The most impressive thing about Seven Samurai is that, despite the fact it basically wrote the book for westerns, and codified hundreds of tropes which have then been done ad nasueam, Seven Samurai still holds up, even in the modern age.
Not just holding up, it's still the best. I've yet to see another film doing "a team of protagonist defeating powerful enemy" trope better than Seven Samurai, no one comes remotely close in the last sixty years.
Seven Samurai, in my opinion, both romanticizes and criticizes the samurai class. On one hand, there's a definite "Gone With the Wind" rose colored view of the samurai, and a feeling of auld lang syne as their class is becoming more and more obsolete (possibly a chronological anachronism, as the Samurai class would survive well after the Sengoku Period). Like Gone With the Wind with the Confederate South, Kanbei especially looks wistfully upon his time as a Samurai with mixed emotions. On one hand, he had a purpose and status in society, but his time as a warrior weighs heavily on his shoulders. He is also a ronin (a samurai without a daimyo master), which is the lowest rung on the Samurai ladder. It could mean several things. It could mean he failed to protect his lord and master, or he was cast from the family, or maybe something less dishonorable. I choose to think that his family simply imploded from within during the brutal Warring Period. But their nobility to protect the farmers, even uncharacteristic of Samurai as you said in your video, puts them in near mythical stature. I'm not saying there weren't noble samurai in Japan, but they didn't often concern themselves with the plight of peasants. The nostalgic scrim the movie creates was probably an allegory for Japan at the time. Under occupation, having lost the war in devastating fashion only a decade before. People were probably nostalgic for the better days before Japan fought in World War 2. On the other hand, the film feels like a criticism of the Samurai Class, as well. The Samurai are mythical BECAUSE it was so uncharacteristic of Samurai to care about peasants. And even though they would succeed with heavy losses, the Samurai don't always behave in a noble way. Their outrage at the peasants having thieved weapons and armor off of samurai they themselves killed is brutally rebuked by Kikuchiyo (played by the immortal Toshiro Mifune). Kikuchiyo throws their arrogance back in their faces and begs the question, "What did you expect of poor peasants who have been beaten to the ground for so long?" I'm reminded of the class structure on display in Downton Abbey, which similarly romanticizes and condemns the Landed Gentry of Edwardian England, and throws the rigid class structure right back in the face of the old money folk. With both of these in mind, I think the movie calls into question the class structure that had been in place in Japan since the Warring Period and never quite left the country until well after Occupation. Kikuchiyo is the real hero in this regard, having chosen his own destiny to move against the rigid class structure, and establish himself as a Samurai rather than the farmer class he was born in. Just my 200 cents. Hahaha
Any chance anyone could point me to where I could find some of these sources online? Specifically the reviews, I'm doing an essay on seven samurai and it's effect on Hollywood and a lot of this information is what I know from secondary sources, but I haven't been able to fund many of the reviews written around the time of it's actual release on line.
Here are my sources for this essay. Good luck on your paper! Anderson, Robert, Blair Davis, and Jan Walls. Rashomon Effects: Kurosawa, Rashomon and Their Legacies. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. eBook. Crowther, Bosley. “Screen: Japanese Import.” The New York Times. 20 November 1956. Web. 29 April. 2017. Lawrence, J. “The Magnificent Seven.” Motion Picture Daily (October - December 1956). 8 November. 1956. Media History Digital Library Database. Web. 29 April. 2017. Martinez, Dolores P. Remaking Kurosawa: Translations and Permutations in Global Cinema. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. eBook. Turan, Kenneth. “The Hours and Times: Kurosawa and the Art of Storytelling.” The Criterion Collection. 19 October. 2010. Web. 1 May. 2017. Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro. Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 2005. eBook.
Great essay! Maybe someone knows, why in the movie almost every peasant have his head shaved, like in Chonmage style? This style was mostly for samurais (because fashion and to be more comfortable in a helmet), but there is no info about peasants, why they would wear it like in the movie.
In every fight scene I'm wondering why they don't attack the horses, but maybe horses are so valuable for farm labor and so forth that they wouldn't risk harming them?
From what I understand, in order to cut down a horse, u need a really big blade, a blade named horse slashing blade literally, which is not shown in the movie and is usually a war weapon for well equipped army. If a samurai try to cut the horse with ordinary katana, he might be exposed to the rider's follow-up attack.
@@y.b4251 Was this blade used also in the film time period? Can't find a lot of info about Zanbatō because mostly FinalFantasy shows up. Also peasants in the movie had spears, so a strong pierce into horse throat could be enough? These spears were only bamboo, but all bandits seemed to fear them so much that everyone was running away.
@@WiteXRan I don't think this blade is common in Japan at all. Japan pretty much skipped the knight/horse riding shock troops/invaders from the great steppe period. Hence the need of horse cutting sword was pretty scarce. It's not shown in the movie. But the Kikuchiyo stolen sword should be the nearest stuff to a horse slashing sword. If I'm understanding it correctly, horse cutting sword was invented by Chinese around Han dynasty, but the need of cutting down the riding enemy was minimum, they beat the Xiong Nu on horseback. But as the steppe enjoyed their most abundant rain around 1000, the warfare changed. Many raiders from different tribes own tons of horse. More significant tribes nation were Jin, Liao and Mongolian. They caused tons of trouble for Song dynasty as most Song dynasty army were heavy infantry. Song managed to fend off both Jin and Liao before being finished by Mongolian empire. One of the significant military strategy at this point was light infantry shock troop. According to some record, Yue Fei (legendary general, executed by emperor for overachieving against Jin) would lead 500 of his soldier, feed them with the best food and wine, having next to non armor to increase mobility and wield a big sword, charge into Jin's riding army as shock troop. The outcome was surprisingly well, they managed to slash through the army, creating an element of surprise against riders. I guess this is where the horse slashing sword was perfected (and rebranded into zhan ma dao in Chinese, used to called other names). The sword is pretty much the same length as what Japanese pop culture showed, but is way wider. Then after Mongolian won the war against China, they invaded Japan briefly, this should be the time Zanbatou came to need in Japan. Japan were having limited iron, so I guess they reduced the thickness of their version of Zanbatou. The Japanese counter part of this sword should be the longer Odachi (literally long sword). The Japanese infantry is an interesting thing. I believe they never had shield due to limited resources (iron) and self suicidal honor. Bamboo is a good and cheap alternative for weapon. Pretty much the best and most common self defense weapon for peasants. The horse better be scared because the PETA would dig Kurosawa's grave for any injured horse, hah. (JK, Filmography reason, can't let the horse died right?)
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There is absolutely NO FILLER in this film. Its a masterpiece. Every frame is a delight!
The most impressive thing about Seven Samurai is that, despite the fact it basically wrote the book for westerns, and codified hundreds of tropes which have then been done ad nasueam, Seven Samurai still holds up, even in the modern age.
Not just holding up, it's still the best. I've yet to see another film doing "a team of protagonist defeating powerful enemy" trope better than Seven Samurai, no one comes remotely close in the last sixty years.
Seven Samurai, in my opinion, both romanticizes and criticizes the samurai class.
On one hand, there's a definite "Gone With the Wind" rose colored view of the samurai, and a feeling of auld lang syne as their class is becoming more and more obsolete (possibly a chronological anachronism, as the Samurai class would survive well after the Sengoku Period). Like Gone With the Wind with the Confederate South, Kanbei especially looks wistfully upon his time as a Samurai with mixed emotions. On one hand, he had a purpose and status in society, but his time as a warrior weighs heavily on his shoulders. He is also a ronin (a samurai without a daimyo master), which is the lowest rung on the Samurai ladder. It could mean several things. It could mean he failed to protect his lord and master, or he was cast from the family, or maybe something less dishonorable. I choose to think that his family simply imploded from within during the brutal Warring Period. But their nobility to protect the farmers, even uncharacteristic of Samurai as you said in your video, puts them in near mythical stature. I'm not saying there weren't noble samurai in Japan, but they didn't often concern themselves with the plight of peasants. The nostalgic scrim the movie creates was probably an allegory for Japan at the time. Under occupation, having lost the war in devastating fashion only a decade before. People were probably nostalgic for the better days before Japan fought in World War 2.
On the other hand, the film feels like a criticism of the Samurai Class, as well. The Samurai are mythical BECAUSE it was so uncharacteristic of Samurai to care about peasants. And even though they would succeed with heavy losses, the Samurai don't always behave in a noble way. Their outrage at the peasants having thieved weapons and armor off of samurai they themselves killed is brutally rebuked by Kikuchiyo (played by the immortal Toshiro Mifune). Kikuchiyo throws their arrogance back in their faces and begs the question, "What did you expect of poor peasants who have been beaten to the ground for so long?" I'm reminded of the class structure on display in Downton Abbey, which similarly romanticizes and condemns the Landed Gentry of Edwardian England, and throws the rigid class structure right back in the face of the old money folk. With both of these in mind, I think the movie calls into question the class structure that had been in place in Japan since the Warring Period and never quite left the country until well after Occupation. Kikuchiyo is the real hero in this regard, having chosen his own destiny to move against the rigid class structure, and establish himself as a Samurai rather than the farmer class he was born in.
Just my 200 cents. Hahaha
I am still moved by the loss of the 4, when the frame of the 3 is shown, no filler at all.
That final shot is incredible
I remember the river scene sometimes. Top movies.
From talking about Sam Hyde to a Great Japanese film. Both of which are good great work man
Seven Samurai is a fucking classic. This video gave me a Swag OD.
I went from Black Metal to Seven Samurai. New subscriber here!
One of my favorite of many by Kurosawa
A+
yes billy this film is so hard
Any chance anyone could point me to where I could find some of these sources online? Specifically the reviews, I'm doing an essay on seven samurai and it's effect on Hollywood and a lot of this information is what I know from secondary sources, but I haven't been able to fund many of the reviews written around the time of it's actual release on line.
Here are my sources for this essay. Good luck on your paper!
Anderson, Robert, Blair Davis, and Jan Walls. Rashomon Effects: Kurosawa, Rashomon and
Their Legacies. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. eBook.
Crowther, Bosley. “Screen: Japanese Import.” The New York Times. 20 November 1956. Web.
29 April. 2017.
Lawrence, J. “The Magnificent Seven.” Motion Picture Daily (October - December 1956). 8
November. 1956. Media History Digital Library Database. Web. 29 April. 2017.
Martinez, Dolores P. Remaking Kurosawa: Translations and Permutations in Global Cinema.
New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. eBook.
Turan, Kenneth. “The Hours and Times: Kurosawa and the Art of Storytelling.” The Criterion
Collection. 19 October. 2010. Web. 1 May. 2017.
Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro. Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema. Durham, NC: Duke UP,
2005. eBook.
Great essay! Maybe someone knows, why in the movie almost every peasant have his head shaved, like in Chonmage style? This style was mostly for samurais (because fashion and to be more comfortable in a helmet), but there is no info about peasants, why they would wear it like in the movie.
👏
In every fight scene I'm wondering why they don't attack the horses, but maybe horses are so valuable for farm labor and so forth that they wouldn't risk harming them?
Interesting take. Could be a possibility! Someone has to have thought about that before. Maybe there is something online about it.
From what I understand, in order to cut down a horse, u need a really big blade, a blade named horse slashing blade literally, which is not shown in the movie and is usually a war weapon for well equipped army. If a samurai try to cut the horse with ordinary katana, he might be exposed to the rider's follow-up attack.
@@y.b4251 Was this blade used also in the film time period? Can't find a lot of info about Zanbatō because mostly FinalFantasy shows up.
Also peasants in the movie had spears, so a strong pierce into horse throat could be enough? These spears were only bamboo, but all bandits seemed to fear them so much that everyone was running away.
@@WiteXRan I don't think this blade is common in Japan at all. Japan pretty much skipped the knight/horse riding shock troops/invaders from the great steppe period. Hence the need of horse cutting sword was pretty scarce. It's not shown in the movie. But the Kikuchiyo stolen sword should be the nearest stuff to a horse slashing sword.
If I'm understanding it correctly, horse cutting sword was invented by Chinese around Han dynasty, but the need of cutting down the riding enemy was minimum, they beat the Xiong Nu on horseback. But as the steppe enjoyed their most abundant rain around 1000, the warfare changed. Many raiders from different tribes own tons of horse. More significant tribes nation were Jin, Liao and Mongolian. They caused tons of trouble for Song dynasty as most Song dynasty army were heavy infantry. Song managed to fend off both Jin and Liao before being finished by Mongolian empire. One of the significant military strategy at this point was light infantry shock troop. According to some record, Yue Fei (legendary general, executed by emperor for overachieving against Jin) would lead 500 of his soldier, feed them with the best food and wine, having next to non armor to increase mobility and wield a big sword, charge into Jin's riding army as shock troop. The outcome was surprisingly well, they managed to slash through the army, creating an element of surprise against riders.
I guess this is where the horse slashing sword was perfected (and rebranded into zhan ma dao in Chinese, used to called other names). The sword is pretty much the same length as what Japanese pop culture showed, but is way wider. Then after Mongolian won the war against China, they invaded Japan briefly, this should be the time Zanbatou came to need in Japan. Japan were having limited iron, so I guess they reduced the thickness of their version of Zanbatou. The Japanese counter part of this sword should be the longer Odachi (literally long sword).
The Japanese infantry is an interesting thing. I believe they never had shield due to limited resources (iron) and self suicidal honor. Bamboo is a good and cheap alternative for weapon. Pretty much the best and most common self defense weapon for peasants.
The horse better be scared because the PETA would dig Kurosawa's grave for any injured horse, hah. (JK, Filmography reason, can't let the horse died right?)
How do you figure The Seven Samurai inspired Star Wars? Aren't you thinking of Hidden Fortress?
Kurosawa, not Kurozawa.
you cant make an excellent essay on a wonderful movie and call it filler you goofball!
I'm just trying to be a cool kid and act like I don't care :p Thanks for the kind words :)
🎰🎰🎰
I totally love this movie, it feels so amazing to watch
Thanks for Ghost of Tsushima for the movie.
Blah blah blah I bet the horses got injured
So?