Something Else: Seven Samurai

Random thoughts, of random lengths, on random films

Directed by Akira Kurosawa 
Written by Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni
Starring Toshirô Mifune (Kikuchiyo) and Takashi Shimura (Kambei Shimada)
Cinematography by Asakazu Nakai
Edited by Akira Kurosawa 
Released in 1954 (Japan) and 1956 (USA)

Kurosawa's Warring States Period epic has been copied since the moment it was first released. The "ragtag group of heroes takes on impossible odds" scenario has been used in everything from westerns (The Magnificent Seven), war films (The Dirty Dozen), comedies (Three Amigos), and cartoons (A Bug’s Life). The  characters created by Kurosawa and co. and imbued with life by the film's actors have been appropriated innumerable times. An overreaching lawyer could sue Star Wars for plagiarism as many of its central cast has an one-to-one correlations in Seven Samurai. Obi-Wan Kenobi as the wizened leader = Kambei, Luke Skywalker as the naïve hero = Katsushiro, Han Solo as the reluctant hero full of bravado = Kikuchiyo, and Boba Fett as the silent assassin = Kyuzo. 

Seven Samurai is the wellspring from which all of modern action cinema flows out of, and, despite the endless imitators, it remains sweeping, thrilling, moving, and utterly human (as if I needed to tell you that). As epic as the film eventually becomes, it never forgets the full-bodied people who populate it or the time it takes place in. From the outside, Seven Samurai may seem like an uncomplicated, white hats vs. black hats story, but every character has intriguing moral wrinkles and the situation always remains frighteningly desperate. 

The titular septuplet of warriors all have complicated, sometimes never-defined reasons for agreeing to the peasants' insane mission. A sense of altruism seems to drive Kambei, along with a possible desire to go out with one last good deed. Katsushiro is the most simplistic, agreeing mostly out of youthful idealism. The other samurai join up because they're attracted Kambei's character, want to test their skill, or need a few bowls of rice. Kikuchiyo is fueled by a combustible mix of pride, a need to prove his samurai bona fides, and sympathy for the farmers' situation. Both parties make tough, sometimes distancing, choices. Kambei forces a few breakaway villagers back into line by sword edge, and some secret food and liquor stores mysteriously show up before the ultimate confrontation. 

The violence is never cathartic or enjoyable. Even the bandits, who are ostensibly the villains, die messy deaths. Most of them are dispatched by bamboo spear (which really looks like an awful way to die), shot in the back, or burned to death. The way the bandits are treated gives the film a little extra heft, and instead of being a standard action picture it becomes a commentary on the brutal nature of ancient Japan.

After the final battle scene, Seven Samurai ends on a downbeat note. Half of the heroes have been slain, and Katsushiro, driven mad by battle-lust, collapses into tears once he realizes it's all over. Following a quick scene showing the farmers happily planting and singing, the three remaining swordsmen realize they're no longer needed, accept their peripatetic nature, and ruminate on what their victory truly means. All while the graves of their comrades loom over them.