Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai

One of the great films, goes without saying - but one point that's interesting to discuss about Kurosawa is why his films seem the most popular and accessible to western audiences out of Japan.

The best directed fim ever. My favorite fade to black of any film. Its one of the greatest ever made if not the greatest. Its work and influence cannot be measured.

Subotai has a good point. Watch the film with no sound or even with the Michael Jeck commentary (which is the best commentary my ears have heard) and you'll really appreciate what Kurosawa achieved.

There is such craft in every frame of The Seven Samurai, it's just breathtaking. I mean, Takashi Shimura made sure his hair regrew at a proper rate throughout the entire filming. Every frame could be hung on a wall and be called art. Despite the fact that there are three or so main samurai, none of them ever really feel like just fodder.

Even though Kurosawa borrows from Ford, and yes, his movies are very Western in spirit and concept (hence their accessibility to Western audiences), I also think that his incorporation of traditional Japanese customs and rituals, festivals and songs really show a love of his native people. Again, despite it's accessibility, the fact that (Kikuchyo?) the young Samurai does not in fact remain with the farm girl is a Japanese conceit, especially when contrasted with the ending of the Magnificent Seven.

Who owns the film? Shimura or Mifune?

They provide an interesting contrast, not only as characters, but as actors - since Kurosawa used them both so much in his films.

I saw Seven Samurai for the first time back in '97, the day before I started film school. Probably a bad move, because throughout the film I kept thinking "Sweet Lord, how could I ever make anything this good?"

Thanks to CHUD's recent 1080 article, I plan on upgrading from my Criterion DVD to the Blu as soon as I have the funds. (using Chud's Amazon link, of course)

Takeshi Shimura was always Kurosawa's secret weapon, such a fantastic actor. As much as I love the film, I really have to be in the mood to watch it, it's just so insanely long, it's a film that requires definite patience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NathanW 

Takeshi Shimura was always Kurosawa's secret weapon, such a fantastic actor. As much as I love the film, I really have to be in the mood to watch it, it's just so insanely long, it's a film that requires definite patience.

 

 Exactly.  And it's such a shame that Kurosawa is the only one to use him as a lead.  Shimura in ikiru gives one of the best screen performances of all time. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayward_Woman 

 

Who owns the film? Shimura or Mifune?

 

Miyaguchi.

Kyuzo is BAD ASS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyRockyHorror 

 

  Shimura in ikiru gives one of the best screen performances of all time. 

This.  I love that performance to an insane degree.
 

I haven't watched this in a couple of years but I just picked up the Blu-Ray and have been staring at it for over a week now. Looks like I need to watch it again.

It's one of my favorite films ever and that's not the film snobby list favorite either. I remember watching it on VHS when I was only 3 or 4 and being totally enchanted by these loud guys (bad tv speakers) with swords who were out to save a village for some rice. Sure I slept through chunks but I always remember the first half. I strongly suspect it's why I became such a Japanophile in my college years.

I'd seen it a few times already of course, but I had the privilege of seeing this in a theater for the first time a month or two ago.  You just get lost in it in a movie theater.  Three and a half hours with an intermission and I barely felt it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayward_Woman 

There is such craft in every frame of The Seven Samurai, it's just breathtaking. I mean, Takashi Shimura made sure his hair regrew at a proper rate throughout the entire filming. Every frame could be hung on a wall and be called art. Despite the fact that there are three or so main samurai, none of them ever really feel like just fodder.

 

 

Even though Kurosawa borrows from Ford, and yes, his movies are very Western in spirit and concept (hence their accessibility to Western audiences), I also think that his incorporation of traditional Japanese customs and rituals, festivals and songs really show a love of his native people. Again, despite it's accessibility, the fact that (Kikuchyo?) the young Samurai does not in fact remain with the farm girl is a Japanese conceit, especially when contrasted with the ending of the Magnificent Seven.

 

Who owns the film? Shimura or Mifune?

They provide an interesting contrast, not only as characters, but as actors - since Kurosawa used them both so much in his films.

 

Katsushiro is the young samurai who falls in love with the village girl. I always love the scene where they are found out, and Kurosawa uses framing to juxtapose them with the burning fire, which is quenched by the rain as their affair is discovered.

Anyone who enjoys Shimura and Mifune playing off one another in this film should check out Stray Dog and Drunken Angel which both feature them as the lead roles.

Okay, since the edit and quote buttons only work for me when they feel like it, here's my real answer to Wayward Woman's question regarding the Shimura/Mifune question.

I think it's Mifune's picture, despite also being an ensemble piece of sorts.  He gives a helluva performance that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and heatbreaking.   Kikuchiyo is a great character.  Michael Jeck in the commentary noted the same thing I did when I first watched the movie.  When first viewing you may think that Mifune is simply overacting, until you realize later that it's not Mifune, but it's actually the character Kikuchiyo who is the one that's overacting and overcompensating.  He does a briliant job.  It's a thoughtful and focused performance by somebody who was essentially let off the leash by a director.  And Kikuchiyo is the heart of the movie, and Mifune carries that responsibility beautifully.

That's not to discredit Shimura in the film or as an actor.  Mifune may get all the recognition, but Shimura, I think, was every single bit as good of an actor as Mifune ever was.  You look at Kanji Watanabe in Ikiru and Kanbe Shimada in Seven Samurai, they don't even seem like the same person could be behind them.  It's a startling "transformation", so to speak. 

I also have to say that if you were two ask me what my favorite films of all time are and what I think the greatest films of all time are, you'd get two wildly different lists.  However Seven Samurai would top both of them. 

It really speaks to the quality of the film when I can just pop it in and play whenever I feel like (Since I got the new Blu-Ray for Christmas, I've watched it probably 6 or 7 times already).  It's a three and a half hour movie that doesn't feel bloated or excessive.  It's actually a lean movie without an ounce of fat on it.  That in and of itself is a fuckign impressive feat.  It really flies by when you're watching it.  And there's not a single weak link in the movie.  Every actor gives a strong and memorable performance, no matter their screen time (though I do wish that the always like and tubby Daisuke Kato's role was a bit bigger)

And another thing I have to bring up, because everybody always over looks it:  This movie, in my opinion, has one of the most endearing characters ever written in the history of film.  That is Yohei, the ever-frowning, frightened and feeble farmer who is often Kikuchio's wipping boy, played wonderfully by Bokuzen Hidari, another regular from Kurosawa's stock company.

Also, if you're a fan of this movie at all and have yet to upgrade to the Blu-Ray.  Do it immediately.   It's not a perfect transfer, but compared to the previous Criterion DVD, this Blu-Ray is a revelation.  It's almost like watching it with a new set of eyes.

P.S.  God I hope this posts.  These new boards, man...

Just got around to watching it today. It's hard when you've known a film since childhood to separate yourself from your nostalgia and view the film critically. Seven Samurai has always just sort of existed for me--it's been a constant--a film I cannot watch with an eye for discussion. We break films down when we discuss them. Dissect them and cut away the story and the actors and directors and look at each little piece before putting them back together again and giving our final say on the matter. But I had a lot of trouble doing that with this film. It's such a wonderfully woven tapestry that I have difficulty looking at each little thread and the hands of the weaver.

But one thing did strike me as fascinating. The use of ambient noise. The film has a memorable and effective soundtrack and in the battles the swords all swish about and cut through wood, mud and people with aplomb, but it's the beating of the rain, the wind through the barley grass and the singing of the birds that are the real music of the film. The score is restrained in it's use. It doesn't appear for all the big emotional moments and it's kind of startling. By using ambient sound, and in some cases forgoing other sounds entirely (the two deaths by sword in the first hour come to mind immediately), it creates a kind of tunnel vision, pulling you in further rather then bringing you out of the moment. 

I only saw this once, many years ago, and don't remember a whole lot of details, but the ambient sound is definitely one that stuck with me.

Mifune is wonderful in High and Low, Red Beard, (maybe Kurosawa's most under-looked picture) and Yojimbo/Sanjuro as well. I respect The Hidden Fortress, but it's one of the few Kurosawa films I've never been able to get in to.