8 Reasons Why "Seven Samurai" is the Greatest Samurai Movie of All Time
The 1950s are considered the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. The aftermath of World War II and particularly the atomic bomb, and the subsequent American occupation left the country scarred, but filled with inspiration and eagerness to start over. One of the most iconic films of this era is Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" one of the most influential movies of all time, and the basis for a plethora productions, with John Sturges’ “The Magnificent Seven” being a direct adaptation.
This influence became widely known, even at the time, as the film was nominated for two Oscars (Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White), while Kurosawa won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
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Masterful Cinematography
Kurosawa drew influence from John Ford and the classical westerns of Hollywood, and this style found its apogee in "Seven Samurai," particularly in the sweeping landscape shots. However, his own, original style is also quite visible, particularly in the final sequence.
Kurosawa created a new style, as he used telephoto lenses to capture detail for the first time. He also used multiple cameras, each shooting the scene from a different angle, and this allowed him to cut directly from one perspective to the other, without stopping the action. This method used enormous quantities of film, thus being very costly, but Kurosawa preferred for the freedom it gave him to keep the angles he preferred.
One of his particular trademarks, the use of human tides, sweeping down from higher places to lower ones is also present here, and highlight his ability to follow the action, instead of editing it in separate shots. Along with a number of meaningful closeups, and the use of deep focus in order to follow portray multiple actions in the background, simultaneously, the film's cinematography is one of the biggest achievements of world cinema.
8. Outstanding
Director D.W. Griffith used the creation of this movie to experiment with various new methods, bringing the movie to life by using both by using new, complex camera angles and editing techniques. [2]
Akira Kurosaw’s Seven Samurai is a film that encompasses various ideologies in order to allow the audience to understand the lives of Japanese people during the 1600’s. The film delves deep in social issues of the roles of the people within the society, the expectations as well as the obligations within the respected castes and elements within groups of ; suffering, working together, protecting family and working for the better good of the community.
Musui’s Story is the exciting tale of a low class samurai’s life towards the end of the Tokugawa era. Although one would normally imagine a samurai to be a noble illustrious figure, Musui’s Story portrays the rather ignominious life of an unemployed samurai. Nonetheless, this primary account demonstrates the tenacity of samurai values and privileges present at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The social status of samurai had been elevated to such a state that even someone like Musui was easily able to gain influence in everyday affairs with his privileges. Not only that, but he had retained his values as a warrior and still kept great pride for his arts in weaponry.
When I watching this movie, I notice that I felt less separation from the movie. Initially I could not find a reason for that but, soon after I realize that the camera is not static but it wobbling slightly. In most movie, camera does not move and it creates the frame. In the other hand, this movie’s handheld camera type of camera works imitate the human eyesight feeling and make people feels like to experience the event in a movie as a one of the character. In this perspective, do not explain too much about the detail is emphasizing this experience. Consider these things, I really excited and enjoyed couple of scene which are the running through battle field and engaging to the baby. In the every day world, both scene is pretty rare to experience. For the battle field scene, majority of the people have avoiding to be in there so that is rare. The engaging to the baby experience is quite normal event for most people and of course it is grate experience but, in this movie setting, baby is extremely rare and seeing baby is truly miracle event. To emphasize and provide this miracle event, this camera work is perfect to apply.
Kurosawa creates a masterpiece with the Seven Samurai. This film was created in 1954, it is a Japanese film and it has English subtitles. The Seven Samurai is a story about a small farming village in 16th century Japan that is under constant threat from traveling groups of outlaw bandits. The elders that live in the village decide to hire a defense force to protect them from these outlaws. They enlist a variety of samurai for hire and samurai are willing to work for their food. The mission of the seven samurai is to protect the village against almost impossible odds.
Many people often see little similarity between the country of Japan and Europe. However, there are actually several similarities between these two countries. In fact, Reischauer and Jansen note that Feudal Japan had departed so far from East Asian norms that it was more similar to medieval Europe than it was to China. Thus, the knight of Europe and the samurai of Japan despite a lack of contact with one another shared several common elements. This was a result of many similarities social and cultural influences experienced by the two distant countries.
The Japanese warrior, known as the samurai, has played a significant role in Japan's history and culture throughout the centuries. Their ancestors can be traced back to as far as can be remembered. Some stories have become mysterious legends handed down over the centuries. In this report you will learn who the samurai were, their origins as we know them, how they lived and fought and their evolution to today. It will be clear why the samurai stand out as one of the most famous group of warriors of all times.
Akira Kurosawa, legendary Japanese filmmaker who directed films like The Hidden Fortress which was a major inspiration for Star Wars, Yojimbo, Rashomon and many more, but his most well known film, The Seven Samurai is his best movie, it is rank 19 of Top Rated Movies in IMDB, so of course after the release of the film in America, Hollywood remade the film and titled it The Magnificent Seven. Because it is a remake The Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai both have many similarities in terms of the plot, characters, and theme. Ultimately, due to having more originality and better characters, The Seven Samurai is the better film than The Magnificent Seven. The Seven Samurai takes place in 1586, at that period, there was a lot of conflicts between the civilian and the emperor because the Emperor was the leader and had problem keeping peace, the
...successful collaboration of sound, colour, camera positioning and lighting are instrumental in portraying these themes. The techniques used heighten the suspense, drama and mood of each scene and enhance the film in order to convey to the spectator the intended messages.
Samurai Rebellion, a clear demonstration of directing skill. A story focused on a corrupt social power, social protest and a story of characters in a confined society, opposed to freedom. Beginning with the start of the movie we see a subtle hint to the confining details of this world, this is apparent in the structure of the film. Examples would be the castle walls, built to attack the low. The frames are shaped by the architecture including pillars, doors and eaves. In the end of the film, the main characters are preparing for the final showdown, they then begin to strip the house to its core elements, this is hint they are indicating that they are visually as well as thematically getting down to basics.
Drawing on pictorial traditions as venerable as sumi-e (black and white ink brush painting), yamato-e (landscape painting in the Japanese style), and emaki-mono (narrative picture scrolls), the Japanese cinema was characterized by a pictorial elegance not seen anywhere else in the world. A propensity for long takes and long shots gave many of the films a stately, leisurely, contemplative pacing that appealed to many young film critics and filmmakers. The creation of mood, of tone, was similarly a unique property of the Japanese cinema. Combined with many theatrical elements, the films presented themselves as the product of a culture that seemed far from the one that waged fierce war on the world. The stylistic experiments of Kurosawa (one of the rare directors who were as comfortable with dynamic montage as he was with long takes) and Ozu (a filmmaker virtually unique, but not sui generis, with his graphic matches, narrative ellipses, dramatic de-emphasis, and singular thematic concern) grew out of a prolific, varied, and exciting cinematic period. (Grant p.
Cinematography, if used properly, adds immensely to the action and effects of a film. Thelma and Louise greatly benefited from panning shots, reactions shots, and dissolve. To the untrained eye these effects go completely unnoticed and unappreciated but to those who do appreciate them know that because of cinematography Thelma and Louise is a masterpiece.
The film takes place shortly after the civil war and on the brink of the gilded age with Nathan Algren being the hero. Algren is hired due to his experience in fighting Native Americans. It is apparent throughout the film that Algren is troubled by the atrocities that he and his fellow Americans committed towards the indigenous. Thus being the fight that witnesses the pure evils of America. The Samurai are similar to the Native Americans in several ways. They both have simple ways of life, and they both were fearless in battle. During the gilded age, men and America grew to be concerned on becoming industrialized and a dominate world power. There, the need for world domination, money and power caused for greed and ruthlessness to overpower the vicinity of, what was once glorious America. The Americans during this time, were known as one of the greatest armies, due to the fact that they had overcome adversity and fierce adversaries from their past. Their ability to do so came from their innovations in technolo...
Due to the film’s quality and interest it became an award winning film. The film had excellent sound effects such as the battle scenes. The image quality was also outstanding; it used many different angles to depict the actor to make you feel involved in the scenes. In the action scenes the most common viewpoint used was a close up shot which allows the audience to see and feel the intensity of the scene. The second viewpoint mostly used was a tracking shot due to the actors c...
The films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa have had wide ranging influence over contemporary films, with his ronin films Seven Samurai and Yojimbo influencing countless westerns and mob movies. Arguably, however, Rashomon has been the most instrumental of all Kurosawa’s films because it asks a question that lies near the heart of all cinema: what is reality? Today, any consumer of television or cinema has seen various permutations of the plot of Rashomon numerous times, probably without realizing. In the film, a rape and consequent murder are told five different times, by a woodcutter (Takashi Shimura) who seems to have witnessed the event, a bandit (Toshiro Mifune) who committed the rape, the wife of a samurai (Machiko Kyo) who was raped, and the ghost of the samurai (Masayuki Mori), who is channeled by a medium after his murder. In each telling, the viewer is presented with five realities that, through the use of various frame stories, are totally incompatible with one another. Throughout, Rashomon is a study in simplicity. The beautiful yet frugal cinematography of Kazuo Miyagawa and the minimalist plot, skillfully directed by Kurosawa, force the viewer to contend with two dissonant notions: that everything they have seen is real, but that none of it can be true.