Seven Samurai
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seven Samurai is a 1954 epic film directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba. It drew a wide audience and shaped its genre.
Plot
Seven Samurai (Japanese: 七人の侍, Hepburn: Shichinin no Samurai) is a 1954 Japanese epic jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Starring Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima and Yukiko Shimazaki, it tells the story of a village of farmers who hire seven samurai to help defend their village from bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops. Influential in world cinema, Seven Samurai is considered to be one of the greatest films ever made.
Kurosawa and Hashimoto researched the Edo period for stories to adapt and came across an account of samurai defending farmers from bandits.
Production
Written by Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni, the film was produced by TOHO. Fumio Hayasaka composed the score. Asakazu Nakai handled the cinematography. The film runs 207 minutes. The crew and editing refined every shot.
Reception
On a budget of $2,000,000, Seven Samurai grossed $105,000,000 worldwide at the box office. A critic consensus praised its screenplay and score.
Legacy
Its legacy endures through a remake, a sequel and a lasting franchise; later cinema cites its influence and symbolism.
See also
References
- "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time". topfilms100. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. Broadway Books.
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