Seven Samurai

Set in 16th Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa's epic SEVEN SAMURAI follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to fight for them. However, the poor villagers can merely offer payment in the form of shelter and a daily bowl of rice, and initially only Kambei (Takashi Shimura), a brave elder samurai, and his eager young apprentice, Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), take up their cause. Encountering various nomadic warriors on the streets, they slowly put together his team of swordsmen, recruiting Shichiroji (Daisuke Katt), Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), and Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi). Finally, Kikuchiyo (Toshirt Mifune), a scruffy wanderer who has been trailing them, completes the small band of ronin. However, upon reaching the village, the samurai learn that the farmers fear them as much the enemy. Despite the tensio...

Key Information
Stars		Toshirt Mifune
Actors		Yoshio Inaba
Available Formats		VHS: REMASTERED
Directors		Akira Kurosawa
UPC		037429121726
Genre		Foreign Films
Subgenre		Recommended • Period Piece • Classic Fight Scenes • Samurai • Essential Cinema • Classic • Japanese
MPAA Rating		Not Rated
Release Date		1954
Running Time		3hr 28min
Languages
Original Language		Japanese
DVD Editions
		DVD: 3-Disc Set3hr 27minImage Entertainment, Inc.September 05, 2006Not Rated715515019927
VHS Editions
		VHS3hr 28minHome VisionJuly 28, 1993Not Rated037429068335
Credits
Screenwriter		Shinobu Hashimoto
Professional Reviews
		(08/19/2001, p.4, Roger Ebert): "...Akira Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI is not only a great film in its own right, but the source of a genre that would flow through the rest of the century..."