The Seven Samurai
From Karate, Kungfu, Wrestling, Mixed Fighting Information Source
The Seven Samurai or Shichinin no Samurai is one of the greatest Jidaigeki and Films ever made in the history of world cinema. It was co-written and directed by the great Akira Kurosawa. The film is about a war-torn village in the 16th century Japan that was regularly raided by bandits. Consequently, the people from the village seeked the aid of a group of seven samurais who will willingly work for them in replace of rice. [edit] SummarySet in 16th Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa's epic The Seven Samurai follows the plight of a defenseless farming village that lives in constant fear of marauding bandits. The farmers know that when their crops are harvested, the thugs will attack, so four men go to town in hopes of employing samurai to fight for them. However, the poor villagers can merely offer payment in the form of shelter and a daily bowl of rice, and initially only Kambei (Takashi Shimura), a brave elder samurai, and his eager young apprentice, Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), take up their cause. Encountering various nomadic warriors on the streets, they slowly put together his team of swordsmen, recruiting Shichiroji (Daisuke Katô), Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), and Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi). Finally, Kikuchiyo (Toshirô Mifune), a scruffy wanderer who has been trailing them, completes the small band of ronin. However, upon reaching the village, the samurai learn that the farmers fear them as much the enemy. Despite the tensions, Kambei and his men slowly train the peasants to defend their village. Eventually the warriors launch a preemptive strike against the bandits, and begin a series of intense conflicts that culminates in a rain-soaked final battle--without a doubt, one of the most stunning sequences in cinema history. |
