The Seven Samurai

[Balandar]

Did this for my COM 251 course. Thought I would post it here.

The Seven Samurai

Set in 16th century Japan, Akira Kurosawa’s film tells the story of a poor farming village that is under constant threat from bands of brigands.  It’s a timeless classic that stands amongst the very best films ever made.  The picture is often dark and grainy at times, the sound is mono, and there are three and a half hours of subtitles to read.  But we are talking about a film made in 1954.

In the film, the farmers are plagued by a band of bandits attacking and taking their foods after every harvest.  The elders of the village decide to hire a band of samurai to protect and defend their village.  A small group of farmers are sent to the city to hire the samurai.  Because the farmers are so poor they can only offer the samurai food (in this case rice).  Most of the samurai the farmers approach scoff violently at the insult of such an idea, but eventually the farmers gather up a varied band of seven that will take up their cause.  

The samurai make for strange heroes by our lights.  Their only sense of belonging comes from the temporary alliances they form in battle.  The band, which is led by a wise man called Kambei, devises a plan to fortify the village and defend it against some nearly 40 bandits.  Katsushiro, youngest of the samurai, whose rawness leads him into an affair with a farmer’s daughter that threatens the group’s stability, is the second to join the band of seven as a tentative apprentice to Kambei.  Kikuchiyo, the wild and careless fighter who is not really a samurai, provides a lot of humor and comic relief but also is goaded by the shame and rage of being a farmer’s son.  There are other characters and subplots to the film.  One such subplot is where the daughter of one of the farmers is seduced by a samurai.  It goes to the point where the daughter is laying on the muddy ground weeping as the villagers and samurai gather around trying to figure out what happened in a rainstorm.

The Seven Samurai contains some of the most dazzling battles ever put on film (especially in 1954!).  The climatic battle takes place in a freezing rainstorm with the bandits, farmers, and samurai all battling in the muddy village.  There is everything from sword swinging action, to well shot arrows, riders falling off of mounts, and even the occasional thrown spear.

The use of images in this film is masterfully done.  One such striking scene is where a single sword marks a samurai’s grave as dust blows across the hillside. Many may be daunted by the 208 minute running time of the film (and the subtitles), but this is definitely one of the best made films of all time.