Seven Samurai

Pros: deep story and characters, impressive presentation and format, ground-breaking, action-packed and emotional

Cons: none

The Bottom Line: This is an extremely well constructed film that combines a highly developed story with superior directing and impressive acting. Highly Recommended.

Review: Seven Samurai is an epic tale of seven heroes that stand up to fight for a town of farmers under threat of attack from 40 bandits. These bandits come through on a yearly basis, taking the crops (rice) and killing those who would resist them. ...

Pros: Mifune, the other 6 Samurai, Kurosawa's mastery of the medium

Cons: Some may find the running time gruesome (I didn't)

The Bottom Line: A timeless classic that gets better with each viewing (A rather banal Bottom Line that. Who am I? Richard Roeper?)

Review: [This is my ever-so-late entry in Ingysdayoff's "Foreign Film" write-off, the instructions of which were terribly simple: "Choose a foreign film (a film not of your native land), and review the damned thing!" Easy...

Pros: Great character development, perfectly paced storytelling

Cons: Dated production

The Bottom Line: Essential Viewing: Seven Samurai is a world cinema classic that inspired several Western directors and a US remake.

Review: In 1954 Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) was the largest single undertaking by a Japanese director at that time. It was a monumental movie at 3 ½ hours long, and inspired the American remake The Magnificent Seven and several other projects. It ...

Pros: Great story, interesting characters, fine performances, and thrilling action scenes

Cons: Long, subtitles (if that annoys you), and a somewhat over-the-top performance by Mifune

The Bottom Line: One of the greatest action films of all-time and the origin of its genre

Review: According to the Internet Movie Database, Akira Kurosawa’s grand epic The Seven Samurai (1954), is currently the 7th most popular film all-time. That is the highest ranking non-English language film and the only one in the top twenty in this ...

Pros: Kurosawa's Direction, Script, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Music, Action, Momentum, & Cast.

Cons: None!

The Bottom Line: The Seven Samurai is a Powerful, Intense, Epic Masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa & Company.

Review: While it's claimed by many, including several filmmakers, that Japanese director Akira Kurosawa had made some of the greatest films ever made including numerous masterpieces. It's clear that it's hard to pick just one. One of those films that is often ...

Pros: acting, good cast, scenic, good story line, interesting characters, feudal era at it's pinnacle

Cons: can be slow, character development is not similar to the speed of light

Review: Ever watched the old western classic, Magnificent Seven? Well, if you have, you'll probably like this movie. As a matter of fact, the Magnificent Seven was based on Seven Samurai's story. The Seven Samurai, a samurai classic is a story of honor, bravery,...

Pros: Stunning cinematography, great performances, incredible directorial vision

Cons: The film's length will alienate many viewers

The Bottom Line: One of the finest--and most personal--cinematic epics ever constructed, Seven Samurai shows Kurosawa at the peak of his directorial abilities

Review: "Farmers are stingy, foxy, blubbering, mean, stupid and murderous! God da*n! That's what they are! But then, who made them such beasts? You did! You samurai did it! You burn their villages! Destroy their farms! Steal their food! Force them to...

Pros: Influential, beautifully shot, directed, and acted.

Cons: NONE

The Bottom Line: Highly influential, and greatly important film. A must see. Look of the Criterion Collection DVD.

Review: Welcome to The Samurai Papers Part II: Seven Samurai. To read the first review in this series go HERE.

In this review we will continue with discussing how samurai movies have influenced modern films in the...

Pros: Incredible camera work and cinematography, outstanding direction, delightful and provocative cast

Cons: Isn't long enough...

The Bottom Line: Seven Samurai should be appreciated for its' stylish, mocking sensibility. After you've seen Kurosawa's masterpiece, you'll never see films quite the same way.

Review: I must first admit, before beginning this review, that until I saw Seven Samurai, I wasn't too keen on the entire Japanese film culture. I've never had a problem with subtitles or foreign films, in fact quite the contrary. However, I simply wasn't very...

Pros: Good action, humour, and drama.... and Toshiro Mifune.

Cons: Very long.

The Bottom Line: One of the great epics, and one of Kurosawa's greatest as well.

Review: There's certainly a lot of kung-fu movies, samurai movies, and other B-movies of that type. But that doesn't quite explain the special position of many of Akira Kurosawa's films, which definitely are not B-movies, or cheesy adventures, but "real"...