Seven Samurai (1954)

 ●  Japanese ● 3 hrs 27 mins

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Inspiring and insightful, this masterfully crafted martial arts drama follows the fluctuating fortunes of an impoverished farming village, as they hire a group of samurai to protect themselves from marauding bandits.
See Storyline (May Contain Spoilers)

Cast: Keiko Tsushima, Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune

Crew: Akira Kurosawa (Director), Asakazu Nakai (Director of Photography), Fumio Hayasaka (Music Director)

Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama

Release Dates: 19 Nov 1956 (India), 26 Apr 1954 (Japan)

Tagline: The Mighty Warriors Who Became the Seven National Heroes of a Small Town.

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Did you know? Seiji Miyaguchi, who played the taciturn samurai Kyuzo, had not touched a sword at all before this movie. Editing and careful cinematography were both used to give the impression that he was a master. Read More
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Actress
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Production

Producer
Production Company
Production Supervisor
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Distribution

Writers

Script Supervisor

Camera and Electrical

Director of Photography
Still Photographer
Assistant Cameraman

Music

Music Director

Sound

Sound Re-recording Mixer
Sound Effects Editor

Art

Art Director
Production Designer
Prop Master
Assistant Art Director

Costume and Wardrobe

Costume Designer

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Makeup Artist
Hair Stylist
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
Japanese
Colour Info:
Black & White
Sound Mix:
Mono, Stereo
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
1.33:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Taglines:
The Mighty Warriors Who Became the Seven National Heroes of a Small Town.
Will Take Its Place With the Seven Greatest Films of All Time!
Movie Connection(s):
Remade as: The Magnificent Seven (English)
Remade as: China Gate (Hindi)
Remade as: Battle Beyond the Stars (English)
Filming Locations:
Goofs:
Revealing Mistakes
During the first scene when the people in the village are discussing what to do with the bandits, it's visible that they are wearing bald-wigs.

Crew/Equipment Visible
When the samurai are giving battle advice to the peasants, who sit around them forming a circle, the camera does a rather wide circle shot of them. You can see the dolly track behind the seated peasants.

Continuity
Shichiroji throws a spear out the door of Rikichi's hut in anger, it lands obviously in parallel with the door. Later, after Kikuchiyo's outburst he runs outside and picks the spear up, however it's now laying sideways compared to the door.
Trivia:
The first draft, written by Shinobu Hashimoto, was written "freely," as instructed by Kurosawa, and wound up 500 pages long.

Toho pulled the plug on the project several times when it ran over budget, forcing director Akira Kurosawa to go back and personally argue with the board of directors who were convinced they were making a flop.

Filming had to be stopped several times due to a shortage of horses for the final battle sequences.

Seiji Miyaguchi, who played the taciturn samurai Kyuzo, had not touched a sword at all before this movie. Editing and careful cinematography were both used to give the impression that he was a master.

Akira Kurosawa's ancestors were samurai, roughly up to a hundred years before he made this film.