Film · 1954 · Jidaigeki
Seven Samurai
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
1954
Japan
★ 9.9 editorial score
Every film about assembling a team for one last job descends from this one: Kurosawa makes seven men matter, then stages a battle in the mud nobody has equaled.
“It's a period film (or jidaigeki) conceived on an epic scale, pitting Takashi Shimura's wise, zen-like leader against the wildcat intensity of Toshiro Mifune's son-of-a-farmer samurai. Along with five other swords-for-hire (of mixed ability), they are employed by farmers to protect their village from raiding bandits. What follows is pure cinematic dynamite.”
Setting
Time
1954Depicts 1500s
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