#7, The Seven Samurai

Look, I watched the Seven Samurai 7th. Aren't I clever?

This move is the shit. The Seven Samurai is easily the greatest action film ever made, and among the best films of any type. Everything that has come after it essentially just imitates Kurosawa's masterpiece, growing progressively worse as the years past. It's kind of Platonic, I suppose; the further action films move away from the one that originated so many staple elements of the genre, the worse they become. It's funny how one of the greatest visual masterpieces of cinema can be grouped into the same genre as the trash we have nowadays.

Kurosawa has a certain style that no other director I've seen can even approach. The worst film I've ever seen that he made, Rhapsody in August, was still fantastic, and The Seven Samurai, in which he's at his best, is breathtaking. In terms of his aesthetic, if you were to take a still of any frame in the entire three hour movie, I guarantee that it would be a masterful photograph. Kurosawa's sense of composition, tones, light, and atmosphere are unparalleled, and he manages to create something deeply moving simply in the way The Seven Samurai looks. Kurosawa pioneered elements in this film that we take for granted today, such as the shot of the bandit horse cresting the hill, the gathering of the band of reluctant heroes at the beginning of the film, and the uncertain relationship between the heroes and those they protect. I don't think anyone else has done them better.

Also after viewing this film I decided Toshiro Mifune was my new favorite actor. His wild and lunatic performance of Kikuchiyo, seeking recognition from the other samurai and to impress the villagers, is layered and touching, demonstrating a character with a massive ego and wild personality that covers his basic insecurities. He plays perfectly off of the subdued Takashi Shimura, as Kambei Shimada, who turns in a marvelously subtle and collected performance as the weary, jaded warrior who simply wants to do something good. They are all supported by a fantastic cast, both of samurai and warriors, preparing themselves for what could be their final days against the onslaught of the raiding bandit horde. Good times indeed.

Highlights: Innovative, beautiful, suspenseful, and engaging. A visual masterpiece, aided by one of the most colorful casts you can ever find. Camera work that is out of this world. Great fight scenes.

Downers: It's very long, which might bother some people. I was incredibly disappointed when a certain one of the villagers died. I would have liked to have seen more of the bandits.

10/10