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Shichinin no samurai, otherwise known as Seven Samurai, is a film created by Akira Kurosawa. Akira Kurosawa originated in Japan. He created the film in 1954 and the movie is still a success today. Akira Kurosawa directed thirty movies in his career but Seven Samurai was the most influential of his films. He also directed branched off from the influence of Seven Samurai like A Bug’s Life and Star Wars.
The movie takes place in a poor farmer’s village. These farmers have been harassed the by the local bandits and no longer are able to take it. They put their resources together and go gather samurai. Eventually the villager gets seven samurai from the city to help them in their goal. The movie shows the struggle of these seven samurai's. They come to the village to protect it but fighting off forty plus bandits is not an easy matter.
The movie sucks the audience in emotionally. You become attached to the characters emotionally and though you don't approve of some of their actions you don't want to see them leave. Probably the most remembered characters were Kambei Shimata, played by Takashi Shimura, and Kikuchiyo, played by Toshiro Mifune. Takashi Shimura played the serious leader role while Toshiro Mifune was there for comic relief. Their combination as co stars and samurais brought lead the movie on a emotional rollercoaster. One minute the you would want to go out and fight the bandits yourself and the next you are laughing at Mifune’s silly antics.
The camera work gives off a western feel in an eastern setting. Akira Kurosawa was very well known for his use of black and white. The black white effect gave the film a unwealthy poor feeling. When you watched the farmers and samurais in black and white, it made them seem more inferior to the bandits.
Over all, the entire move was fantastic. Probably one of the best Japanese films made in this century. Definitely a movie everyone should see. It would open the eyes of many people who...