Retrospective Film Review

Seven Samurai (1954) • 70 Years Later — the greatest action film of all time

Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.

On a black screen, drums create a powerful, sinister rhythm. As the credits roll, the pulsating beat seems to foreshadow imminent violence, portending a primal struggle for survival. It’s the marching hymn of medieval warriors, clad in armour and charging headlong onto the battlefield.

Indeed, war looms on the horizon. A battalion of bandits rides across rural Japan, slaying farmers, kidnapping women, and stealing their produce. They’re a scourge to any peasant who has to work the land for a living — and they show no signs of stopping. After a farmer overhears the bandits’ plan to attack their village in the near future, he warns his fellow villagers, most of whom fear they are utterly helpless. However, some have had enough: Rikichi (Yoshio Tsuchiya) wants to fight. “We’ll kill these bandits… We’ll kill them all!”