JohnnyRobinson
Springfield, MO
I could watch this every day if I had the time!
The difference between a good and a great movie is being its ability to make the viewer FORGET that he/she is watching a movie! The first time that this happened to me was watching SEVEN SAMURAI in high school!
SEVEN SAMURAI is one of those movies; I probably will never see another movie that meets its standard of excellence (I will keep searching, though)!
Every and every scene seems to be in concert with each other scene; I have watched it several times and the only mistake I have ever seen is the rapid fire of the old matchlock in rapid succession (the samurai had already stolen the first two matchlocks from the bandits, leaving only one in possession of them!). But I still give it a perfect 10 anyway...
He uses the elements, music and other segways to change scenes and to enhance your understanding of his masterpiece;
if you get a copy of the DVD and listen to the commentary provided, many unknown facts about the director, cast and the set itself is revealed; this runs the entire length of the full movie if you wish to see the commentary in its entirety; you can turn the commentary on/off if you want the movie only with the DVD as well.
Although there is violence and death in this movie, there is no gore, another reason that it has survived the test of time in cinematic history.
For the romantic, there is a 'love story' segment running concurrently with the major theme, but no nudity to satisfy the romantics in the audiences around the world.
An arts instructor in high school played this movie to our class, which extended past the normal hours of school in order to see the whole thing uncut. The only thing wrong with that showing was it being in the original language and I was so delighted when an English subtitle version came to my knowledge online.
The first time I saw this, an arts teacher told the class what was being said and the second time a Japanese student I was tutoring in English as Second Language told me what was being discussed in the dialogue; having an English version of this made me so much more respect the director's genius in making this film, as I was able to follow the dialogue directly.
Being a history buff, I love the scenery and history conveyed by this movie; as well as the traditions portrayed. Also, as the main samurai Kambei Shimada (actor Shimura Takashi) said near the end, only the farmers won after the third day of the fighting between the samurai and bandits.
Farmers have always been the mainstay of every culture and society throughout history; however, those who mooch off of society always consider them the lowest form of human beings in order to justify their theft of a farmer's livelihood at no or little cost.
Every time I watch this movie, i see something else that I missed in the last and previous viewings; it is like a jewel chest that, when opened, shows some other facet of itself each time you open it...only a movie like THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW comes close to this genius part of the movie!
I also like how each samurai, besides being a master of the sword, lent their individual skills training the farmers in fighting techniques or contributed their organizational skills in setting up the defenses of the village or their leadership in the battle itself (as samurai Katayama Gorobei [Inaba Yoshio] did).
Lastly, there is a story of class division which I was not so much aware of until an English version came out; sadly, no progress came from this in our world but as always, the elite of every society wish to keep the military of a culture and its citizenry at odds with each other for a reason.
The entire cast worked well together in making this a masterpiece of Japanese cinema; however, I know from other readings that they also were allowed to improvise somewhat in their individual scenes, which Kurosawa Akira allowed. Only a great director can blend a script and an individual's improv in making of a movie.
This great movie has been translated into over 275 languages! If you know of any other movie that beats this record, please let me know!
I now posses a DVD of this great movie and play it 2-3 times a year.
The only other director who brilliance could come close to making a movie as great as SEVEN SAMURAI would be the director of ROSHOMON...in my opinion.
SEVEN SAMURAI is one of those movies; I probably will never see another movie that meets its standard of excellence (I will keep searching, though)!
Every and every scene seems to be in concert with each other scene; I have watched it several times and the only mistake I have ever seen is the rapid fire of the old matchlock in rapid succession (the samurai had already stolen the first two matchlocks from the bandits, leaving only one in possession of them!). But I still give it a perfect 10 anyway...
He uses the elements, music and other segways to change scenes and to enhance your understanding of his masterpiece;
if you get a copy of the DVD and listen to the commentary provided, many unknown facts about the director, cast and the set itself is revealed; this runs the entire length of the full movie if you wish to see the commentary in its entirety; you can turn the commentary on/off if you want the movie only with the DVD as well.
Although there is violence and death in this movie, there is no gore, another reason that it has survived the test of time in cinematic history.
For the romantic, there is a 'love story' segment running concurrently with the major theme, but no nudity to satisfy the romantics in the audiences around the world.
An arts instructor in high school played this movie to our class, which extended past the normal hours of school in order to see the whole thing uncut. The only thing wrong with that showing was it being in the original language and I was so delighted when an English subtitle version came to my knowledge online.
The first time I saw this, an arts teacher told the class what was being said and the second time a Japanese student I was tutoring in English as Second Language told me what was being discussed in the dialogue; having an English version of this made me so much more respect the director's genius in making this film, as I was able to follow the dialogue directly.
Being a history buff, I love the scenery and history conveyed by this movie; as well as the traditions portrayed. Also, as the main samurai Kambei Shimada (actor Shimura Takashi) said near the end, only the farmers won after the third day of the fighting between the samurai and bandits.
Farmers have always been the mainstay of every culture and society throughout history; however, those who mooch off of society always consider them the lowest form of human beings in order to justify their theft of a farmer's livelihood at no or little cost.
Every time I watch this movie, i see something else that I missed in the last and previous viewings; it is like a jewel chest that, when opened, shows some other facet of itself each time you open it...only a movie like THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW comes close to this genius part of the movie!
I also like how each samurai, besides being a master of the sword, lent their individual skills training the farmers in fighting techniques or contributed their organizational skills in setting up the defenses of the village or their leadership in the battle itself (as samurai Katayama Gorobei [Inaba Yoshio] did).
Lastly, there is a story of class division which I was not so much aware of until an English version came out; sadly, no progress came from this in our world but as always, the elite of every society wish to keep the military of a culture and its citizenry at odds with each other for a reason.
The entire cast worked well together in making this a masterpiece of Japanese cinema; however, I know from other readings that they also were allowed to improvise somewhat in their individual scenes, which Kurosawa Akira allowed. Only a great director can blend a script and an individual's improv in making of a movie.
This great movie has been translated into over 275 languages! If you know of any other movie that beats this record, please let me know!
I now posses a DVD of this great movie and play it 2-3 times a year.
The only other director who brilliance could come close to making a movie as great as SEVEN SAMURAI would be the director of ROSHOMON...in my opinion.
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