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Information

A.k.a.
Seven Samurai
Year
1954
Runtime
207 min.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Genres
Action, Drama
Rating *
8.6
Votes *
236,282
Checks
29,633
Favs
4,130
Dislikes
125
Favs/checks
13.9% (1:7)
Favs/dislikes
33:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. K.'s avatar

    K.

    Andrei Tarkovsky on Akira Kurosawa & "Seven Samurai" - "The main thing is his modern characters, modern problems, and the modern method of studying life. That's self-evident. He never set himself the task of copying the life of samurai of a certain historical period. One perceives his Middle Ages without any exoticism. He is such a profound artist, he shows such psychological connections, such a development of characters and plot-lines, such a vision of the world, that his narrative about the Middle Ages constantly makes you think about today's world. You feel that you somehow already know all of this. It's the principle of recognition. That's the greatest quality of art according to Aristotle. When you recognize something personal in the work, something sacred, you experience joy. Kurosawa is also interesting for his social analysis of history. If you compare The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, which share the same plot, it is especially visible. Kurosawa's historicism is based on characters. Moreover, these are not conventional characters, but ones which issue from the circumstances of the protagonists' life. Each samurai has his own individual fate, although each possesses nothing except the ability to use a sword; and, not wanting to do anything else because of his pride, each finds himself serving peasants to defend them from the enemy. There is a text of pure genius at the end of the film, remember, over the grave, when they plant rice: samurai come and go, but the nation remains. That's the idea. They are like the wind, blown this way and that. Only the peasants remain on the earth." 7 years 12 months ago
  2. Dieguito's avatar

    Dieguito

    Masterpiece from Kurosawa. Amazing acting performances from Toshirô Mifune and Takashi Shimura. Great soundtrack and cinematography! One of my favorites! 12 years 6 months ago
  3. MrArmistice's avatar

    MrArmistice

    Frankly, I'm very surprised by the comments here. I'm not going to change any minds on here, but I will say that it's length is justified in its ability to build a complete character arc for each character, and even many of the bit players. Taking the time to ensure that your audience can identify and empathize with the characters is something most action movies fail to do. 13 years 1 month ago
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In 36 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #1 in Empire's The 100 Best Films of World Cinema
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  2. This movie ranks #2 in The Criterion Collection
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    The Criterion Collection

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  3. This movie ranks #2 in IMDb's 1950s Top 50
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    IMDb's 1950s Top 50

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  4. This movie ranks #2 in Kinema Junpo's Top 200 Japanese Films
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  5. This movie ranks #3 in Galloway's Samurai Film Handbook & Companion
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  6. This movie ranks #5 in iCheckMovies's 1950s Top 100
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  7. This movie ranks #7 in Halliwell's Top 1000: The Ultimate Movie Countdown
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    Halliwell's Top 1000: Th…

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  8. This movie ranks #8 in Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies
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    Emma Beare's 501 Must-Se…

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  9. This movie ranks #9 in Time Out's The 101 Best Action Movies Ever Made
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    Time Out's The 101 Best …

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  10. This movie ranks #10 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
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  11. This movie ranks #11 in IMDb's Action Top 50
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    IMDb's Action Top 50

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  12. This movie ranks #12 in BIFF's Asian Cinema 100
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    BIFF's Asian Cinema 100

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  13. This movie ranks #17 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
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  14. This movie ranks #23 in IMDb's Top 250
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    IMDb's Top 250

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  15. This movie ranks #23 in IMDb's Drama Top 50
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    IMDb's Drama Top 50

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  16. This movie ranks #24 in FOK!'s Film Top 250
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    FOK!'s Film Top 250

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  17. This movie ranks #24 in Stanley Kubrick, Cinephile
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  18. This movie ranks #27 in ASC's 100 Milestone Films in Cinematography of the 20th Century
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  19. This movie ranks #35 in Taschen's 100 All-Time Favorite Movies
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  20. This movie ranks #49 in Rotten Tomatoes's Top 100 Movies of All Time
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  21. This movie ranks #50 in Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time
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    50
  22. This movie ranks #57 in Cahiers du Cinéma's 100 Films for an Ideal Cinematheque
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  23. This movie ranks #63 in FilmTotaal Forum's Top 100
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    FilmTotaal Forum's Top 1…

    63
  24. This movie ranks #64 in Leonard Maltin's 100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century
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    Leonard Maltin's 100 Mus…

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  25. This movie ranks #96 in Tom Vick's Asian Cinema: A Field Guide
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  26. This movie ranks #96 in Reddit Top 250
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    Reddit Top 250

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  27. This movie ranks #127 in Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films
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  28. This movie ranks #139 in Roger Ebert's Great Movies
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  29. This movie ranks #192 in iCheckMovies's Most Favorited
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  30. This movie ranks #200 in Mark Cousins's The Story of Film: An Odyssey
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  31. This movie ranks #235 in BFI's 360 Classic Feature Films Project
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  32. This movie ranks #271 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
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  33. This movie ranks #489 in David Thomson's Have You Seen?
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  34. This movie ranks #765 in The New York Times's Book of Movies
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    The New York Times's Boo…

    765
  35. This movie ranks #804 in The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die
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  36. This movie ranks #816 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
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    816
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