Like probably everyone else who haven't seen this movie, I also had huge expectations on it. This is one of those movies which I was ashamed of not seeing, as it's still a classic in the history of motion pictures and the one of Akira Kurosawa's films that is described as "a must-see" for every movie freak there is. Having an 8.8/10 rating and standing on the mighty 9th place at IMDb's Top 250 movies of all time -list it's pretty hard to watch it without having those huge expectations. The movie tells a story about a village which is constantly attacked and robbed by bandits. The village's eldest wise man suggests that the villagers should hire samurais, respected warriors, to defend the village, so some of the villagers leave their home to find samurais for the job. It doesn't take so much time until they find the ones, and these samurais form the group of the seven samurais, who each have their own personalities and ways of interacting.
First of all, you really have to relate to the time when the movie was produced. It's nothing near the movies these days, it's completely different, obviously. I've watched a lot of Japanese movies in the past and this is no exception when it comes to this certain style of this specific tension seen from the screen. I wouldn't say it's boring, but it's somehow tedious. I mean, the movie requires this certain mood for the viewer, so you can't really watch it like any other film. The tempo is slow and sometimes the scenes seem like they're too lengthened, which needs a lot of concentration and nerves, yet it's all worth it after all. The tempo of "Shichinin no samurai" has this nice way of speeding up towards the end, so it gets faster and faster all the time, though there are some of those slow scenes between. I can't really describe those scenes in any other way than "slow", as it's really hard to explain it after all. Over three hours of one movie is always pretty heavy, no matter what the movie itself was. This is a heavy movie, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be worth watching. The music is these dark and gloomy orchestrations, which really fit in the main theme of the movie so well and though it doesn't include relaxed or soothing compositions it still is overall a great experience, composed by Fumio Hayasaka it builds up tension in a flowing way and it's sort of adapted in the exactly right places. It definitely has that 50's feel to it, but it's still original.
One thing that immediately crosses your mind when the movie progresses itself is how incredibly well it's made considering when it is actually made. If you look at the 50's, there weren't any computers so CGI was obviously out of question. This basically means that everything you see on the screen is actually the real deal, everything that moves actually moves and everything that happens actually happens. This is what you have to pay attention to when you're watching the movie, as then you finally realise why it truly was such a big hit back then and why it immediately formed itself as a classic. A born legend some could say. The cinematography compliments the whole credibility the film offers for the viewer. It is a little bit different than Japanese cinematography nowadays, but there's still that same feeling and emotion. To me as a fan of Japanese cinematography "Shichinin no samurai" didn't disappoint me; Wide endless landscapes, those beautiful boundless hills and lands, it's honestly always a treat for you. Japanese also tend to use so much more still shots than any other nation and that is one of the things that form that certain well-known feeling and emotion.
When you really relate to the time the directing doesn't disappoint you either. It's no wonder people have been buzzing about this film for ages as it is indeed Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, a real specimen of skill. The thing that surprised me though was that the role performances can actually be compared to role performances these days, in Japanese films that is. The acting in this movie still has that certain anger, that somehow believable incredibility, that Japanese original way of acting, which also can not be compared to any other nation. Japanese films live in their own time and hopefully that'll always be the case, as when you're bored of Hollywood you can always change to a different perspective; The Japanese perspective.
"Shichinin no samurai" is timeless. It doesn't matter if you'd watch it even after 100 years from its release, it's a movie everyone should see, though it does require certain age from the viewer. This is not a movie for children after all as it's pretty violent too. Having huge expectations on a movie always gets me so stressed and to be really honest I thought the movie would have been better. But as a person in my 20's what can you really expect from a movie made in the 50's? It's like eating the same cereals years after years and then suddenly changing to porridge with sugar and milk in it. It's like drinking a long drink and then changing to whiskey. The difference gap is just so huge. "Shichinin no samurai" is a brilliant film if you can relate to the time, though it is pretty long-winded it does get better after a few days when you've seen it. You don't really "get it" at first, but just give yourself some time to repeat the events occurred in the movie and soon you see yourself perceiving the whole meaning of the movie, what's it all about and what it tries to tell you, the whole purpose of it. Magnificent indeed.
First of all, you really have to relate to the time when the movie was produced. It's nothing near the movies these days, it's completely different, obviously. I've watched a lot of Japanese movies in the past and this is no exception when it comes to this certain style of this specific tension seen from the screen. I wouldn't say it's boring, but it's somehow tedious. I mean, the movie requires this certain mood for the viewer, so you can't really watch it like any other film. The tempo is slow and sometimes the scenes seem like they're too lengthened, which needs a lot of concentration and nerves, yet it's all worth it after all. The tempo of "Shichinin no samurai" has this nice way of speeding up towards the end, so it gets faster and faster all the time, though there are some of those slow scenes between. I can't really describe those scenes in any other way than "slow", as it's really hard to explain it after all. Over three hours of one movie is always pretty heavy, no matter what the movie itself was. This is a heavy movie, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be worth watching. The music is these dark and gloomy orchestrations, which really fit in the main theme of the movie so well and though it doesn't include relaxed or soothing compositions it still is overall a great experience, composed by Fumio Hayasaka it builds up tension in a flowing way and it's sort of adapted in the exactly right places. It definitely has that 50's feel to it, but it's still original.
One thing that immediately crosses your mind when the movie progresses itself is how incredibly well it's made considering when it is actually made. If you look at the 50's, there weren't any computers so CGI was obviously out of question. This basically means that everything you see on the screen is actually the real deal, everything that moves actually moves and everything that happens actually happens. This is what you have to pay attention to when you're watching the movie, as then you finally realise why it truly was such a big hit back then and why it immediately formed itself as a classic. A born legend some could say. The cinematography compliments the whole credibility the film offers for the viewer. It is a little bit different than Japanese cinematography nowadays, but there's still that same feeling and emotion. To me as a fan of Japanese cinematography "Shichinin no samurai" didn't disappoint me; Wide endless landscapes, those beautiful boundless hills and lands, it's honestly always a treat for you. Japanese also tend to use so much more still shots than any other nation and that is one of the things that form that certain well-known feeling and emotion.
When you really relate to the time the directing doesn't disappoint you either. It's no wonder people have been buzzing about this film for ages as it is indeed Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, a real specimen of skill. The thing that surprised me though was that the role performances can actually be compared to role performances these days, in Japanese films that is. The acting in this movie still has that certain anger, that somehow believable incredibility, that Japanese original way of acting, which also can not be compared to any other nation. Japanese films live in their own time and hopefully that'll always be the case, as when you're bored of Hollywood you can always change to a different perspective; The Japanese perspective.
"Shichinin no samurai" is timeless. It doesn't matter if you'd watch it even after 100 years from its release, it's a movie everyone should see, though it does require certain age from the viewer. This is not a movie for children after all as it's pretty violent too. Having huge expectations on a movie always gets me so stressed and to be really honest I thought the movie would have been better. But as a person in my 20's what can you really expect from a movie made in the 50's? It's like eating the same cereals years after years and then suddenly changing to porridge with sugar and milk in it. It's like drinking a long drink and then changing to whiskey. The difference gap is just so huge. "Shichinin no samurai" is a brilliant film if you can relate to the time, though it is pretty long-winded it does get better after a few days when you've seen it. You don't really "get it" at first, but just give yourself some time to repeat the events occurred in the movie and soon you see yourself perceiving the whole meaning of the movie, what's it all about and what it tries to tell you, the whole purpose of it. Magnificent indeed.