Seven Samurai (1954) - The Criterion Collection

Synopsis

One of the most beloved movie epics of all time, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. This three-hour ride—featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura—seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope.

Cast

Kikuchiyo	Toshiro Mifune
Kambei	Takashi Shimura
Shino	Keiko Tsushima
Wife	Yukio Shimazaki
Farmer Manzo	Kamatari Fujiwara
Shichiroji	Daisuke Kato
Katsushiro	Ko Kimura
Heihachi	Minoru Chiaki
Kyuzo	Seiji Miyaguchi
Farmer Mosuke	Yoshio Kosugi
Farmer Yohei	Bokuzen Hidari
Gorobei	Yoshio Inaba

Credits

Director	Akira Kurosawa
Screenplay	Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni and Shinobu Hashimoto
Producer	Sojiro Motoki
Cinematography	Asakazu Nakai
Music	Fumio Hayasaka
Editing	Hiroshi Nezu

Disc Features

SPECIAL EDITION THREE-DISC SET:

All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer
Two audio commentaries: one by film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie; the other by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck
A 50-minute documentary on the making of Seven Samurai, part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
My Life in Cinema, a two-hour video conversation between Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima produced by the Directors Guild of Japan
Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences, a new documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that impacted Kurosawa’s masterpiece
Theatrical trailers and teaser
Gallery of rare posters and behind-the scenes and production stills
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Kenneth Turan, Stuart Galbraith, Arthur Penn, and Sidney Lumet and an interview with Toshiro Mifune

From the Current

The Hours and Times: Kurosawa and the Art of Epic Storytelling

by Kenneth Turan Sep 5, 2006

The great German composer Richard Strauss was conducting his three-hour-plus Der Rosenkavalier when—or so the story goes—he turned to his concertmaster and said, “My, this is a long opera.”“But maestro,” the man replied, aghast, “you wrote it.”“Yes,” the imperturbable Strauss...

A Time of Honor:
Seven Samurai and Sixteenth-Century Japan

by Philip Kemp Sep 5, 2006

There’s an old Chinese curse that runs, “May you live in interesting times.” And sixteenth-century Japan was certainly an interesting time, from a dramatic point of view—which is undoubtedly why Akira Kurosawa chose it as Seven Samurai’s setting. But those who lived in that period might...

Kurosawa’s Early Influences

by Peggy Chiao Sep 5, 2006

The themes, symbolism, and aesthetic forms of Akira Kurosawa’s films owe their origins to the ideas and sensibilities that captured his imagination as a young man. They include Marxism, which caught the attention of the Japanese intelligentsia in the twenties and thirties; classical Russian novels...

Seven Samurai

by David Ehrenstein Nov 23, 1999

Breathtaking, fastmoving, and overflowing with a delightfully self-mocking sense of humor, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is one of the most popular and influential Japanese films ever made. Released in 1954, this rip-snorting action-adventure epic about a sixteenth-century farm community...