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Summary: Wow!
Review: I have not seen this movie, but The Last Samurai is now my most-favorite movie! And, researching other Samurai books, poems, and other things, a lot of people referred to this movie! I have never seen such large reviews on anything before I've come here! And, the first one I read was the best! I would also like to read what everyone else has to say about the movie, but reading the first review by JerrysOpine has said it all! Not only a great review but a summary of the other ones! Which, I would be maddened by reading! I hate reviews for those "Nitwits" as another reviewer had said! But, I love to see opinions like the ones on this first page! And, this movie will be arriving at my house within the next month! Then, I'll give an actual review! And, I apologize for having not seen this movie yet! But, I'm only 21 and am just starting to think and feel the compassion and love that movies like this bring forth! Though I love LotfR, I have a great respect for the Samurai people and will start my search and research for what this world is greatly lacking today--honour...and respect!
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Summary: Seventh wonder of the world
Review: Seven Samurai defies the notion of the historical epic. This genre tends to focus on larger-than-life historical characters, often kings and queens, wars on a massive scale. Ben-Hur for example. Seven Samurai is set mostly in a small village in Japan, defended by six ronin and one wanna-be samurai from an attack by 40 bandits. Hardly, the stuff for epic material. Yet, Kurosawa's visceral dynamism, his keen ability to sense and dramatize tension in every frame, and the thundering ferocity of the escalating violence make this simply the greatest action spectacle ever.
For those who expect a Martial Arts movie, this isn't it. This is human conflict in grim, realistic terms making it all the more thrilling as its heroes are vulnerable to ill-fate as any other. Also, movie is as involved and interested in the community of people as the violence that engulfs that community. It's notable for making us confront and contemplate the meaning of humanity before seeing it in deadly action.
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Summary: Jerry's review
Review: I would like to give Jerry's review five stars. Haven't read such an entertaining review before. Rock on Jerry.
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Summary: The True Samurai..... (film)
Review: People are saying that "The Last Samurai" w/Tom Cruis is a good/great film. That reminds me of those who say "Pearl Harbor" with Affleck is a good war film. How I laugh at their ignorance. Kurosawa's great, moving, deep film is the samurai film template, which all the others try to copy. I laugh when I hear the masses say that "Last Samurai" is quality filming. They know nothing of what is good. They're like the masses who go and buy Britney Spears CDs. Kurosawa's film is 3.5 hours of substance, with no filler to speak -- it pulls you in immediately and holds you until the end. It's a shame that so many of the ignorant masses have yet to see this film, but yet have seen such drivel as "The Last Samurai." I won't describe Seven Samurai down to the fine details since it's already been done by others here, but I sigh, thinking that "The Last Samurai" is going to find its way into many people's homes on DVD, and have a place right next to "Pearl Harbor" in their "Japan" collection. Bottom line is, far too many people have opinions without any basis. All emotion, all knee-jerk reactions, based in a lack of knowledge.
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Summary: Farmer Propoganda and the Samurai Snare
Review: Farmers find themselves living in fear, knowing that their harvest will come and that thirty bandits will drift in soon after and claim it. They know that this will leave them nothing, too, and that the already meager lives they lead might soon come to a closing. So, in order to keep what is theirs, they opt to do what any rational farmer would do. They go to recruit themselves four samurai that would be willing to work for no glory, three meals a day, and for the knowledge that they are doing something grand. Thus it begins...When I was a kid and watched Seven Samurai, I always enjoyed the theme being presented. I liked the thought of those Samurai taking a village set in the middle of a defensive wasteland, with fields on one side and approachable mountains on the other, and seeing how seven try to even the odds with thirty. I also liked the introduction of each character as they were meticulously blended into a story that carried itself for well over 200 minutes, crafting a tune for every flavor you would care to see. After picking it up this release some year later, however, I found something in the story I had missed when I was younger. I actually listened to the dialogue and absorbed the words being stated, saw the games being played and the poses for wince they came, and I noticed for the first time that this movie wasn't a story on nobility. It was a story on players and the chess games played behind the scenes. And that made me like this movie all the more. While sitting the table with a well-rounded cast, an enemy that isn't simply something to wholesale slaughter, and tactical maneuvering from the most unlikely of places, Seven Samurai actually sets a viewer down and submerges them in a world that they think they know at first. It introduces the supposed "good" and the opposing "evil," letting you taste the reasoning of those joining in the protection of those farmers. It also shows you their struggles and how hard it is to find an "honest" Samurai willing to help them, highlighting what it takes to live. In the process of definement moving away from that, however, it goes a step beyond that little gambit and it shows you that little world in a way you rarely see it. Here, the lines of "love," "good," "ill," and "helplessness" are all blurred as an in-depth game is showcased and exposed. And that makes it truly stand apart from many films I've seen in my life. Its really hard to find fault in this film unless you're looking for something short and easy to decipher. It does take its time in showing you all the details, in crowning its cast, and in illustrating the true art in war. That's really the beauty of the film, too, and is recommended to those wanting more from their movie than killing and faceless lines. This is what I would honestly go so far as to call "a classic."
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Summary: The Gathering.
Review: Seven, is the number of perfection, the gathering of particular men to convey resistance and strength against a band of Thieves, entering the weak and frightened hearts of the villagers, to hopefully physically refuse the attack of the marauders, the Samurai Seven are towards some 40 of the attackers, so; Can it be done? You'll have to watch it my friend to know the result of such a strange Bet. Master film director Akira Kurosawa, takes you into a complete human journey of despair, friendship, blood, and strategy, all set in the warming hearts of the protagonist, a whole micro-cell of emotions and deeds, the human comedy at its splendor, sad, tragic, humorous, and violent, Art imitating Life. Proclaimed as one of the best films ever made (which it is), Seven Samurai is one climax of human logic and emotions in the fields of battle, little can it be done to expose more feelings and savagery in every day against the inevitable tragedy of existence, and little can be offered to show more happiness when all its said. Kurosawa composes with extreme artistry of the image how a bunch of men can give hope in times of weakness, at the same time entering the dominions of complexity about War stratagem in killing fields. Sounds exiting?
The film approaches the philosophical side within every man and woman, it clears the human need for social gathering, man alone can't survive, and so its better to fall united than kill with a lonely hand. Kurosawa magnifies this issues and presents them inside an intense military organization for the sake of survival, tactics, planning, eye for opportunity, and prediction of the enemy thinking, this is the very weapon in War Stratagem, organization, targeting, and accurate killing, one by one, until it is over, then you can rest, and so Kambei (perfectly performed by Takashi Shimura) carefully organizes both the resistance and the attack, every part moves because of his masterful strategy.
Kurosawa shows the truth about this social Class, taking away all Myths and deformations of the true Samurai, instead he delivers the real struggles and perils of such an unusual profession, the protagonist are nothing more than lonely men, skilled but miserable, without any real future, some of them are in for the Glory, others, for the thrill and excitement, in this case, they are in for the food, only one stands for the need of a Master's acceptance, the youngest is in for the experience. Don't expect to see highly choreograph battle scenes, here, the raw and almost absurd violence is shown in its real state, the intention is reality, Samurai reality, a perfect script.
Released in 1954, the film lasted a complete year of shooting, Kurosawa pushed the producers for every resource he need to achieve his vision. Fortunately for him and us, the film was the biggest box-office success of that year in Japan, the result, a cinematic Masterpiece, crowned in 1979 by a group of high talented and respected Japanese artistic professionals, as the Best Japanese Picture ever made.
The movie contains some of the best frame compositions filmed in Cinema History, along with a dynamic development of every main character in the film, the final Canvas pushes for every emotion, situation and motion poetry ever to be cast in one single movie, plus it features the partnership of two of the greatest film giants, Kurosawa (Akira), and Toshiro Mifune as the merriest Kikuchiyo. Mifune portraits with musical perfection, a man lost in his personality, in deep search of meaning and commitment, it may seems like overacting, but is the character who is overacting his emotions, like a child in a adult body, a landmark performance. The beautiful musical themes and tempos gives the final touches to this fine piece.
The DVD edition (by The Criterion Collection), offers a good transferring of the movie, but its quality is not at the level of the film, scratches and dust can be seen in several of the scenes, although the ulterior visual aspects are good, a much better work could have been accomplished. The edition contains an excellent simultaneous audio commentary track by Japanese film historian, Michael Jeck, featuring deep aspects and thoughts about the making of the film, with biography of its protagonist (cast and crew), along with anecdotes surrounding this mythical production.
A must for viewers, Seven Samurai, is a cinematic reference, one of the highest peaks of the Seventh Art, and a cultural mirror of long gone men, now irrelevant but indispensable in Japanese and worldwide cultures.
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Summary: "Danger always strikes when everything seems fine."
Review: Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) is probably one of the best directors of all time. His 1954 film entitled "Seven Samurai" ("Shichinin no samurai" in transliterated Japanese) is regarded as one of his best films and is without a doubt one of the best films ever made. The film is about a small farming village in sixteenth or seventeenth-century Japan that is under threat of repeated attacks from a band of 40 bandits. Being unable to afford weapons of their own and having little spirit to defend themselves, the villagers seek guidance from their elder, Gisaku (Kokuten Kodo, 1887-1960), who advises them to find several ronin (wandering samurai) to defend the village and who would be willing to work for three square meals per day since that is all the villagers can afford to pay. Several villagers travel to a nearby city to find willing ronin. They include Manzo (Kamatari Fujiwara, 1905-1985), Yohei (Bokuzen Hidari, 1894-1971), Mosuke (Yoshio Kosugi, 1903-1968) and Rikichi (Yoshio Tsuchiya). The first ronin that they find is Kambei Shimada (Takashi Shimura, 1905-1982), who is accompanied by a young man wanting to become a samurai, Katsushiro Okamoto (Isao Kimura, 1923-1981). Kambei is not interested at first, but changes his mind when he sees the villagers' desperation. Kambei and Katsushiro are able to find four more samurai: the humorous Gorobei Katayama (Yoshio Inaba, 1921-1998), the no-nonsense & highly skilled Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi, 1913-1985), Heihachi Hayashida (Minoru Chiaki, 1917-1999) and Shichiroji (Daisuke Katô, 1910-1975). Then, there's also the very humorous, samurai-want-to-be named Kikuchiyo (played the world-renowned actor Toshirô Mifune, 1920-1997). The seven travel back to the village and begin preparations for the coming battle with the bandits, but some of the villagers are afraid of what will happen to their daughters with seven samurai roaming around; especially Manzo, who forces his daughter Shino (Keiko Tsushima) to disguise herself as a boy. Though "Seven Samurai" is approximately 206 minutes (nearly 3½ hours) long, it never becomes tiresome. Instead, the film is very engaging, emotional and powerful as the story develops in large part due to superb acting, exquisite cinematography and the overall realism of the film. The acting skills of both Takashi Shimura and Toshirô Mifune stand out brilliantly. Toshirô Mifune, who made many other excellent historically based Japanese films, also appeared in many western films including the character of Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto in the 1976 World War II epic "Midway" and the character of Lord Toranaga in the 1980 TV-miniseries adaptation of James Clavell's novel entitled "Shogun". Memorable scenes in "Seven Samurai" include Kambei disguising himself as a priest, Kambei's technique of testing each samurai's reactionary skills, the battle between Kyuzo and the foolish samurai, Manzo disguising Shino, Kikuchiyo's drunkenness, the walk to the village with Kikuchiyo, the arrival at the village, Kambei studying the terrain, Kikuchiyo instructing villagers, the battle scenes and the graveyard scenes. Other memorable characters in the film include Rikichi's wife (Yukiko Shimazaki) and the bandit chief (Shinpei Takagi, 1902-1967). Overall, I rate Akira Kurosawa's cinematic masterpiece "Seven Samurai" with a resounding 5 of out of 5 stars. It often brings tears to my eyes each time that I watch the film. I highly recommend the DVD version of the film to everyone. Sadly, the DVD is only available in full screen, but that does not detract from Akira Kurosawa's grand vision. "Seven Samurai" was remade in 1960 as the epic western "The Magnificent Seven", which starred Yul Bryner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson portraying gunfighters instead of samurai.
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Summary: This Rocks!
Review: This is one of the greatest movies ever!
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest movies ever!
Review: If the title seems to be hyperbole, I should point out that it's not just my opinion, but the opinion of almost all movie critics. This movie is on many top-ten-movies-of-all-time lists, for good reason. For many years, this movie was seen only in a shortened form, but Criterion has restored it to its original cut as first released. Not only that, but it has included a superb commentary that was so good that after I watched the DVD for the first time without commentary, I started to watch it with the commentary thinking I would spend a few minutes and was so fascinated that I watched the whole movie again just to find out what the commentator had to say! And this is a long movie, over 3 hours long, but it doesn't drag. The basic story (ripped off by the inferior U.S. remake, The Magnificent Seven) is pretty straightforward. Bandits attack a village and take its crops and some of its women. When the villagers learn that the bandits plan to return, the decide to hire itinerant samurai to defend it, with the only pay being room and board. They find a remarkable samurai as the leader, and he recruits the other six, including an expert swordsman who lives for his art (the actor who played this part had never handled a sword before this movie, and never did learn to ride a horse!), and a crude bumbler (played by star Toshiro Mifune) who is actually a farmer's son pretending to be a samurai. Incidentally, Mifune was originally considered for the part of the expert swordsman, a role which he played brilliantly in two other Kurosawa movies, Yojimbo - the basis for Clint Eastwood's hit A Fistful of Dollars, and Sanjuro. But this is no simple good versus evil story. Even though the villagers have hired the samurai, they don't trust these "heroes", and hide all their women. And it appears that in the past the villagers may have killed other samurai and hidden their armor - when the samurai discover this, they are not sure they can trust the villagers either. This ambiguity adds depth to the story. All this is gradually revealed as the remainder of the film shows the samurai training the villagers, attacking the bandits to cut down their numbers, and finally, after a few skirmishes, having the climactic battle scene in the driving rain and mud, which captures the chaos of battle as well as anything ever done in the movies. Unlike most movies where the battle scenes always seem to be staged, with the big explosion center screen and nothing much else going on, Kurosawa seems to embed you right in the action so you feel as if it is going on, not just in front of you, but all around you, off- screen as well as on. This is great movie-making, and the commentary explains how he achieved this effect. And at the end, the villagers go back to rice planting, and the samurai "heroes" stand to one side - no triumphal banquet and procession for them. Now that their job is finished, they are ignored. As I mentioned, even though the film is long, it doesn't drag, because Kurosawa omits unneccessary exposition. One example, early on after one of the samurai is killed in battle, we have a burial scene. Mifune's character, in grief, grabs a battle flag made by the dead samurai, runs on top of one of the huts in the village and defiantly plants it on top of the roof. The camera then pans up to the hills beyond the village, where we see the bandits descending to attack the village. In a few seconds the mood changes from grief to exhilaration as the long awaited battle is joined. On the other hand, Kurosawa also includes images which, although not strictly necessary to the main narrative line, will remain with you long after the movie is over. An example, at one point the samurai locate the bandit's hideout, and set fire to it to force the bandits out. As the samurai look into the hideout, they see a woman, captured by the bandits. In a silent scene, except for a lone flute playing plaintively on the soundtrack, this woman awakens, sees the fire off-screen, starts to cry out, then decides to remain silent, even though it means she will die a horrible death. The usual martial arts movie would never even consider having a scene like this, but this short, wordless scene speaks eloquently about this nameless woman's condition and deepens the story. It is little touches like this that linger. Martial arts movie with incredible battle scenes, character study, social commentary, as with all great art, there are a lot of different ways you can view this movie. At the time he made it, Kurosawa said he wanted to revitalize the samurai sword movie, which he considered a dead form. He did more than that - he transformed it! A lot more could, and has, been said about this movie, but bottom line: Nobody who loves movies should miss this - it is essential!
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Summary: The Best Movie of All Time, you will laugh and you may cry
Review: When someone asks me what my favorite movie is, the immediate response is "Seven Samurai", the only movie that ever brought a tear to my eye.
This heroic tale is a tale about real men, men of no materialism, no induldgence (except for one), no pride, men of great temperance, honor, justice, fortitude and courage. These are the things that make this movie so great. Seven virutous and skilled men who defend the weak from naked aggression with no concern of personal possesions or of whether they live or die. They fight for the shear fact that it is the right thing to do, that it is the moral choice, that the just act is action itself, and that inaction will lead to the loss of innocent lives. Never has a greater film been made or a greater story been told. Some of my favorite warrior movies are Gladiator, Braveheart, Tombstone, The Patriot, and others of this type, but the men in these movies fight for vengence, and the men in Seven Samurai don't, thats why I have to rank Seven Samurai as my absolute favorite, number 1 movie of all time.
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