Seven Samurai ranks among the greatest adventure stories in motion-picture history. The Japanese epic was directed by Akira Kurosawa and released in 1954.
Seven Samurai takes place in Japan during the 1500’s. A small farming village is annually invaded by a band of roaming bandits. In desperation, the villagers hire seven samurai (professional soldiers) to defend them against the bandits. The warriors use their fighting skills and their wits to defeat the marauders. The film mixes brilliant and violent action sequences with probing character studies, suspense, and humor. It was the first of several internationally acclaimed samurai movies directed by Kurosawa. The other films include Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962).
The original version of Seven Samurai ran more than three hours, but shortened versions have been issued in Western countries. The large cast was headed by Toshiro Mifune, who starred in many Kurosawa films. Seven Samurai was remade in Hollywood as the Western The Magnificent Seven (1960). The 1960 film was remade in 2016 as another Hollywood film of the same name.
