Post by slapshot63 on Feb 23, 2007 22:49:08 GMT -5
Seven Samurai is widely considered one of, if not THE greatest film of all time. Recently, I purchased the 3-Disc Criterion DVD set and am very pleased with it, but I’ll get into that briefly in a little while. The film is 207 minutes (as you can see above) and that may seem like a daunting “task” for some and I myself was worried that it would be overlong, packed with fluff and at times, boring. Man, was I ever wrong.
In foreign films it is often hard, at least in my opinion, to gauge how well an actor performs because we do not speak the language. So much of the performance is in the delivery of the lines that the effect is sometimes greatly lowered. Not here though, the performances are so great that it doesn’t matter whether or not you understand what they are saying. Everyone is very good here, but the main praise has to go to our seven samurai. Everything they do, every emotion they give is 100% believable. You really grow to care about them through the movie, which is very important in any movie. The farmers are good as well. Some not as good as others but there isn’t anyone that was bad or bogged the film down in any way.
The music is really great. Sometimes it seems like it doesn’t go well with the scenes (it can be a little funky at times but you will realize that is goes perfect with the scene. Later in the movie, the “funkiness” dissipates and the music is subtle at times and loud at others but it always is perfect. Fumio Hayasaka should be very proud of what he did (well, if he were still alive that is. Sadly, he died just one year after this movie was released).
Now, normally black and white movies, as I’ve found, don’t have very…interesting cinematography to say the least. It’s normally point and shoot. Now, I’m sure that isn’t the case with all black and white movies, but the ones I’ve seen are just plain. This however, is amazing. There is always something going on. Be it a stream flowing, horses moving, people walking, flags waving or water wheels moving, there is always something moving and it makes the movie that much more interesting. Everything is filmed in such a beautiful way and the black and white image just enhances it. I personally feel that it would be impossible for this movie to be as great as it is if it were to be in color.
Now, the DVD is from Criterion and it is my first DVD from them. From what I hear, they make the best DVD’s. They make them for film buffs. Everything about them is as perfect as they can be. That said, this is an amazing first Criterion DVD. The image is absolutely stunning, even though it was made in 1954 and wasn’t preserved all too well. There is little grain to be found, even in the dark night scenes (the black levels are superb). The sound is as good as your going to get but the picture will floor you. The set comes with a great booklet and some features I haven’t yet had a chance to check out. This is a superb DVD set and I cannot recommend it enough, even at $35, which some people might balk at (shame on you!).
What else is there to say about Seven Samurai that hasn’t been said yet over the 53 years since its release. Three and a half hours may seem like a long time to be watching a movie, but the movie couldn’t have gone on long enough. I was completely engrossed in this world and this is a movie experience I will never have again, at least not a first time. As I stated earlier, many people consider this to be the greatest film put to celluloid. I happen to be in that camp. It blends every genre to complete perfection. There are breathtaking action scenes (the rain fight at the end is utterly amazing), hilarious comedy bits that still hold up after all these years (hence the “hilarious” bit), suspense, drama and even a hint of romance (not a ton though). While it is not my favorite film of all time (it’s sure as hell way up there though), it is quite simply the greatest film I have ever set my eyes upon.
Links:
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