Released- 1954  

Runtime- 3hrs 27mins  

Country of Origin- Japan 

Director- Akira Kurosawa  

Seven Samurai is a film which has gone onto influence and has inspired numerous later films and creators since its release over seventy years ago. It has inspired later icons of cinema such as scenes and ideas in films from the “John Wick” series, to Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs” to the multi-media behemoth that is Star Wars- which even lifts a few lines of dialogue from “Seven Samurai”. For all its impact then, it doesn’t make a great fit for the casual viewer with its runtime of three and a half hours. That's so long it includes an intermission. However, this classic of cinema is considered such for a reason and most certainly deserves the time it asks of viewers and cinema audiences.  

 It begins with some peasant farmers walking up a hill to check on their crops, which are soon due for harvest, and they hear something that seems like the worst possible scenario. They hear two bandit scouts discussing pillaging and robbing the farmers’ village after their harvest. They warn the town and as their only hope, they send some of their men into the nearby town to try find any samurai who would be willing to help them defend their village despite them only being able to give them three meals a day in return.  

The villagers' plight and the gradual creation of the eponymous group of Samurai then go onto try and resist the looming danger of the bandits’ attack on the farmers’ village. This film contains a battle of epic proportions, with no fighting left to be done off screen, with powerful emotions and amazing cinematography elevating it to one of the most memorable of its kind.  

 With this in mind, I hope that you consider the cinematic masterpiece that is “Seven Samurai” worthy of a viewing. This is best seen in a cinema with its huge screens amplifying the film’s grand scale but apart from that it can easily be found on streaming services or on Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection. It may ask for dedication with its runtime and scope but Akira Kurosawa will not disappoint with what is considered to be his magnum opus.