AfroPixFlix:

This is a timeless movie. What I liked best about it was the accompanying commentary by Michael Jeck. If you ever want to understand the difference between a ?wipe,? ?dissolve? or a ?fade,? and how each subtly conveys a director?s psychological punctuation for a movie, turn on the commentary as you enjoy the movie. You can still follow the action (since it?s subtitled) without missing a thing. Everything in this movie is controlled...from the tilt of the shadows to the children who run around in the background during scripted windstorms, and it all flows naturally. The length of this movie is no problem, and seeing it, you?ll appreciate the works of other renowned directors who were students of Kurosawa, including Francis Ford Coppola and I think Stephen Spielberg. You actually feel compassion for the various characters that interact on numerous levels, and Kurosawa even made it a point to provide depth of character to the ?bad guys,? even though they appear only at the beginning and the end of this great film. Seeing this every once and a while will help train your eyes and ears to experience movies as great directors do.

Chopping Guy Birthday Hat:

I've often heard this film called the greatest film ever made, and it would be tough to say otherwise. Kurosawa's direction is so self-assured and masterful that at 3 hours 26 minutes long this film feels like it flies by. Brilliant signature performances by Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. Epic in every sense of the word. I wish I could give it an extra star to distinguish it a little from almost-as-good Kurosawa classics like Rashomon, Throne Of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, High And Low, and Ran. If you haven't seen Seven Samurai, do yourself a favor.

AM_NYC:

I don't think I can say much that has'nt already been said about this movie. So I'll try to keep this concise. A lot is said in this movie with few or no words. The acting is very raw, but I feel all the characters are larger than life and each one speaks to a different perspective on life, something like the 7 stages of life as Shakespeare did before. Watch this movie with a discerning eye. There's much to be savored with every scene... all 3.45 hours of it :o)

Rtaylor32:

The Seven Samurai is a daunting movie to write about. It deserves its classic status and anyone who watches it will be rewarded through repeated viewings. I myself thought the movie was OK after my first viewing but had my eyes opened when I watched the film with the Criterion Collection commentary track. The film is deceptively simple a farming village decide to hire samurai to protect them from raiding bandits. The seven samurai spend the last half of the movie fighting the bandits. It seems simple but Kurosawa demonstrates his cinematic prowess on every scene. He controls every aspect of his film - nothing falls outside his grasp. Not the sun, not the winds, not the rain. The director uses everything at his disposal to serve the themes of the film. Unlike many films of this type that shows battle as exercise of complex choreography; the fighting in the Seven Samurai is brutal not ballet. It is realistic and all the more human and real.

Supercords:

I often complain about older films, especially really old black and white films, being over-acted and crappy. This Japanese gem, however, was excellent. I realize I?m like the zillionth person to say that, but given my record of hating old movies that everyone else says are ?classic?, it should tell you something if even I think it?s good. While watching, you can list off dozens of movies that used this as their source material. It?s ridiculously ahead of its time. I wouldn?t call it perfect, but definitely worth the 3 ½ hours or so run time. Rating: B+

thrash or die:

This has to be one of the best the movies ever made. I can name dozens of films that have been influenced by it. Its a long movie but it never feels slow paced. Really holds up for being over 50 years old.

crewark:

Akira Kurosawa made "Seven Samurai" because he wanted to make a real "jidai-geki," a real period-film that would present the past as meaningful, while also being an entertaining film. Kurosawa considered "Rashomon," the film rightfully credited with making the West aware of the Japanese cinema, with being neither. But in his attempt to make a truly "realistic" film, Kurosawa redefined the conflict at the heart of Japanese films. Before "Seven Samurai" this conflict was that of love versus duty, where the central character is compelled by fate to sacrifice what he loves in the name of duty. In "Seven Samurai" the focus remains on duty, yet the conflict is now between the real and the pretended. Calling yourself a samurai does not make you one, something proven time and time again in the film, from the test of skill turned deadly between Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi) and the tall samurai to the first appearance of Kikuchiyo (Toshirô Mifune), with his stolen pedigree. Like Katshushiro (Ko Kimura), the youngster who wants to learn from the master, Kambei (Takashi Shimura), the audience is educated as to the true nature of the samurai.

movie watchers:

The Criterion Collection usually gives movies their due treatment in my experience, and thus Seven Samurai stands as the model for how all other DVDs should be done. It is one of the best movies ever filmed, and this is one of the best DVD treatments ever produced. On the film- What more can be said? You can see from other reviews that everything about this movie is the best there is. The acting, particularly from Mifune, is enough to take you from laughing to tears and back in moments. Kurosawa's directing is a model for how films should be made. The music is fantastic. This is just one of the best movies there has ever been, all around. The DVD- Not only is the film restored and enhanced and all that jazz, but it's Michael Jenks' commentary that stars here. He gives you everything from historical perspective to sometimes frame-by-frame analysis of how perfectly controlled and directed this movie is. Like Kurosawa's movie, Jenks' commentary rarely wastes any time at all, constantly doing something meaningful to the viewer. The only disclaimer I'd make regarding this film is that it has a long run time. You truly don't feel the runtime as everything moves at a great pace, and every single frame is critical to the piece, but this film contains an intermission and you'll want to use it. Otherwise, viewing this film will almost certainly make you want to purchase it, because you don't know what "masterpiece" means in terms of cinema until you've seen this movie.

BunnyKing:

This movie is so powerful and excellent that it's a wonder it doesn't get more recognition in the states (i.e. air time on regular television). This film has inspired so many other countless movies, as well as played inspiration to countless other people. At first, you might think the acting is a little over the top with a few of the characters until you realize this is exactly how it's supposed to be as each character offers a unique "ability" or foil to the plot. The story itself is amazing and moving as well. Where would our modern war movies be without this? Where would our action films be without this? And the deeper connotations herein, so eloquently displayed in the final scene, are so powerful that it takes your breath away. This is truly a masterpiece, and one more reason Kurosawa is such a master of film. Well worth watching, and don't let the 3h28m length scare you off; it goes by fast and pays off.

lastliberal:

You just can't add enough praise for Akira Kurosawa and for this film. It is a cinematic masterpiece that affects many movies made since. It certainly is one of the greatest of all times. Everyone is familiar with the approaching band of riders coming into view as they crest a hilltop. This is the first film in which it was used. This is the first modern action movie. Certain elements in this movie are banded together for the first time by Kurosawa to produce a film that is brilliant in it's cinematography and costuming and sets. Sure, it's long at over three hours, but that gives us time to really get to know the characters and feel pain when they die. Unlike it's successor, The Magnificent Seven, the motivations of the samurai are not clear, and we are left to surmise why they would take a job that pays nothing. That is the magic of this film. It certainly belongs in the queue of anyone that calls themselves a movie lover.

Harry Badface:

This is the epitome of must see film. If you are the type of person who hates reading subtitles, turn them off and watch the story unfold. Incredible acting and rich visuals unfold the desperate situation these farmers are in, and the plight of the samurai who defend them for nearly nothing, while being feared and mistrusted through the entire ordeal. Please watch this one soon.

DaveMagus:

"Seven Samurai" is a classic, not because the snobbish cognoscenti say it is but because it it truly a great film. Oh, it's got all the hallmarks of a "snobs gotta loce it" film: it's foreign, subtitled, black and white, a period piece, and considerably longer than, say, "Paul Blart, Mall Cop." Any two of these characteristics can doom a film to art house oblivion, to be seen only as a class assignment in "Cinema 101" at the local community college. What saves "Seven Samurai" from this fate, luckily, is the story and the pacing of the film. The basic story: a village in 16th century Japan is set upon by bandits who threaten to return following the harvest to steal all the crops. Seeing no assistance from the government, and having little resources themselves, the village hire seven masterless samurai (ronin) to defend the village. The samurai agree, and in the process of preparing for the coming battle become a part of the community. Here Kurasawa's story could have become mundane and uninteresting. Instead, the samurai are at once part of the community but remain outside of it in significant ways. The medieval Japanese class system is in full play here, and Kurasawa masterfully intermingles the human interaction and social restrictions throughout the film. The film is paced in a manner that does not bore modern audiences (though anyone expecting Guy Ritchie-like actions will be disappointed). Unlike the molasses-like flow of "Throne of Blood," or Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" (both released three years later in 1957), "Seven Samurai" is given just the right amount of space to develop to story and build tension without so much space that the viewer wanders. "Seven Samurai" is perhaps not the most accessible Kurasawa film I've seen -- that designation would go to "Stray Dogs" at the moment, though I have more yet to see -- but it is a great introduction nonetheless. Recommended.

Johnny 5:

Didn't get the 2nd disc either. Very disappointing. Don't order this DVD.

Maximo Hemingway:

Although this was not my first foreign film I had ever seen my first impressions with any foreign films are my inability to multitask between the sub-text and the visuals. When that happens it turns out to be a very bad movie. It pains me to even admit this but when it comes down to the core of any foreign film if I can lose that blur feeling between keeping track of the sub-text and the movie itself I?m drawn into the story. The Seven Samurai stands out in its ability to pull you in and take you on that journey deep within the stories context. Never mind it?s got sub-text this movies is amazing at every level. I could have watched it with out the English sub-text. The seven Samurai is with out a doubt one of the finest action movies ever made for cinema.

Gav:

The word of the day, boys and girls is, classic. Can you say CLASSIC? I knew you could! It clocks in at a whopping 3.5 hours but it?s all worth it. Does film making get any better than this? Probably not! I mean come on! Look at the rest of the reviews! You think all these people could be wrong?