Rating: 
Summary: A poverty stricken village hires 7 samurai to save them
Review: One of the most critically aclaimed samurai movies from Akira Kurosawa. A sweeping epic that is worth the three hours that it takes to watch it. The film also showcases one of Japan's finest actors Toshiro Mifune, who also appears in several other Kurosawa motion pictures including Throne of Blood. A film that has heart action and comedy.
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Summary: Amazing refining work on pictures and sounds
Review: The title has been broadcasted on TV several times in Japan with scratchy pictures and unclear lines. However, this refined piece is something different. The smooth original like pictures and clarer lines made me find its true excitement.
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Summary: The original theatrical release was not letterboxed!!
Review: ...And yellow subtitles would be distracting, IMO.It's a 5 star film
Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: You know the story... You know the artistry... This is one of Kurosawa's masterpieces, HOWEVER, this DVD does not garner the 5 stars it deserves for two reasons. The release is not letterboxed, and the subtitles are white (and in a black and white film, the use of YELLOW subtitles is very important). So, Criterion, if you plan on releasing anymore Kurosawa (esp. Throne of Blood...), do us a favor: widescreen to preserve the Emperor's vision, and yellow subtitles so we can read the dialogue.
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Summary: Epic story of men who become friends for combat of others.
Review: This is the essential Kurosawa movie. Each man involved is brought in for different reasons, some not as noble as others,but honorable in each one's mind. A lot goes on in this movie between the characters and their motivations. Seven Samurai is just as much about samurai as it is about humanity and brotherhood. The band of samurai begin almost in a stand-off amongst their personalities and eventually become true comrades. I could go on about this movie and it's underlying themes, but that could last forever. It's a great movie and worth anyone's time. It can definitely draw anyone into it's story just by glancing at it. Just for the record, it's not a movie you watch in an attempt to draw something from, it flows evenly through out and doesn't slow down or have dull moments; truly a great movie. END
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Summary: The best movie I've ever seen
Review: The best! A movie of such power and emotion. Kurosawa's plot is as simple as can be: a village of peasants hire 7 masterless, down on their luck samurai to protect them from bandits who annually raid their village. From there Kurosawa shows us the motives, emotions and personalities of the villagers, the bandits and all seven samurai. The acting is superb throughout, with Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura taking top honors. The battle scenes are spectacular, especially the final battle filmed in a driving rainstorm. This film inspired the American remake "The Magnificent Seven". While that is a fine movie, see the original. It has the sweep, power and emotions of Shakespeare and is thrilling ride. END
Rating:
Summary: Kurosawa's masterpiece
Review: Once in a while a movie comes along of such pure genius that it sets the standard for everything in its genre that comes after it; "The Seven Samurai" is one of them. The plot is simple enough; a small Japanese village in the 16th century is periodically pillaged by a roving gang of brigands and hires seven samurai for protection. If this seems similar to "The Magnificent Seven", it is; the "Mag Seven" was a direct [remake] of "The Seven Samurai", and a much inferior film. Kurosawa got everything right in this movie. The acting, the cinematography, and above all, the directing, are absolutely perfect. Toshiro Mifune was never better than in his portrayal of Kikuchiyo, the wannabe samurai who despises his farm roots. Takashi Shimura is strong and sympathetic as Kambei Shimada, the aging samurai who recruits the other six, Yoshio Tsuchiya is excellent as Rikichi, the village peasant who has his own reasons for wanting revenge on the brigands, and Seiji Miyaguchi gives a fascinating performance as Kyuzo, the expert swordsman whose one interest is perfecting his skill as a killing machine. The climactic battle, shot in a torrential downpour, is like nothing I have ever seen on film. The word "awesome" seems inadequate in attempting to describe the total experience of "The Seven Samurai". It's among the ten best films ever produced in any country in the history of film-making.
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Summary: Legendary Film, Early DVD
Review: To get this out of the way right now, "Seven Samurai", as a film, is a 5-star picture. Provided the audience has an inkling of what they're getting into, this movie can be easily considered one of Akira Kurosawa's best efforts. The expert directing, multi-layered story, and mounds of social commentary make for a film that sits up there with "Citizen Kane" at the top of many critic's "top 10" lists. It's a truly outstanding film, and one that holds up to many repeat viewings and careful analysis. As an aside, this movie will be quite lost on those raised on modern-day Hollywood films. Anyone going into it expecting a shallow, sword-swinging thrill ride will come away confused (and probably angry) at the "slow" pace, the three-hour runtime, the subtitles, the fact that it's in black and white, the fact that it's not particularly violent, the fact that they talk so much, etc. etc. ad nauseam. I'd figure this would go without saying, but there it is again, just in case: If your idea of a fantastic movie is "The Fast and the Furious", run away right now; what you're looking at now is the movie version of Kryptonite. Assuming the audience has some depth perception, this becomes THE film to own, and should be a cornerstone in any great DVD collection. Fans will recognize the label of the famous Criterion Collection displayed proudly across the disc case, and under normal circumstances that's indicative of a DVD packed to the gills with extras for the real film fan. The only issue with this disc (and hence the 4-star rating) is that the DVD is VERY slight on the extras, essentially giving you the film and that's it. Normally, this wouldn't be worth docking a point, given that this is both a very early DVD, and also given that this is the only place to get the genuine, 3+ hour Japanese version of the film. When it was picked up by RKO for it's first U.S. release decades ago, the film had been greatly reduced in length, and there have been various other cuts throughout the years. This version is easily the most complete, and that alone is quite substantial. In all honesty, it's BECAUSE of the importance of the film that I feel like I got a little cheated with this disc. Were this a film of any lower calibur, I think I'd be fine, but this is SEVEN-FREAKING-SAMURAI we're talking about! If you're a Kurosawa fan, you really, really want to get as much as possible out of this film. As it stands, a real fan is forced to go to external sources on the film (not hard to find) to get all the juicy extra information that compliments it, which really isn't so bad, but the thought of what could have been had this film been released a year or two later on DVD makes me winsome. What's crucial to point out, however, is that this shortcoming is really in no way the fault of Criterion, who have always had the utmost respect for the films they produce. It's much more a time factor: This is disc #2 in the collection (they're well beyond #200 by this point) and at the time, the special editions as we know them did not exist. Packing the entire film onto a single disc was a feat in and of itself, and taking into account where the technology was at the time, this really is the best the fans could have hoped for: Seven Samurai, uncut, looking and sounding as good as it was ever going to. So, think of the 4-star rating as a time-adjusted thing. This movie is still required, but know what you're getting so there's no dissapointment. And Kurosawa fans, take heart: Criterion's putting out a fantastic-looking version of "Ikiru", which is arguably the best Kurosawa film ever, and they're bringing all the fans' expecations to bear. It looks like it's going to be perfect. In the meantime, Seven Samurai is a no-brainer for any film fan. It's an honest-to-God classic, and one of the best films ever made.
Rating:
Summary: one of best movies ever made
Review: Where have I been for the last 50 years. This movie is a must have. It's smart, funny, action packed, and timeless (meaning that everything Kurosawa did, people are still biting today). The final fight scenes are incredible. It's funny, people watch Kurosawa's "Hidden Fortress" due to Lucas saying it inspired him to do "Star Wars" but every Kurosawa movie I see has a piece of Star Wars in it. What a thief.
Rent-Yes
Buy-Yes
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Summary: a classic that inspired many tributes
Review: A reviewer once wrote that the most amazing thing about Seven Samurai is that one-and-a-half hours into the movie, we're still in the character development part, and nobody's even noticed the movie has been running that long already. sure, it's not for everybody, especially for those who grew up with mostly Hollywood commercial fare that last 70-90 minutes. but for even the borderline film enthusiast, the Seven Samurai is a treat. Here, some of Japanese cinema's greats (Kurosawa, Mifune, Takashi Shimura) come together at the perfect time, to do the perfect job. Here, possibly, is the greatest movie of all time, and you are watching it. the best special feature, the commentary track, is very detailed, in fact at some point, it is annoyingly too detailed! but if you want to know why toshiro mifune's acting was over the top, or where he was born (Manchuria), or why millet seems so low compared to rice, or why the light seems to change during the scene where we first see Kanbei Ishima (the bald, dignified leader of the samurai, here portrayed by Takashi Shimura), then the commentary track is indispensable. I've seen this DVD twice, with commentary on, and with commentary off. It's quite easy for me since I don't understand Japanese anyway, so the dialogue comes to me strictly through subtitles. needless to say, I highly recommend watching it in the manner I described. there have been many "tributes" to this movie, from the obvious (The Magnificent Seven, The 13th Warrior), to the not so obvious (Disney/Pixar's "Bug's Life"). In all of them, the idea that a band of warriors would come to the rescue of an obscure village for nothing more than a bowl of rice (what, not even meat to go with that?), or in the case of "Bug's Life" nothing more than the chance to finally give a good show, seems ridiculous and unbelievable. As many reviewers have posted, the wretched farmers don't even deserve sympathy. Until you realize (the commentary helps a lot on this) that these samurai agreed to take the job because it gives them a chance to do what they do. They went there because once again, they can prove themselves worthy.
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