I would like to be a film critic in later life. I pride myself on having seen a wide variety of films from assorted countries, be they Hong-Kong kung fu movies or French drama. For many years I had read about Akira Kuwosawa as a director, with nothing but praise heaped upon him and his individualistic style. However the opportunity to watch one of his films had never arisen, so I remained blissfully unaware of his cultured delights. One day in my college library I was browsing the video section when I happened upon a copy of Seven Samurai. I had a free evening so I took the movie out. After noting the particularly lengthy viewing time, I settled down to watch the movie hailed as 'the purest action film ever made'.
Having seen the film, I can honestly tell you Seven Samurai is so much more than that.
The first thing of note is the beauty of Kurosawa's direction and Asakazu Nakai's cinematography. Every frame is like an exquisite photograph, with the lush environments captured perfectly in black and white. It is generally presumed that a film shot in monochrome is old. Not so with Seven Samurai. Rather, I don't think I have ever seen a film so ahead of it's time, yet rooted in classic Japanese tradition (if that makes sense!!!).
Of course a film wouldn't be very good if it was simply beautiful (see The Cell for evidence of this), so it's just as well Seven Samurai has one of the finest casts ever assembled. The highlights for me were Takashi Shimura's old and wisened Kambei, as well as Toshiro Mifune's standout performance as Kikuchiyo. The sheer range of emotions he displays as an actor, from courage to despair, are displayed with vivid and realistic detail which helps the performance stick in the mind. Not that the rest of the cast are far behind, with Seiji Miyaguchi's supercool Kzuyo and Isao Kimura's naive Katsushiro also taking the honours.
The story itself (beautifully constructed by Shinobu Hashimoto and Kurosawa himself) is superbly paced, with a relaxed attitude to the early scenes leading into taut and tense direction towards the end of the movie. It explores and deals with themes of loyalty, friendship, youth and compassion, all of which blend seamlessly into the admittedly basic story. Seven Samurai however, scores in its simplicity. In keeping the story fairly straightforward, Kurosawa allows himself the room to develop his characters and their lives in exquisite and intricate detail.
Suffice to say the running time of Seven Samurai should really be four hours as a pose to three, because after viewing this cinematic masterpiece you will need at least an hour to reflect on what you have experienced. This is how cinema was meant to be: raw, unflinching and yet unashamedly beautiful.
A true masterpiece.
Having seen the film, I can honestly tell you Seven Samurai is so much more than that.
The first thing of note is the beauty of Kurosawa's direction and Asakazu Nakai's cinematography. Every frame is like an exquisite photograph, with the lush environments captured perfectly in black and white. It is generally presumed that a film shot in monochrome is old. Not so with Seven Samurai. Rather, I don't think I have ever seen a film so ahead of it's time, yet rooted in classic Japanese tradition (if that makes sense!!!).
Of course a film wouldn't be very good if it was simply beautiful (see The Cell for evidence of this), so it's just as well Seven Samurai has one of the finest casts ever assembled. The highlights for me were Takashi Shimura's old and wisened Kambei, as well as Toshiro Mifune's standout performance as Kikuchiyo. The sheer range of emotions he displays as an actor, from courage to despair, are displayed with vivid and realistic detail which helps the performance stick in the mind. Not that the rest of the cast are far behind, with Seiji Miyaguchi's supercool Kzuyo and Isao Kimura's naive Katsushiro also taking the honours.
The story itself (beautifully constructed by Shinobu Hashimoto and Kurosawa himself) is superbly paced, with a relaxed attitude to the early scenes leading into taut and tense direction towards the end of the movie. It explores and deals with themes of loyalty, friendship, youth and compassion, all of which blend seamlessly into the admittedly basic story. Seven Samurai however, scores in its simplicity. In keeping the story fairly straightforward, Kurosawa allows himself the room to develop his characters and their lives in exquisite and intricate detail.
Suffice to say the running time of Seven Samurai should really be four hours as a pose to three, because after viewing this cinematic masterpiece you will need at least an hour to reflect on what you have experienced. This is how cinema was meant to be: raw, unflinching and yet unashamedly beautiful.
A true masterpiece.
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