(Akira Kurosawa, 1954)

I had the great privilege of seeing this on the big screen at the BFI Southbank as part of their Japan 2021: A Hundred Years of Japanese Cinema season. I was thrilled by the film with which I was presented. An epic tale of a village in sixteenth-century Japan which calls upon seven rōnin (samurai without masters) to defend it against bandits, this film, made by Akira Kurosawa and released in 1954 (four years after his hugely successful Rashomon), demonstrates a mastery of jidaigeki or Japanese period drama and chanbara (Japanese samurai film, named onomatopoeically after the sound of swords striking one another in combat) for which Kurosawa is so renowned.

Though this film is smaller in scale than Kurosawa’s Ran (his 1985 adaptation of  King Lear), it absolutely delivers great impact when it comes to bringing grandiose action to the screen. It is notable that militarily, the bandits are better-equipped than the villagers and rōnin; the rōnin are armed with swords and bows and the peasants, with bamboo spears, whereas the bandits carry tanegashima or arquebuses. The villagers stake their livelihoods on the capabilities of the hired soldiers. The battle scenes are incredibly well-staged and demonstrate the dexterity with which Kurosawa featured war in his work.

Seven Samurai also has a cast of very well-rounded characters. Takashi Shimura plays Kambei Shimada, leader of the rōnin, with much wisdom and stoicism but it is Toshiro Mifune (who appeared in many of Kurosawa’s films, including Rashomon, Kurosawa’s Macbeth adaptation Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Sanjuro and The Bad Sleep Well, an adaptation of Hamlet) as Kikuchiyo who steals the show; his character standing out as being the most colourful personality of the gathered warriors. 

The way in which this picture has influenced so many others over the years has been profound. It inspired huge number of films from a wide range of genres including: westerns such as The Magnificent Seven (the 1960 Hollywood remake of Seven Samurai) and the Bollywood dacoit western Sholay; sci-fi films such as Star Wars; war films like The Guns of Navarone, The Dirty Dozen and Saving Private Ryan; action film The Expendables and historical film The 13^th Warrior.

To summarise, I would urge anyone to see this magnificent samurai flick which epitomises the best of Japanese filmmaking and continues to shape the cinematic landscape to this day.

© Daniel Cummings 2023