Kurosawa and Hashimoto researched theEdo period for stories to film; in the process, they found an account of samurai defending farmers from bandits. Together with Oguni, the screenwriters spent over six weeks writing the script and creating detailed plans for each of the film's characters. Produced byToho, the film spent three months in pre-productioncasting andlocation scouting. Filming began on May 27, 1953 and took place on set at Toho Studios, and on location inShizuoka andKanagawa Prefectures. Mid-way through production, the film ran out of money. Toho eventually fundedSamurai to a total of¥210 million,[a] making it the most expensive Japanese film made at the time. For the film's final battle, Kurosawa innovated the use of amulti-camera setup andtelephoto lenses to adjust audience perception. Filming wrapped in 1954 after taking 148 working days to shoot.
Seven Samurai was released in Japan on April 26, 1954 with a runtime of 207 minutes. The film was recut before enteringthe Venice Film Festival. At Venice, Kurosawa won theSilver Lion for direction, and the film was distributed in the United States byColumbia Pictures in November 1956, where it was recut again. The film grossed¥290 million in ticket sales in Japan[b] making it the highest-grossing film of that year, though due to its high production cost, it was not highly profitable. In the United States, the film grossed $145,800 in 1956 and 1957.[c] The film received a mixed critical response in Japan, but a generally positive response in the US. Reviewers praised the story and acting but criticized the film's length and attitude towards the farmers. American reviews compared the film toWestern movies.Samurai wasnominated for two Academy Awards andthree BAFTAs, but won none.
Subsequent opinion of the film has seen scholars and reviewers praise it as amasterpiece.Seven Samurai has been influential among western filmmakers, with its story and approach to action remade and reiterated numerous times, most notably in the 1960 filmThe Magnificent Seven.Seven Samurai also influenced other media, including anime and video games. Scholarly analysis of the film has looked at it through ahumanistic andformalistic lens. Discussions focus on the morality and heroism of the samurai, showing their relationship toclass and the environment. In addition to allegorical readings, scholars have also looked at the film's cinematography, use of music, andSeven Samurai's place within thejidaigeki genre.
In 1586,[2] a bandit gang discusses raiding a mountain village, but their chief decides to wait until after the harvest for a better haul. Overhearing this, the villagers turn to Gisaku, the village elder. Gisaku advises them to hiresamurai willing to only fight for food to protect the village. Traveling to a nearby town, the villagers find Kambei, an aging but experiencedrōnin, whom they see rescue a young boy from a thief. A young samurai named Katsushirō asks to become Kambei's disciple. The villagers ask for Kambei's help, and he agrees after recognizing their suffering. He then recruits Gorobei as his second-in-command, along with Kambei's old comrade-in-arms Shichirōji, Heihachi—a samurai without much skill but an amiable temperament—and Kyūzō, a master swordsman. Kikuchiyo, a wild, self-proclaimed samurai, is accepted too after attempts to drive him away fail.
Following an initially cold response from the villagers, the samurai and farmers start to trust each other; the samurai survey the village's surroundings and begin training the farmers. In a nearby mountain meadow, Katsushirō meets Shino who was disguised as a boy by her father Manzō. Katsushirō chastises her for not joining the men for training before realizing she is a woman. Later, the samurai are angered when Kikuchiyo brings them armor and weapons, which the villagers acquired by killing other samurai injured or fleeing from battle. Kikuchiyo retorts that samurai are responsible for much of the suffering farmers endure, revealing that he was born a farmer himself. The samurai's anger turns to shame. Later, Heihachi makes a flag that represents both the seven samurai and the village. Katsushirō shares his rice with Shino and the two form a relationship, though they recognize that they can not be together due to their difference insocial class.
When the barley in the village ripens, Kambei organizes the farmers into squads. He tells the villagers that those who live in outlying houses must evacuate. When they dissent, he chastises them for thinking only of themselves and not the village as a whole. Three bandit scouts are spotted around the village; two are killed, while the last reveals their camp's location before the villagers execute him. The samurai burn down the camp in apre-emptive strike. Rikichi, a troubled villager aiding the samurai, breaks down when he sees his wife, who was taken by the bandits during a previous raid. Upon seeing Rikichi, she runs back into the burning barracks to her death. Heihachi is killed by a gunshot while trying to stop Rikichi from pursuing her. At Heihachi's funeral, Kikuchiyo raises the banner Heihachi had made over the village to inspire everyone.
While the village is in mourning, the bandits arrive and burn the village's outlying houses, including Gisaku's mill. Gisaku's family tries to save him when he refuses to abandon it, but all perish except a baby rescued by Kikuchiyo. The village is besieged with many killed, while the defenders thwart every attack. The bandits possess threematchlock muskets. Kyūzō captures one; an envious Kikuchiyo abandons his squad to bring back another. However, Kikuchiyo's absence allows a handful of bandits to infiltrate his post and kill several farmers, and Gorobei is slain defending his position. That night, Kambei predicts that the bandits will make one final assault.
Meanwhile, Katsushirō and Shino's relationship is discovered by Manzō, who beats her when he finds out that his daughter's virginity has been taken. Kambei and the villagers intervene and attempt to persuade him that the couple should be forgiven. The next morning, the defenders allow the remaining bandits to enter the village and ambush them. As the battle nears its end, the bandit chief kills Kyūzō with his musket. An enraged Kikuchiyo charges in and is shot as well, but kills the chief before dying. The remaining bandits are slain. Afterward, Kambei, Katsushirō and Shichirōji stand in front of the funeral mounds of their comrades, watching the villagers sing while planting their crops. Katsushirō and Shino meet, but Shino walks past him to join the others while Katsushirō watches her. Kambei declares to Shichirōji that it is aPyrrhic victory for the samurai and that the real victors are the farmers.
Takashi Shimura as Kambei Shimada (島田勘兵衛,Shimada Kanbei), a war-weary but honorable and strategicrōnin, and the leader of the seven
Yoshio Inaba as Gorōbei Katayama (片山五郎兵衛,Katayama Gorōbei), a wise warrior who acts as Kambei's second-in-command and helps create the master-plan for the village's defense
Daisuke Katō as Shichirōji (七郎次), Kambei's old friend and former lieutenant
Seiji Miyaguchi as Kyūzō (久蔵), a serious, stone-faced and supremely skilled swordsman
Minoru Chiaki as Heihachi Hayashida (林田平八,Hayashida Heihachi), an amiable though less-skilled fighter, whose charm and wit maintain his comrades' morale
Isao Kimura as Katsushirō Okamoto (岡本勝四郎,Okamoto Katsushirō), the youngest samurai, whom Kambei reluctantly takes as a disciple
Toshirō Mifune as Kikuchiyo (菊千代), a humorous, mercurial and temperamental rogue who lies about being a samurai but joins the others in defence of the village
During theoccupation of Japan, authorities had deliberately suppressed the production of samurai films as they were seen to embody the anti-democratic, feudal values of Japan's wartime government.[3] When the occupation forces left in the early 1950s, the Japanese public still held an interest in stories about the samurai.[4] Kurosawa himself wanted to re-examine and make a new type ofjidaigeki, or period drama, film.[5][6] After the completion ofIkiru (1952), directorAkira Kurosawa and his collaboratorShinobu Hashimoto planned to write a script following the daily routine of a singlesamurai, who at the end of the film would have to commitseppuku for a mistake made during the day.[7] The project stalled as no records could be found concerning the samurai's everyday activities (for example, what and where he might eat).[4][d] Kurosawa next proposed a project adapting theHongō Bugei Shōden [ja], a collection of stories based on the biography of theEdo period martial artistHinatsu Shigetaka. Hashimoto wrote a draft script, but Kurosawa abandoned the idea.[9] Continuing to research the period, Kurosawa found an article that detailed the story of a group of samurai who were hired by farmers to protect them from bandits.[4] In November 1952, Hashimoto wrote an informal script that came to 500 pages in length.[10] The individual characters were based on real martial arts masters.[4]
In December, Kurosawa, Hashimoto, andHideo Oguni went to aryokan inn inAtami to write a full screenplay. Kurosawa made detailed notes on the characteristics of each individual samurai, including the way they would talk and how they tied their shoes.[11] Additionally, he created family trees for the residents of the village and instructed the actors to live together as if they were real families during the shoot.[12] Kurosawa described his and Hashimoto's role as "technical" screenwriters, while Oguni was the humanist "soul".[13] The three screenwriters had developed six samurai, but decided to include the character of Kikuchiyo as they considered the other characters too serious to be entertaining. The script was written over a period of more than six weeks. They wrote the same scene by themselves and would then present their work to the others, whereupon the best ideas would be compiled. Oguni was the screenwriter who had the ultimate decision over a script's readiness; this led to complete rejections that required everybody to re-write their version of a scene.[11] During the writing process Kurosawa suffered from back pain from prolonged sitting on thetatami mats, and became sick withroundworms.[14]
After the script was finished, the film spent three months in preproduction, much of the time used for location scouting. It was decided that the village would be filmed using five separate locations, with the main village scene being a studio set that required twenty three houses to be built.[15] Kurosawa hired Yoshio Inaba (a stage actor) because he wanted someone who could play someone both humble and mature. Inaba's relative inexperience in film productions, however, saw Kurosawa single him out for abuse.[16] Seiji Miyaguchi was also primarily a stage actor, he had worked with Kurosawa as a character actor since the director's first film,Sanshiro Sugata (1943), and was cast as Kyuzo—the part that had originally been intended for Mifune before Kikuchiyo was written.[17] Keiko Tsushima was cast as the female love interest for the character Katsushiro without a formal interview. It was her first film working as a freelance actress.[18] Many of the other actors were either people Kurosawa had worked with before, or non-actors.[19] Prior to shooting, there were four weeks of rehearsals, during which cast members were required to maintain character and dress in costume.[15]
Filming began on May 27, 1953 with the scene of an argument between the characters Rikichi and Manzo just before they witness the samurai Kambei rescue a child from a criminal.[15] The film's cinematographer wasAsakazu Nakai, withTakao Saitō as assistant cinematographer.[20] Many of the shooting locations were on or close to sets at Toho Studios (including many of the film's indoor scenes, and the village center which was on the edge of a set inSetagaya Ward), but no single location could be used to cover the whole area, so additional filming took place inShizuoka Prefecture andHakone inKanagawa Prefecture.[21] Production fell behind schedule due to the changes in location shooting, bad weather, and Kurosawa's own perfectionism.[22] Forty horses were brought in for the film, but transporting them to the five different village locations proved impossible logistically, so it was decided to use local horses that were painted to look the same.[15] Mifune stayed in character throughout the production. In advance of the scene where he cries holding a baby whose mother has just been killed, the actor drank a large quantity ofsake in order to outwardly display raw emotion.[23] The martial artistYoshio Sugino was hired as a swordplay instructor for the film.[1] Seiji Miyaguchi later credited his experience working for Kurosawa for molding him into an actor, reflecting that at the time Kurosawa cast him as the expert swordsman, he had never used or carried a sword.[24]
When asked in a 1963 interview about the development of his cinematic technique, Kurosawa responded:
InThe Idiot andIkiru I returned to quiet composition, but inSeven Samurai I resumed my dynamic on a more original basis. This time I tried to add my sensitivity as a painter to what I hoped was my increasing knowhow as a filmmaker. The emphasis in my films thus shifted to a dynamic beauty, in contrast to the period when I seemed preoccupied with static beauty.[25]
In mid-July 1953, Kurosawa had to go to hospital to recover from the exhaustion of producing the film.[26] Galbraith speculates that it was during his recovery in this period that Kurosawa permitted Mifune to perform inIshirō Honda'sEagle of the Pacific (1953).[27] Kurosawa returned to the set on August 1. Toho had originally given the film a production budget of around $150,000–$200,000,[e] and slated production to finish on August 18 in order to open in October. However, at this point less than a third of Kurosawa's script had been shot and there was only $19,000 left.[22][f] Yoshio Tsuchiya, who played the villager Rikichi, was an acting student at the time he was hired for the film. Misunderstanding the length of time shooting would take, he requested a ten day holiday after three months on set. Kurosawa denied his request but, fearing Tsuchiya's intention to leave, Kurosawa invited the actor to instead live with his family, which he did for two years.[29] Faced with professional difficulties, Kurosawa feared that he may be replaced by a directorKunio Watanabe, who was able to make films quickly and within small budgets.[30]
By September 1953, the production was suspended as there was no more money to finance it. The studio backed Kurosawa's direction and filming resumed on October 3.[31] The total budget for the film came to¥210 million,[32][a] or between $556,000,[34][g] and $580,000.[35][h] This made it the most expensive Japanese feature film made at the time.[32][36] When production started again, Kurosawa became furious at a group of studio executives who decided to invite members of the media to view the filming of a battle scene; the following day Tsuchiya received nasty burns during a stunt that required him to be in close proximity to a burning barn.[37] During filming for the scene where the samurai arrive at the village, Kurosawa set up a shot at the top of the mountain from which the village could be seen in the valley. In order for this to work as an evening shot, the crew spent the entire day setting up for the single shot, but cameraman Asakazu Nakai and Kurosawa ended up debating when to start shooting the scene by looking at the light through the camera'sviewfinder. Despite spending the entire day preparing, Nakai's hesitation to start shooting caused the sun to set and the scene was not shot.[38] Every evening, Kurosawa would dine and drink with the cast and crew of the films at theryokan inn they were staying in and review the day's work.[39]
As filming continued into 1954, Toho began to pressure Kurosawa to finish filming. The last scene he chose to shoot—at this time in mid-winter—was the final battle in the village, believing that had he filmed this before the rest of the script, the studio would have forced him to stop production. Kurosawa, Kikushima, and Oguni continued to revise the details of the battle until it was supposed to be filmed and kept the contents of it secret from the rest of the cast and crew.[39] Kurosawa used amulti-camera setup in order to fully capture the momentum of large numbers of people in battle.[40] The scene usedtelephoto lenses to adjust the audience's perception of the battle.[41] He did this by placing three cameras at differing angles and perspectives before editing the footage together.[40] The scene took about two months to film, during which it snowed and the cast and crew risked frostbite in the cold temperature and artificial rain. After production finished Mifune had to be admitted to the hospital to recover.[42] In total,Seven Samurai took 148 working days to shoot,[43] and used 130,000 feet of film.[40]
While Kurosawa was preparing to make the film, he repeatedly listened toAntonin Leopold Dvořák'sSymphony No. 9 in E minor.[44] As production on the film was finishing, Kurosawa met with the film's composer,Fumio Hayasaka, to consult with him about the score. At this time Hayasaka was suffering fromtuberculosis and often discussed his compositions with the arranger,Masaru Satō, while using anoxygen tank. The composer focused on the score forSeven Samurai, turning down other offers of work, and over the course of about two months he wrote 300 orchestral sketches.[42] The music was recorded in the spring of 1954 over the course of two weeks.[32] The film usedmagnetic tape recording which was a departure from Kurosawa's films, which had traditionally usedoptical recording—a one-take method that converted audio signals into light. The new technology allowed for the audio track to be re-recorded if any mistakes were made.[45] Kurosawa and Hayasaka decided not to use music in the film's final battle sequence in order to heighten the scene's sense of realism.[46] The folk song used in the film's final scene is also an original composition of Hayasaka's. He wrote it after researching 300 contemporary words and phrases of theSengoku Period.[47]
Kobayashi identifies the film's five key pieces of music as the "Samurai Theme", "Kikuchiyo's Mambo", "Shino's Theme", "Farmer's Theme", and "Ronin's Theme".[49] The main "Samurai Theme" was originally rejected by Hayasaka, but he rediscovered it after the director turned down all of the composer's prior suggestions.[42] Lyrics were also written for the theme. Sung byYoshiko Yamaguchi, they were only used in a laterimage song released in November 1954.[50] The composer recorded five trumpets for the "Samurai Theme" to play after the funeral of Heihachi. The music was recorded outside, but Hayasaka was not satisfied with the sound, so they continued through the night until dawn the following day.[51] In recognition of his work on the film, Hayasaka's name appears alone in the film's credits, which was highly unusual in the Japanese film industry for the time.[42]
Seven Samurai is a genre epic that contains themes of class and altered identity.[52] The film's drama focuses on the core group of seven samurai and their heroism, which is dramatized andtragic.[52] The translator and academicAudie Bock considers the film to embodyhumanitarian values developed through the planning, execution, and horrors of warfare.[53] To film historianDonald Richie, the film is about both the individual and the social group.[54] He analyzes the samurai as individual characters and frames their actions through an understanding of heroism that is stoic and generous to others, even to the samurai's own detriment.[55] Through the film's presentation of the samurai and their deaths, the ending has been read variously as hopeful,[36] ironic,[56] and as a metaphor for the obsolescence of the samurai class.[57][58] The film criticStuart Galbraith IV views the ending as the samurai becoming disillusioned with the peasants and the peasants already forgetting the sacrifice of the samurai.[59] For Professor of EnglishJoan Mellen, the scene is instead an elegy for the moral decline of contemporary Japanese society.[60]
Thenobori is a symbol of the new relations between the samurai and the farmers.[61][62]
The scholar Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto contextualizesSeven Samurai within the historical context of thejidaigeki genre.[63] To him, Kurosawa's individualization of different characters and their balance within and between different social groups is a unique iteration on established conventions among studio films for the time.[64] The integration of different people with social groups is established by framing characters together with their social groups in the shot.[65] The film theoristStephen Prince describes Kurosawa's use ofmontage andmulti-camera setup as a formalistic approach that causes a "fragmentation of his images".[66] Prince discusses how Kurosawa would use camera placement and editing to re-order characters within the cinematic space. The differing angles represent changes to the social relations between the film's characters.[67]
Scholars have utilized adialectical approach to the film.[68][69][70] Professor of cinemaDavid Desser notes that Kurosawa's work is informed by a dialectic betweenformalism andhumanism.[71] He seesSeven Samurai's dialectic playing out in the film's structure and editing, as well as within narrative elements of the film's text.[72] Dialectics have also been used as a means to discuss the film's approach toclass struggle and mobility between classes.[70][73] A symbolic link showing the changed relationship between the social groups of samurai and farmers is found in thenobori, which depicts both the samurai as individual shapes, and the farmers as a collective.[61][62] The samurai are adherents to the warrior code ofbushidō,[74][75] with their deaths by firearms being a moral critique of Western influence.[76][77] According to Desser, their defence of the farmers is made more heroic and more human as a result of this.[78] The character of Kikuchiyo has been identified as embodying a confused or unified vision of class.[79][80] The character's speech about the suffering of the farmers implicates everyone in social and moral failures among the classes.[81][82]
Analyses of the film's depiction of environment have looked at the relationship between the characters and the village.[83][84] The use of rain in the film is considered an emotional cue.[84][85] The philosopherGilles Deleuze considers rain inSeven Samurai to symbolize the layout of space and environment in the film that makes certain character actions possible. Deleuze refers to Kurosawa as "one of the greatest film-makers of rain."[86] Film criticKenneth Turan considers the film's runtime to embody the agricultural year itself.[43] Scholar of anthropology Dolores Martinez sees the natural world to be inextricably tied to the role of women in the film.[87] The relationship between samurai and bandit with the farmers is seen in the relationship between Katsushiro and the village girl Shino, as well as the villager Rikichi and his kidnapped wife. Both relationships are seen as dishonorable, but the latter represents a "self-betrayal" of family and home that the film's women urge them to resist.[88]
Richie sees the use of music as a means by which the different social groups are divided, since the motifs for the samurai, farmers, and bandits are heard together but are not played at the same time.[89] According to Kobayashi, a major theme of the film's music is theleitmotif, a technique using fixed tones, melodies, and rhythms to evoke an idea. InSeven Samurai the technique is used as the core of the film's music and is arranged around moments of characterization.[90] Kobayashi analyzes the film's main "Samurai Theme" as an embodiment of the romanticism and heroism of the samurai. To him, the film's different arrangements of the "Samurai Theme" act as the center of the film's musical direction.[91] He also analyzes "Kikuchiyo's Mambo" as a form of music uncommon to a period piece that juxtaposes the characters of Kikuchiyo and Kambei.[92] The film theoristsDavid Bordwell andKristin Thompson analyzeSeven Samurai as having a dense sound stream, wherein the soundtrack introduces layers to build tension and mark changes in the narrative while providing an auditory experience that is not limited to a single perspective.[93]
Before the film was released the press had already attacked it.[36] Toho cut a trailer together that likened the film toGone With the Wind (1939) in its epic scale. To appeal to a female audience, Keiko Tsushima and Yukiko Shimazaki were given third and fourthbilling in advertisements.[32]Seven Samurai was released in Japan on April 26, 1954.[1][20][94] The film's runtime came to 207 minutes, which at the time was the longest Japanese film ever produced.[32] The full-lengthroadshow version was later cut to 160 minutes for general release.[95] The first full-length cut was only shown for a few weeks in major cities. When the second cut down version was shown in rural areas, some theaters booked the film in two parts so people could watch over several days. At the film's completion party on April 29, Kurosawa's wifeYōko Yaguchi went into labor, giving birth toKazuko.[96] The film's second, theatrical, cut was re-issued in Japan in 1955 and 1967, with the original 207 minute cut re-released in 1975 and 1991.[97]
The film was recut a third time to enterthe Venice Film Festival.[i] Despite its success at the festival, the film did not receive an offer for foreign distribution. Co-screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto later considered that the studio should have produced a versiondubbed into English rather than the subtitled version. Toho held a screening at theAmbassador Hotel in Los Angeles in January 1955, but did not receive any offers for distribution until August 1955, whenColumbia Pictures expressed interest.[98] Prior to a wider release, the picture premiered in America at theLinda Lea theater in July 1956 to meet the requirements forAcademy Award consideration.[99] The film premiered in Australia at the1956 Melbourne International Film Festival.[100]
American release poster forSeven Samurai, released under the titleThe Magnificent Seven.[99]
Seven Samurai was released in the United States by Columbia with English subtitles in November 1956.[95] The film officially opened at theGuild Theatre in New York under the titleThe Magnificent Seven.[99] The feature started to be screened at the cinema on November 19,[101] with an initial runtime of 155 minutes, which was then edited down by about 15 minutes to accommodate more screenings.[102] The American version came to 141 minutes long.[95] One source indicates that an English dubbed version was also available in the country. WhenThe Magnificent Seven was released in 1960, Kurosawa's film was subsequently known by its original titleSeven Samurai.[103] The 160 minute Japanese theatrical cut was re-released in the United States during the 1960s byToho International.[95] The uncut version of the film was allegedly shown briefly in Los Angeles in 1969.[97] A 200 minute cut was broadcast onPBS-TV in 1972. A December 1982 re-release ran at 203 minutes, with every subsequent re-release adhering to the original cut's length.[95]
The film received a USlaserdisc release.[12] AVHS version was released by Home Vision Cinema, and aDVD byThe Criterion Collection.[104] Commenting on the DVD release in 2006,The Los Angeles Times reported that the film had been restored using digital corrections to a duplicatenegative, and also had a new 4.0 sound mix. The DVD came with additional bonus features which included commentary tracks from various academics, an interview between Kurosawa and directorNagisa Ōshima, and a documentary about the making of the film titledIt's Wonderful to Create.[105] TheBritish Film Institute released the film as part of abox set of Kurosawa's samurai films in 2010.[106]Seven Samurai was the third best-selling film released by the BFI for the year 2015, and the highest-selling overall as of that point.[107] Criterion released aBlu-ray version ofSeven Samurai in October 2010.[108]
In 2016,Toho carried out a4K restoration, along with Kurosawa'sIkiru (1952). As the whereabouts ofSeven Samurai's original negative is unknown, the transfer was made using a masterpositive and duplicate negative elements.[109] The 4K restoration debuted at the2024 Cannes Film Festival, before being released theatrically later that year in the United States and United Kingdom.[110][111] A limited theatrical re-release of the restored film took place in Japan in October 2025.[112] A4K Blu-ray was released on home video in November 2024 by Criterion and the BFI.[113][114]
Seven Samurai was a popular success among Japanese audiences.[115][116] The film grossed¥290 million in ticket sales in Japan.[32][b] Of the gross, thedistributor rental income was¥268 million.[117][118][j] Most of the total ticket sales were at Toho-owned cinemas, increasing their share of the profit.Samurai was the highest grossing film of that year, but it was not massively profitable due to its high budget.[32] According to film journalistMasaaki Tsuzuki [ja], the film earned over seven times its¥210 million budget, accruing a distribution revenue of¥1.5 billion.[119][k] When the original 207 minute cut was re-issued in Japan in 1975, the film grossed $160,000.[l] The re-release in 1991 accrued $2.2 million.[97][m]
In the film's initial 1956 run at the Guild Theatre in New York, it grossed $68,000 in total.[n] Additional takings across the country between January and December 1957—with screenings beginning inSt. Louis—brought the total to $145,800.[c] The film's original release in Australia grossed $193,316.[122] A re-issue ofSamurai in 2002 saw it accrue $275,965.[o] The film's re-release in the same year as part of a multi-title 'Kurosawa & Mifune Festival' accrued $561,692 for all twelve films in total.[p] A 2021 re-release in the United Kingdom grossed $23,485 in total.[q] The 4K re-release for the film's 70th anniversary in 2024 saw the film gross $552,530 internationally.[123][r]
According to Stuart Galbraith, Japanese reviews responded well toSeven Samurai, but the film's popularity impacted critical assessment.[32] Tsuzuki writes that Japanese critics ranked the film third on theKinema Junpo Best Ten list because they were cold to films that had mass appeal.[124] Peter Wild characterizes the reaction from Japanese critics as one of, "an almost willful lack of understanding".[125] Richie notes that some critics gave thoughtful analyses, but he gives examples of contemporary opinions that questioned whether the film was anti-democratic for condemning the farmers.[126] Mellen writes that Kurosawa was upset by the attempts of critics to read meaning into his work that was not there; and that their readings lacked nuance. In addition, he felt that he had been branded as someone whose work was more "western" than Japanese.[127]
Galbraith mentions a report inThe New York Times from a reporter who saw the original cut of the film in Japan and criticized its length.[98]Variety magazine, in a review of the film's shortened version screened at the Venice Film Festival, also criticized the film's length, although it considered it the film's "lone drawback". The review commended the film's action and editing, and singled out Mifune for praise.[98][128] Overall, the film was well-received when it was shown at Venice.[129]Gavin Lambert fromSight and Sound magazine referred to the film as, "an adventure story of the best kind" and praised Kurosawa'scomposition; however, he consideredKenji Mizoguchi'sSansho the Bailiff (1954) to be more satisfying overall.[130]
Critical reception upon the film's 1956 release in the United States was positive, but Galbraith writes that it was "tainted with a kind of cultural condescension".[99] Some critics dismissively compared Kurosawa's film to American Westerns.[131]The Los Angeles Times wrote a positive review, as didMarjory Adams inThe Boston Globe, although Adams speculated that, "with no attempt to belittle" Kurosawa's film,Samurai had adapted its shots from Western genre movies.[132][133] InThe Saturday Review,Arthur Knight used the comparison of the Western to highlight deeper formalistic and psychological aspects that served to reinvigorate genre elements.[131] In a 1958Cahiers du Cinéma article by the directorJacques Rivette, he compared Kurosawa to Mizoguchi. Rivette labelledSeven Samurai a "facile success", and wrote that Kurosawa's approach was overrefined in its use of Western cinematic techniques.[134]
Following the initial American theatrical release,Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times considered the film to be one of the five best foreign films of 1956.[135] He wrote in November of that year thatSamurai was technically brilliant, but too long and repetitious in its imagery.[136] Five days later, he wrote a second review where he questioned the accuracy of the film's depiction of feudal Japan while conceding that Kurosawa had still succeeded in conveying a sense of period authenticity.[137] Also writing in 1956,New York Daily News critic Wanda Hale favorably comparedSeven Samurai to Kurosawa's earlier filmRashomon (1950). She praisedSamurai's depictions of violence, humor, and romance; commenting on Kurosawa's "deep perception of human nature".[138]Judith Crist referred to the 1964 American theatrical re-release ofSeven Samurai's 160 minute cut as "a magnificent film".[139]
When the original cut of the film was shown outside of Japan in 1975, it was praised as a flagship of Japanese cinema.[153] Joan Mellen characterizes the film as "the least written about and most misunderstood of Kurosawa's films, both in Japan and abroad." She attributes this feeling to an overemphasis ontheory among Western critics.[154] A retrospective review inKinema Junpo magazine, written by screenwriterKazuo Kasahara in 1975 praised the film. Kasahara wrote that the film's main drama is based on the faith that the farmers and samurai would have shared contemporaneously, with the farmers seeing their identity within the group to embody anabsolute principle, whereas the samurai place the absolute within the power of the individual.[155] Writing a five star review forThe Guardian in 2021,Peter Bradshaw noted that the samurai instruct the farmers inZen Buddhist teachings of an acceptance of danger.[156]
At a 1972 symposium of Japanese directors and film critics, participants generally expressed a negative attitude towardsSeven Samurai and Kurosawa's films more broadly. The criticMichitarō Tada [ja] accused the film of lacking psychological conflict; both he andTadao Satō agreed that Kurosawa took a condescending view towards the farmer characters. The filmmakerNagisa Ōshima criticized the film for not converting the collective fight into individual conflict.Samurai was blamed for depicting a gap that was too large between the central figure of the samurai and the other characters. Satō later blamed the film for justifying Japanese rearmament and the establishment of theJapan Self-Defence Forces in 1954, an act he believed contravenedthe peace clause of the Japanese Constitution.[157] In the 2018 BBC poll of critics, not a single Japanese film critic voted forSeven Samurai.[148] In a 2024 review forThe New York Times,J. Hoberman praised the film's emotional and political resonance while criticizing Kurosawa's identification with the film's samurai protagonists as elitist.[141]
The film criticRoger Ebert included it on his list of Great Movies. In a four out of four star review, he considered the film to embody a humanistic attitude that encouraged rebellion against social tradition.[158] In questioning whySeven Samurai continues to remain popular,Anne Billson writes that its "emotions and mythologies" contain a universality, and that its formalistic elements remain powerful.[148]Philip Horne, writing forThe Daily Telegraph in 2008, conveyed similar views about the film's formalistic strengths.[159] The film criticDavid Ehrenstein wrote in 1999 that what makesSamurai unique among action films is its commitment to a blurred sense of morality as the samurai protect the villagers who had themselves hunted other samurai. As a result, the samurai's sense of honor comes as a test of themselves.[160]
Seven Samurai is considered to beone of the greatest films ever made.[97][167][125] David Desser claims that the film is one of the "most oft remade, reworked, referenced films in all of cinema history".[168] The film is influential among western filmmakers, particularly for its use of a multi-camera setup for shooting action.[169] Kurosawa innovated this style of shooting in conjunction with the use of extreme telephoto lenses.[170][171][172] Richie, along with the directorJoseph L. Anderson, specify Kurosawa's use of slow motion and editing as an element of the film's technical experimentation.[172] The cultural essayistInuhiko Yomota writes thatSeven Samurai created a blueprint for action cinema.[173] The film's camera movements have had a large impact on the genre's cinematic grammar.[174] Anne Billson also credits the film for popularizing the "assembling the team" trope in movies.[148]
Writing in 1998, Tsuzuki states that Kurosawa's work onSeven Samurai revolutionized the methods and scale of Japanese film production.[124] Yoshimoto attributes to Kurosawa an innovation of thejidaigeki genre for not adapting stories contemporary to the period of depiction, and for shooting new types of sword fights in narratives with clear symbolism and mature underlying themes.[63] However, he believes thatSeven Samurai did not change the patterns of production and consumption ofjidaigeki films when it was released in Japan. In his analysis, these patterns remained until theToei Company—the studio most associated with the genre—began to see a lower profit margin by the releases ofYojimbo (1961),Sanjuro (1962), and the Japanese release ofThe Magnificent Seven in the early 1960s.[175] Desser, however, attributes toSamurai "a rennaissance" of the genre, and describes it as the first film in "the postwar Golden Age" of samurai films.[176] Professor of Film Studies David Cook considers Kurosawa's efforts inSeven Samurai along with his later workThrone of Blood (1957) to have elevated thejidaigeki genre to a higher art form.[177]
In an interview for the Criterion Collection, the directorGeorge Lucas citedSeven Samurai as his favorite film by Akira Kurosawa.[178] The Soviet filmmakerAndrei Tarkovsky listed it as his seventh favorite film.[179] Tarkovsky referenced the final shot of Kikuchiyo's body plastered in mud as the rain washes it off as an example of a cinematic image—an image that is unique and factual, devoid of symbolism.[180]Martin Scorsese includedSeven Samurai on a list of "39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young Filmmaker" in 2014.[181] FilmmakerDenis Villeneuve cited the film as one of his 29 favorite movies, and usedSamurai as a reference for depiciting violence when makingSicario (2015).[182] The directorJohn Woo has also said that he uses the film as a reference for the way all his films are shot.[174]Wes Anderson has been influenced by the film, using the "Samurai Theme" from the movie's soundtrack for his filmIsle of Dogs (2018).[183]
Joan Mellen writes thatSeven Samurai is a great work of art within both cinema and the history of civilization.[140] InHelen DeWitt's first novel,The Last Samurai, the film takes on a thematic role in the story.[184] The Japanese animeSamurai 7 was conceived as a futuristic remake of the film.[185] Thedrum and bass artistPhotek released a song named afterSeven Samurai;[186][187] and the video gameGhost of Tsushima was influenced by the film, including a "Kurosawa Mode" wherein players could play the game with a black and white filter as an homage to the director's movies.[188] In Japan, there have also beenpachinko machines based on the film.[189] There was speculation that Kurosawa consideredSeven Samurai his favorite of the films he produced.[190][125] However, when asked in 1993 what his favorite film was, he stated that it was too difficult to choose.[191] Speaking to his daughter in 1994, he claimed that his interests changed and that if asked to make the film at that point in his life, he would die.[192]
Seven Samurai was remade in America asThe Magnificent Seven (1960). Toho sold the rights to remake the film to American producerLou Morheim. Morheim offered the rights toAnthony Quinn andYul Brynner who wanted to remakeSamurai as aWestern.[103]Magnificent Seven's success inspired an international movement to emulate samurai films that produced thespaghetti Western.[193] However, in an interview with R. B. Gadi, Kurosawa expressed his belief that, "the American copy is a disappointment, although entertaining. It is not a version ofSeven Samurai".[194] Following subsequent re-releases ofSeven Samurai and the three sequels to the AmericanMagnificent Seven, Kurosawa, Oguni, and Hashimoto sued Toho to reclaim compensation and rights to the film. The ruling by theTokyo District Court in 1978 found that the filmmakers had granted a license for a single remake, and faultedMGM andUnited Artists for the production of theMagnificent Seven sequels.[195] The2016 remake ofThe Magnificent Seven also creditsSeven Samurai for its source material.[2]
The Indian action filmSholay (1975), a "Curry Western" written bySalim–Javed (Salim Khan andJaved Akhtar) and directed byRamesh Sippy, was also inspired bySeven Samurai.[202][203]Sholay has been compared toSamurai for its thematic and story similarities concerning the moral code of its main characters, the aestheticization of violence, as well as for innovating cinematic techniques.[204]
^abVariety magazine reported $145,800 in ticket sales from multiple theaters across the country in 1957.[121] Equivalent to $1,632,304 in 2024.[28]
^According to Hashimoto, Kurosawa was furious when he found out the project had been unilaterally abandoned by the screenwriter since he had not been involved in writing the initial treatment.[8] Hashimoto's research would later become the basis for the script ofHarakiri (1962).[4]
^Equivalent to $1,762,873 to $2,350,498 in 2024[28]
^According to Galbraith, it was a studio decision taken by Toho, perhaps to pre-empt criticism that the film was too long.[98] Kobayashi writes that it was Kurosawa himself who re-edited the film in order to submit it and comply with the festival's regulations.[21]
^Variety magazine reported $68,000 in ticket sales from the Guild Theatre by the end of the film's run in January 1957.[120] Equivalent to $786,453 in 2024.[28]
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『七人の侍』【新4Kリマスター版】に反響、初日3日間で7500人超を動員 11月6日まで期間限定上映 [Seven Samurai [New 4K Remastered Edition] Resonates, Attracting Over 7,500 People in the First Three Days, Limited Screening Until November 6].Oricon News. October 23, 2025.Archived from the original on January 4, 2026. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2026.
戦後昭和史: 消費者物価指数の推移 [Postwar Shōwa History: Trends in the Consumer Price Index].Postwar Shōwa History.Archived from the original on September 7, 2025. RetrievedOctober 21, 2025.
Yamazaki, Kentaro (February 22, 2016).「七人の侍」と「生きる」が“最高画質”目指し4Kレストア。最新の修復現場に潜入 [Seven Samurai andIkiru are Restored in 4K, Aiming for the "Highest Image Quality." A Sneak Peek at the Latest Restoration].AV Watch.Archived from the original on December 22, 2025. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2026.
