Rating: 
Summary: One of my two favorite movies
Review: For about 15 years, whenever anyone has asked me my favorite movie, I have unhesitatingly replied that it was a dead heat between SEVEN SAMURAI and the Astaire/Rogers classic TOP HAT.Many elements combine to make SEVEN SAMURAI one of the great films ever made. For me, at least, none of these reasons have anything to do with its being a samurai film. First and foremost, it is an inconceivably gorgeous film to look at. Watching it on DVD, you can stop virtually any frame in the film and be struck with the balance and composition in the shot. Kurosawa and his cinematographer make every shot a work of art. This is first and foremost a film about faces. After you have seen it, image after image of a person's face will come to mind. And not just the major characters. Most of the peasants in the village will continue in the imagination as vivid individuals. The cast is utterly unsurpassed. Toshiro Mifune is extraordinary as the false samurai, but the key character is the head samurai as played by Kurosawa mainstay Takashi Shimura. Just as he holds the seven samurai and the village together, so he holds the film together. But the cast is superlative not just seven or eight characters down, but 20 and 25 down. So many of the minor characters are vividly memorable! I think in particular of the peasant whose face looks like some of the Japanese masks you see sometimes. For me, the action is actually the least interesting part of the film. The greatness in the movie is the tension between the samurai and the villagers, as they gradually lose their distrust and dislike of one another, and become unified both in life and in death. In other words, the greatest action in the film is in interpersonal relations, not in swordplay. Trivia: when first released in the US, the title was THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Since the Western remake of the film, it has been known as SEVEN SAMURAI.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!!
Review: It is only when you watch a movie like 7 Samurai that you realize how terrible hollywood movies currently are. Kurasawa managed to create a classic that is timeless even for Western audiences even though he was working with inferior cameras, black and white film, and almost zero special effects. The film does not look at all sub par, indeed, when you talk about just basic appearance it is as good as any modern movie without the ugly distortions you find on many older movies. It is a true testimate to the artistic aspirations of this film that modern audiences can still relate to the work's themes even though they are presented from a non-western tradition and in a foreign language. But the sheer creativity of Kurasawa is amazing. It is as if he landed on the moon a thousand years before Armstrong and used only a piece of paper and an abacus for the calculations. When Kurasawa needs somebody to be shot with an arrow and has no special effect to simulate the scene, he actually shoots somebody (wooden plank under the shirt). When he needs somebody to be run over with a horse he actually runs him over. And when he needed an actor who could express volumes only with gestures and facial expressions he hired Toshiro Mifune, the Humphry Bogart of non-western cinema. 7 Samurai is magnificent, even at over three hours every scene is packed with meaningfull information that serves to flesh out every one of a dozen major themes. This is sure to be a movie you will watch multiple times.
Rating:
Summary: And you thought kids watch teen movies!
Review: I first saw this movie on the action channel. I remembered it and bought it on a DVD. Me, being a fan of these samurai movies, loved it. Great acting, phenominal battle scenes, and cool sword slashing samurai. If you like samurai movies, 16th century Japan, played and liked Onimusha: Warlords and Shogun: Total War, buy this. Oh yeah...I once saw this samurai film on the Bravo Channel. It was about the Takeda Clan and the Uesugi Clan. At the end there was this battle, I think it was the battle of 4th Kawanakajima. At the end it showed the Takeda Shingen and Kenshin Uesugi fighting in a pond. Then after Shingen was injured, Kenshin went away with his calvary in an arrow formation going against the wave of Yari spearmen going back to camp. If you know what the name of this movie is...post a review on this page that tells the name....Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the quintessential Samurai movie to own!
Review: I saw this movie over a decade ago and was stunned then. Now I am just as stunned and even more enthralled since I am older now! The art and precision that went into this film are still astounding! This movie has spawned scores of story lines, including "The Magnificent Seven" film here in the US. This film still sets the standard for any Samurai film, and sits right next to my "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" DVD. I cannot stress how important this movie is to anyone with a serious interest in Martial Arts film! Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: An epic
Review: A movie worthy of being called an epic. Beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted this story takes the viewer back to a place and time that can only be imagined and it does it with a richness and depth only imagined by few films today.
Rating:
Summary: Who copied who?
Review: I watched this movie last night and it is even better than I first did 10 years ago. There are so many "first" in this movie. Almost every cinematic technique and trick known to men were used by Kurosawa in this movie. To the incredibly ignorant and uninformed reviewer from Palm Beach who claims Seven Samurai is a "not bad" copy of "The Magnificent Seven": Would you PLEASE withdraw your review (because you made a serious mistake, not that you don't rate it 5)? It's becoming a laughing stock here!
Rating:
Summary: The best movie ever made
Review: This is the best film of Akira Kurosawa and the best film ever made. Citizen Kane is as good as this movie, but cannot make you feel the same emotion. The history of the cinema never was the same after Seven Samurais.
Rating:
Summary: Great on Every Level
Review: This movie is a classic tale. It works on every level, Characters, Plot, Settings, Storyline, the works. OK you may not understand the culture of Japan, so parts of the samurai culture may not be clearly understood. (see the MAGNIFICANT SEVEN if this is an insurmountable problem.) The movie is long and is not the non stop action sold these days. It is not meant to be. Each step is a struggle, the coming of the bandits, the decision of the villegers, the search for samurai, the interaction between them and the villagers, and that doesn't cover all of the plots involved. If you like well plotted stories this movie is for you. If you like interesting characters this movie is for you. If you like great performances then this movie is DEFINATELY for you. Give this picture a chance some rainey weekend and it will be a pleasant and memorable eyeful.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Samurai Movie
Review: My feeling exactly for all the positive reviews of this movie . A great movie ( you'll never feel that it is 3.2hr long!) It is well worth your money and even though it is in B& W and mono! A definite reference DVD collection! I am a fan of the samurai history etc..it is definitely worth my S$70 purchase! . The audio commentary is superb which enhances your post-knowledge of the movie .
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!! If you see one foreign film this should be it.......
Review: If you are into film or just want to see a piece of art, SEE THIS FILM! This film is one of the most beautifully directed films I have ever seen. The camera work truly gives the film an intimate feel and pulls you into the story. The transfer to DVD is very good and you will think you are watching the original celluloid. Amazing.
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