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Seven Samurai Details

1954 Certificate PG Certificate PG
  • 70
  • from 38,283 members

Set in 16th Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa's epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to fight for them. However, the .. Read more

Starring Keiko Tsushima, Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Yoshio Inaba
Director Akira Kurosawa
Genres Action/Adventure, World Cinema

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Seven Samurai

Set in 16th Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa's epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to fight for them. However, the poor villagers can merely offer payment in the form of shelter and a daily bowl of rice, and initially only Kambei (Takashi Shimura), a brave elder samurai, and his eager young apprentice, Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), take up their cause. Encountering various nomadic warriors on the streets, they slowly put together his team of swordsmen, recruiting Shichiroji (Daisuke Kato), Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), and Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi). Finally, Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune), a scruffy wanderer who has been trailing them, completes the small band of ronin. However, upon reaching the village, the samurai learn that the farmers fear them as much the enemy. Despite the tensions, Kambei and his men slowly train the peasants to defend their village. Eventually the warriors launch a preemptive strike against the bandits, and begin a series of intense conflicts that culminates in a rain-soaked final battle--without a doubt, one of the most stunning sequences in cinema history.
Widely considered to be the greatest Japanese film ever made, Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI is also credited with pioneering the modern action movie. This notion is especially evident in thrilling scenes such as Kambei's rescue of a kidnapped child, Kyuzo's duel, and Kikuchiyo's intensive theft of an enemy gun. Although the film clocks in at more than three hours, the story remains consistently engaging and slowly heightens the tension while providing action, drama, comic relief, and character development. Gleefully running amuck, Mifune gives one of his most renowned performances, imbuing the often comical Kikuchiyo with a surprising streak of melancholy and introspection. However, it is Shimura that anchors the entire film as the thoughtful and courageous Kambei, who stoically takes on the leadership of an almost impossible task. A monumental achievement in filmmaking, Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI is cinematic perfection in nearly every aspect, giving the production its much-deserved status as one of the best films ever created.

Starring Keiko Tsushima, Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Yoshio Inaba, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Kato, Yoshi Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Keiko Tsushi
Director Akira Kurosawa
Studio BFI VIDEO
Original title Shichinin no samurai
Run time DVD: 3 hrs 10 mins
LOVEFiLM Instant: 3 hrs 18 mins
Certificate Certificate PG DVD
Certificate PG LOVEFiLM Instant
Collections 100 must-see movies, 100 Swords and Sandals Films
Genres Action/Adventure, World Cinema
Language DVD: Japanese
LOVEFiLM Instant: Japanese
Subtitles DVD: English
LOVEFiLM Instant: English
Released Production year: 1954

On LOVEFiLM Instant:
LOVEFiLM Instant: 16 Sep 2010

To Rent:
DVD: 22 Nov 1999
LOVEFiLM Instant Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant. Subscribe.

  • Critic's review of Seven Samurai

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    • 4 stars out of 4  

      Superbly strange, vivid and violent medieval adventure which later served as the basis for the Western The Magnificent Seven and the science-fiction film Battle Beyond the Stars.

    • 30073

  • Most helpful member's review of Seven Samurai

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    • Rated - 3.0 stars  

      • 131
      • 31

      Preferred The Magificent Seven

      I might have appreciated Seven Samurai more had I seen it before The Magnificent Seven, but I found myself comparing the two and, to be honest, liked the cowboy... read more »

      Report this review

    • 309044

  • Most recent members' reviews of Seven Samurai

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    • Rated - 4.0 stars  

      • 0
      • 0

      Monkey Magic

      Good show. I watched it out of curiosity, don't know much about film but it had engaging characters and a good plot.

      I am sure the camera set-ups... read more »

      Report this review

    • 1118124

    • Rated - 4.5 stars  

      • 0
      • 1

      A classic must see

      This was gripping stuff. I didn't expect to enjoy it so much as The Magnificent Seven was so good and potentially an improved version of this. However, the ... read more »

      Report this review

    • 1110256

    • Rated - 1.0 star  

      • 7
      • 0

      broken captions

      The english captions on this movie are broken. Some are only shown for half a second. This is painfully obvious if you watch even the first 10 minutes of the ... read more »

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    • 1109475
  • View all members' reviews (338)

  • News and features

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    Akira Kurosawa's Dreams

    Spielberg & Scorsese mark Kurosawa's 99th birthday with special messages

    • 20 Mar 2009

    Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese will toast what would have been late moviemaker Akira Kurosawa's 99th birthday at a gala in his honour on Monday (23Mar09). The two directors have recorded emotional video messages which will be shown at the Cherry Blossom Gala in Los Angeles. The event will serve as the official launch of the Akira Kurosawa Film School at California's Anaheim University and various members of Kurosawa's family are expected to be at the tribute. The revered Japanese... Read more

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Rating breakdown

38,283 Member ratings
  • 100
9,100
  • 90
4,954
  • 80
7,271
  • 70
5,096
  • 60
4,211
  • 50
2,270
  • 40
1,662
  • 30
1,199
  • 20
1,653
  • 10
867

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    • Seven Samurai

    • Seven Samurai
      Set in 16th Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa's epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to ...

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