Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima
Running time: 207 minutes
In this age of fast-paced action and short attention spans, Seven Samurai can seems a little out of place. With a running time of over 3 hours, and being a Japanese film sub-titled in English, it certainly is not something a lot of people would dare undertake. I sure was hesitant at first, but I decided to take the plunge. I’m glad I did.
Seven
Samurai is a story of a village of Japanese farmers, in the 1500’s, who hire a
group of samurai to defend them against a gang of criminals who raid their crop
every year. It is a tale of honor, rituals, standing up for oneself, fighting
spirit and respect for traditions.
Did this
movie need to last this long? Probably not. Though I must say the
cinematography is beautiful, amazing considering it was shot in the 1950’s. The
acting is overly dramatic, but it goes with the territory here. Fight scenes
are not greatly choreographed either, but that is forgivable.
All things
considered, this is a great film, that can seem too much to take at first but
that is worth the experience, for true cinema lovers.
Rating: ««««
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