Comments on: 5 Things You May Not Know About Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai’

By: gmgw

gmgw — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:37:42 +0000

Re point 4: The complete version of "Seven Samurai" was in wide circulation in North America decades before 2002, both in theatrical and home formats. I first saw the film in 1973, have seen it theatrically at least fifteen times since, and I have never seen the truncated version (I once walked out of a short-version screening, a few minutes in– because it was dubbed). Unfortunately, Donald Richie has never updated the information re the availability of the complete version in his otherwise-definitive "Films of Akira Kurosawa" (despite my badgering him to do so, more than once– he apologized, gracious man that he is), and his analysis of the film, based on the severely cut version that was the only one available when the book was first published in 1965, is therefore sadly incomplete.

By: michael

michael — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:37:42 +0000

Some nits to pick:

They Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945) is certainly a samurai picture. (At least to the same degree that The Hidden Fortress is a samurai film.)

In point 4, the reference to the Criterion version of the film is incredibly misleading. While it's true that they released the original cut on DVD somewhere around the timeframe mentioned, they had released the same cut on laserdisc in the mid-'80's. It's completely disingenuous to say that the original cut is FINALLY available.

The title is not "THE Seven Samurai" as stated in point 5, but simply "Seven Samurai", as stated everywhere else. The lack of the article is important, underscoring the generic nature of the characters, and not singling them out as a specific group.

By: StephenM

StephenM — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:37:42 +0000

"Kurosawa had never made a samurai movie before this point." So Rashomon isn't a samurai movie then?

By: evilnik

evilnik — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:37:42 +0000

brilliant article! thanks!

By: Nik Grape

Nik Grape — Fri, 13 May 2016 12:37:42 +0000

This film is so good it hurts. If there was a body of awards eligible to nominate the top 5 films of all time, surely Seven Samurai would get a nomination. Thanks Oliver!