Review of Seven Samurai (1954) by Lucas Q — 20 Feb 2013

"Don't you see? A real sword will kill you.".

Kurosawa did everything right with this film. He developed characters we came to care for, gave us gritty scenes of violence, and gave us a look at the hard life of farmers. Each of the seven samurai is given a characteristic for which we love them. With Kikuchiyo (play with feverish energy by Toshiro Mifune) we love his courage, occasional wisdom, while overlooking his hotheadedness, and sporabic fits of insanity. Perhaps some of us see some of ourselves in his tortured character who is often striving to try and prove himself. I know I have on occasion jumped into a situation before thinking through the consequences, and Kikychiyo tends to do it to during the course of the film. But his mistakes tend to be larger and the consequences often cost his friends their lives. There are many other likable characters in this film, but I think the true triumph of this film is the humanity of it. We see how the higher class, be it Samurai or bandit, assume to treat the lower class, in this instance the farmers. We see the similarities between them and the differences. While this film may be long, depending on which version you watch (I strongly recommend the 207 minutes long version), it is an excellent film, which you will enjoy whether you prefer drama, or comedy, or action, or just films in general.