Why the pop quiz? Because Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, or Shichinin No Samurai, in it's original Japanese, is an opopanax. It's long. It's old. It can be harsh. It's incredibly difficult to describe this utterly engrossing 3.5 hr trip into feudal Japan.
Number one, dude, it is picture perfect. I have never been so glad a movie was black and white in my life. Nearly every shot could (and should) be a print. The filming style was very now, for the fifties. I was so glued.
Number two, DUDE, the acting was so entertaining. Every person is very deep, deeply real, and really memorable. Especially Kikuchiyo. For such an absurdly big dude, man, he was dexterous! That would be him, below.
And three, plot. Oh my word. It actually starts out being plot driven and gradually introduces these people that aren't just people, they're the kind of people you actually want to learn about. You want to spend time watching their stories play out.
The sets are huge, the extras are highly motivated (makes you wonder...), the battle scenes are real and epic, i mean, besides a few ethical choices, this movie is flawless.
Ethical choices? Wait a minuet. Yeah, this takes place in year: a long long time ago (1500?) but, don't tell anyone, some guy wrote it in 1956. So there's a little (offscreen) free love, and (onscreen) free language. Something tells me they didn't have the word 'crap' in feudal Japan. Just a guess.
Anyway. This wasn't perhaps a very good review, as I just sort of gushed for 8 minuets about a movie, but, i couldn't help it.
Following are rated 0%=Not an element to 100%=A screaming element
Spirituality 60% (Not a specific religion, but more a way of life)
Sexuality 10% (A kiss, and implied fornication)
Language 50% (D,H,S)
Blasphemy 0%
Positivity 85%
Importance 70%
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