But the log was in my pocket
when Suzy took the rocket
.................................................................
 

jf-08

chohan
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wasn't this the movie that "Last Man Standing" was based on?
 

Chaplin

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Originally posted by jkf296
wasn't this the movie that "Last Man Standing" was based on?

No that was Yojimbo. Magnificent Seven was a remake of this movie.

That said, I can go on and on about this movie, as it is my consensus #1 film of all time.

Just an amazing piece of filmmaking. Unfortunately, it today's society it has 2 things against it:

1) It's black and white
2) It's not in English

At least it didn't have the 3rd "kiss of death"--silence.

But it's a shame because it's the kind of movie that you can sit through and not realize it's ran 3 1/2 hours. It is amazing in all its subtexts and acting--not to mention the cinematography and directing by Akira Kurosawa.
 

Bada0Bing

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I recently re-watched this. I watched it about seven years ago when I began my movie watching quest down IMDB's top 250. I thought it was a nice film back then, but I wanted to re-watch it now that I have 1500 movies under my belt. What a fascinating film to read about.

The director does a wonderful job in depicting the hardships faced by the people of that time.

Absolutely.

And for those that don't like subtitles, it's really not that bad because there isn't that much dialogue.
 

dreamcastrocks

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Best.Movie.Of.All.Time
 

BigRedRage

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my dads favorite movie, ive never watched. Doesnt look like my type of flick.
 

AZZenny

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A great film - it's a classic, and it holds up well.


I was maybe ten or eleven when I saw it the first time and I developed such a crush on Toshiro Mifune. To this day he's on my short list of all-time hunks.
 
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