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susquesus
Mad Hermit of the North Woods
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
September 03 2003
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 Posted - July 28 2004 : 2:44:18 PM
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For those of you who have seen and enjoyed "The Magnificent Seven" and have not seen Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai"- you're gonna love it. "Seven Samurai" is the film that is the basis of the storyline for "Magnificent Seven".
The 1954 film is a masterpiece, beautiful filming, complex characters, all set in feudal Japan. As in "The Magnificent Seven" a desperate village pools it's scant resources to hire seven warriors to defend them from bandits. Instead of 19th century Mexico it's a small village in the Japanese hills. Instead of gunslingers, it's Samurai warriors. It's uncanny how scenes and even bits of dialog are lifted from "Samurai" into "Magnificent".
Has anyone watched both films? Any comments? Anyone know of any other good Akira Kurosawa films? Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
If you've seen both, which is your favorite telling of that story?
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Bookworm
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 10 2004
Status: offline
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 Posted - July 30 2004 : 7:00:24 PM
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Yep, seen both -- two excellent movies. (Well, someone did refer to "The Magnificent Seven" as "The Magnificent Six and Horst Buchholz," but I didn't have any problem with him.) If I had to choose, I'd have to say I preferred "The Seven Samurai" because of the darker ending -- instead of the young man staying behind with the girl, the surviving samurai go off to whatever the future holds for them, which seems more appropriate for noble warriors, somehow.
I've seen two other Kurosawa films, "Rashomon" and "Ran." "Rashomon" is the earlier one (made in the early 50s, I think), and it's become famous for illustrating the difficulty of KNOWING THE TRUTH, because different people will always remember the same event differently. It shows the same event -- bandits attacking a noblewoman on a journey through a forest, if I remember correctly -- as remembered three different ways by people who were there. That's such a familiar idea by now that the movie, though good, didn't make a really big impression on me. "Ran," made in the mid-1980s, is the King Lear story (aging monarch, resentful children) set in feudal Japan. I enjoyed it very much, and the battle scenes are awesome. Highly recommended. |
Bookworm
"I've gotten so fascinated with the eighteenth century, I'm going to stay there." -- David McCullough
"Nothing to it, brother." -- Barack Obama |
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Bill R
Colonial Militia
USA
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July 03 2002
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Posted - July 30 2004 : 7:22:39 PM
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More than one Kurosawa movie was used in rewrite for an American film. Last man Standing and Fistful of Dollars came from one of his movies. As did others. He also took Shakespearean plots and made them uniquely Japanese.
Of the two, I voted for Seven Samurai. Liked it better. Toshiro Mifune is an excellent actor, best role being in Shogun. Didn't do bad in Tora Tora Tora either. He was in many Kurosawa movies.
He's actually half Japanese and half Korean. Due to his Korean heritage he had a very hard time breaking into Japanese film, but his talent won out. |
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Bookworm
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
February 10 2004
Status: offline
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Posted - July 30 2004 : 7:38:00 PM
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| Another of Kurosawa's movies was called The Hidden Fortress, the plot of which (hope I'm remembering this correctly) involved a very willful princess being escorted through badlands by two reluctant, down-at-the-heels knights. It was one of the sources that inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars. |
Bookworm
"I've gotten so fascinated with the eighteenth century, I'm going to stay there." -- David McCullough
"Nothing to it, brother." -- Barack Obama |
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"The Magnificent Seven" vs. "The Seven Samurai"
