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Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai

Action · Drama · 1954

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Movie details

Seven Samurai

“Unmatched for suspense and spectacle!”

1954 Action · Drama 3h 27m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.4 / 10

Community rating

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Seven Samurai?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Akira Kurosawa

Written by

Hideo Oguni · Shinobu Hashimoto · Akira Kurosawa

Toshirō Mifune

Toshirō Mifune

Kikuchiyo

Takashi Shimura

Takashi Shimura

Kambei Shimada

Yoshio Inaba

Yoshio Inaba

Gorobei Katayama

Seiji Miyaguchi

Seiji Miyaguchi

Kyuzo

Minoru Chiaki

Minoru Chiaki

Heihachi Hayashida

Daisuke Katō

Daisuke Katō

Shichiroji

Isao Kimura

Isao Kimura

Katsushiro Okamoto

Court is in session

Put Seven Samurai on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.