The genesis for the team up movie.
Seven Samurai, the epic film released in 1954, directed by
Akira Kurosawa, and starring a host of very talented Japanese actors whose names
I don’t feel like butchering. There really isn’t a bad performance from anyone
in this sprawling epic. Seven Samurai tells the story of seven roaming samurai
who come together to protect a town against a band of raiders. The raiders want
to steal the villages food for the winter. The villagers go in search of
Samurai to protect their village, but only can offer food for service and not
money which many Samurai require to take the job. The seven who end up taking
the job have varying degrees of experience, but do their best to ensure the
survival of the town.
I’ll admit watching a three hour subtitled black and white
film from the 1950’s isn’t for everyone. It takes some commitment to sit down
to watch this type of film. There is nothing wrong if someone has no desire to
do this, but if you have any curiosity to see where the team-up movie genre
came from then this is worth the time and effort. By the end of the film I
wasn’t even noticing the subtitles, and was just engaged with the story. The
characters and plot maybe standard for some films today, but they get their ques
from this movie. I loved all of the characters in the movie, and each one gets
their moment to shine within the film. Kurosawa was a masterful director and
was able to give each character depth and a purpose within the movie.
I don’t know exactly what I expected the first time I
watched Seven Samurai, but it wasn’t the touching and reflective story found
within the film. This movie was released nine years after the end of World War
2 and I would be surprised if it didn’t draw some influence from veterans from
the war, and what they struggled with. The characters in the film want to help
the people, but they feel separated and cannot fully integrate with them.
Throughout the story the villagers are both terrified and happy the Samurai are
helping them. When they first come to the village they hide the women and
children because they are worried how the Samurai will treat them. They are
quick to run and ask for their help when a fake alarm is sounded and they think
the raiders are on the attack. The warriors are out of place and while they
feel the need to be honorable, in the end they are the ones who suffer and lose
so the villagers can go on living.
The pacing of the movie is something I was also surprised
by. The film didn’t feel like it was three hours long. The only part of the
movie which felt to drag just a bit was at the start when the villagers were
looking to recruit the first Samurai. This was still interesting and I enjoyed
the setup, but it does take some patience since it requires you to read all the
dialogue. After this the story is paced in a way that you are never bored while
watching. I was invested in each character’s story and wanted to know what
would happen when the raiders eventually show up.
The action is of course dated for when the movie was made,
but I still found myself on the edge of my seat when the action ramped up. This
is accomplished by how well the film built to the ending climax. The Samurai
carefully plan their defense and you are invested in seeing if their plan will
work out. Each Samurai has their own specific skill set and is put to use
during the final battle. I also wasn’t expecting the comedic moments throughout
the movie and laughed quite a bit while watching. Toshiro Mifune, arguable the
most iconic of the actors to come out of Seven Samurai, has most of the comedic
moments and plays them brilliantly. He also is one of the more tragic figures
in the film and is able to pull both off throughout the movie.
Seven Samurai is simply just an excellent movie. I
understand those who don’t want to watch a movie over three hours with
subtitles, but if you are at all curious about the movie give it a chance. If
you allow yourself to become engaged in the story the subtitles will disappear
and the runtime will go by without notice. It is this good of a movie, and I
would watch it again. I freely admit I was hesitant to give the movie a try
because of the language, and runtime, but I’m glad I did and I think most will
after watching.
Let me know if you have watched Seven Samurai
and what you thought. If you haven’t would you consider watching the classic?
Comment and let me know.
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