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Seven Samurai
Subtitled In: English |
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Background Information: Seven Samurai
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The Seven Samurai is a movie by Akira Kurosawa starring Takashi Shimura & Toshiro Mifune. The film takes place in war-ridden 16th century Japan, where a village of farmers look for ways to ward off a band of marauding robbers. Since they do not know how to fight, they hire seven ronin to fight for them. Katsushiro a clowning would-be samurai who soon proves his worth to the others. The story unfolds gradually & the heroes are not the cardboard cutouts popular in some action movies. There is a chemistry developing between the villagers & their helpers & a fairly continuous role reversal. Posters Of Seven SamuraiEditorial DVD Review
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Unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture, Seven Samurai has inspired countless films modelled after its basic premise. But Akira Kurosawas classic 1954 action drama has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, & dynamic character development. The story is set in the 1600s, when the residents of a small Japanese village are seeking protection against repeated attacks by a band of marauding thieves. Offering mere handfuls of rice as payment, they hire seven unemployed ronin , including a boastful swordsman who is actually a farmers son desperately seeking glory & acceptance. The samurai get acquainted with but remain distant from the villagers, knowing that their assignment may prove to be fatal. The climactic battle with the raiding thieves remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed. Its poetry in hyperactive motion & one of Kurosawas crowning cinematic achievements. This is not a film that can be well served by any synopsis; it must be seen to be appreciated & belongs on the short list of any definitive home-video library.
Biography: Takashi Shimura
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| Takashi Shimura is one of the great Japanese actors of the last century. He played the indomitable leader with a strong sense of his own mortality in The Seven Samurai, the dying bureaucrat in Ikiru, the woodcutter in Rashomon & the scientist in Godzilla, just to name a few of his many varied performances.
Posters Of Seven Samurai Editors Choice: Seven Samurai, Drunken Angel, Ikiru, View DVDology |
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