Wednesday, June 28, 2017
179 - Seven Samurai, 1954, Japan. Dir. Akira Kurosawa.
The bandits are going to attack the village.
The villagers know because a farmer overheard the bandits planning. As they sat on their horses on a cliff overlooking the village.
The villagers are filled with terror.
They turn to their elder. Gisaku decides they should hire samurai.
Samurai belong to a different class from the villagers. They are beneath them. It would go against their 16th-century propriety to associate with Samurai. But they feel they have no choice.
They approach Ronin. Ronin are Samurai who have no master. They are freelancers. Available. Desperate for work.
The first half of this epic film (three-and-a-half hours) features the hiring of the Samurai.
The second half features the Samurai preparing the village for battle and fighting the battle.
This is one of the great films.
A masterpiece made by a master.
Starring several of his great actors.
Toshiro Mifune. Takashi Shimura. Kamatari Fujiwara. Minoru Chiaki.
Watch it. You will find yourself wanting to watch it again. Throughout your life.
At least seven times.
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