Seven Samurai Review: The Template for the Action Ensemble
9.5/10 — Seven Samurai (1954)
Pros
- Brilliantly drawn ensemble
- Landmark action in the final battle
- Mifune's electric performance
Cons
- Three-hour-plus runtime
- Limited female roles
A village threatened by bandits hires seven masterless samurai to defend it. Akira Kurosawa’s film runs well over three hours and has been remade and borrowed from for seventy years, from The Magnificent Seven to A Bug’s Life.
What works
The first half carefully assembles the team, giving each samurai a distinct personality, from the wise leader Kambei to the boisterous Kikuchiyo, played with thrilling energy by Toshiro Mifune. The climactic battle in the rain and mud is one of the greatest action sequences ever filmed, and Kurosawa’s compositions are stunning.
Where it falters
Its length can be daunting, and the female characters are given limited agency.
Verdict
A towering, endlessly influential epic that is also surprisingly funny and moving.
