The quality of a work of art can be measured by other works of art it has inspired through time. The world of the seventh art has plenty of such examples, and the best known are those which have inspired numerous remakes through the decades. Among those remade films, the best are those that contain images, stories, and characters deeply ingrained in the collective unconsciousness of their viewers, regardless of their cultural background. Probably the best known of such films is Seven Samurai, the 1954 film by famous Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. It is equally famous for being the best example of the "jidai-geki" (samurai picture) genre – the Japanese equivalent of the western – and for being the inspiration for numerous other authors who have used its basic concept for films set in different time periods, different locations, and belonging to different genres.
The plot of this film, loosely based on an ancient Japanese legend, is set in late 16th century Japan. The country is in the middle of a civil war, the government authority has collapsed, and the countryside is left to roaming hordes of bandits. One such gang has made a habit of plundering a mountain village after each harvest and leaving barely enough food for the peasants to survive. This time the village has been hit by especially hard times, and after one of the peasants accidentally overhears bandits discussing plans for their next visit, the village council is ready to listen to young Rikichi (played by Yoshio Tsuchiya) who wants to fight the bandits. But the villagers also know that they lack the combat skills necessary to match dozens of well-armed thugs. Village elder Gisaku (played by Kokoden Kodo) advises them to go to town and hire the services of rōnin, masterless samurai, whose martial expertise would defend the village.
When the group of peasants come to town, they see plenty of rōnin, many of them penniless, but almost none would humiliate themselves by offering their services to common peasants for three meals of rice per day. Their search is fruitless until they meet Kambei Shimada (played by Takashi Shimura), an old, experienced but kind-hearted samurai who agrees to help them. He and his apprentice/disciple Katsushiro (played by Isao Kimura) gather four other rōnin and the six of them head for the mountains, followed by the vagabond and samurai wannabe Kikuchiyo (played by Toshiro Mifune). The small army arrives in the village, greeted by scepticism, fear, and distrust from the peasants, but they nevertheless begin preparations for defence.
When Kurosawa died, many obituaries called him the God of Cinema, and it was hardly an exaggeration. Anyone who watches Seven Samurai would understand why. Fans of Peckinpah, Lucas, Spielberg, Milius, Cameron, and almost any respected modern-day action director would see many familiar scenes and motifs in this film, made almost half a century ago. The influence Kurosawa had on future filmmakers is immeasurable, yet his films still look fresh, original, and very modern. Seven Samurai, despite its black-and-white photography and despite its huge length (203 minutes in the original cut), can be put in the same category as action classics like Die Hard and Aliens.
This also explains why Kurosawa's work sticks out as the only black-and-white classic among entries in many personal Top 10 or Top 100 film lists. This film is so successful because of its flawless direction and very balanced combination of powerful human drama and exciting action. Unlike most action directors today, Kurosawa knew that the audience wouldn't be satisfied just with elaborate action scenes; the audience needs characters to identify with. The script by Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni is based on a very simple plot, but this plot is used as a base for a whole series of interesting subplots and character studies. Never allowing the film to become stale and boring, Kurosawa slowly but methodically unfolds the plot and develops his characters, less through dialogue and more through simple but revealing gestures.
For that, Kurosawa had to rely on very talented actors and he was very lucky to have more than an adequate crew for the job. The top of the list is Takashi Shimura, a descendant of a real-life samurai, who gives a quiet yet powerful performance as the leader of the small army; every community in the world would probably appreciate having someone like him in times of need. Seiji Miyaguchi is also remarkable in the role of the ascetic yet deadly samurai Kyūzō, same as Isao Kimura as the young Katsushiro, forced to learn some ugly lessons in life. Yoshio Tsuchiya is great as Rikichi, the hot-headed peasant who is deeply traumatised by personal tragedy. The best known of them all is, of course, Toshiro Mifune, Kurosawa's favourite actor, who gives a more than memorable portrayal of Kikuchiyo, a lowlife who begins the film as comic relief and gradually evolves into a real hero.
Kurosawa, having such great characters and such great actors at his disposal, established rather interesting interactions, but that didn't interest him only on an individual level. Like very few action films before and after, Seven Samurai actually deals with broader social issues. In the context of 16th century Japan, this issue was the class conflict between peasants and the feudal class, embodied in the samurai. Kurosawa always keeps viewers aware of this conflict – peasants and samurai can live and work together, but this relationship is temporary and based only on short-term interest. Both classes are inimical towards each other – samurai look on the peasants as inferior beings, while peasants mistrust samurai. The character of Kikuchiyo explicitly explains this class conflict through a memorable and powerful monologue. This social dimension of Seven Samurai, although it could be transplanted from feudal Japan to different times and places, wasn't very convincingly used in this film's remakes (which is especially the case with the American 1960 version).
Despite having a story with universal appeal, Kurosawa put a lot of effort into historical accuracy in Seven Samurai. Clothes, houses, and the folklore of 16th century rural Japan are painstakingly recreated, as well as the weapons and armour of the samurai. But the best thing about this historical reconstruction is Kurosawa's great care about the combat scenes. Fighting in Seven Samurai doesn't just look exciting; it is very realistic and, unlike most war and action films, it actually makes sense. Individuals play a very limited role, just as in any real war; unlike Rambo films with superhuman heroes that eliminate hundreds of well-armed opponents, superior numbers, tactics, training, and firepower do matter. Samurai might be superior in one-on-one, hand-to-hand combat (such fights are very short and decided in a matter of seconds), but even they are powerless against the bandits' firearms. Victory comes out of collective action, with a few making painful sacrifices for the benefit of the many.
Just as in any military textbook from Sun Tzu to this day, good planning in Seven Samurai plays a more important role in acquiring victory than the actual fighting itself. It is a marvel to watch scenes in which Kambei, like any other good general, surveys and sketches the future battlefield and makes mental notes about the best ways to defeat the enemy. This dimension of Seven Samurai is also missed from all later remakes.
Kurosawa was very pedantic about scenes depicting war, but Seven Samurai could hardly be seen as militaristic propaganda. Realism in battle scenes also means that death in war happens without any rules; characters often die in agony or covered with mud or in similarly prosaic circumstances. War equally brings out the best and worst in people, the latter being symbolised in brutal acts of violence and succumbing to animalistic desires, even among the most innocent and idealistic characters like Katsushiro. Wars, even when they are justified and when they end in victory, are hardly something that should be celebrated. Kurosawa underlines this message with a bittersweet final scene.
With the sole exception of Fumio Hayasaka's musical score, which sounds a little bit old-fashioned by today's standards, Seven Samurai has withstood the test of time. But this is just one of many reasons why this film has earned its rightful place as a timeless gem of world cinema.
RATING: 9/10 (++++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on June 15th 2000)
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Movie URL: themoviedb.org/movie/346?language=en-US
Critic: AAA