Seven Samurai – 4k restoration

Screening as part of our Art of Action season.

The Seven Samurai (1954) represents a lot in the Hollywood film community. Its influence on the action genre is unrivalled, as it really is the most copied and emulated film. It sets the tone for all sword fighting and war epics to come.

Many of the stunt performers were just given roles in the film as opposed to just doing the stunts. Consider the swiftness of the action, and quick editing in the film, but it also changes up with slow motion cut into the fights. It’s the first to establish film techniques that increase the tension and adrenaline jolts to the audience, that many productions would use for years to come. The director, Akira Kurosawa used multiple cameras on the shoot and five assistant directors.

The single largest undertaking by a Japanese filmmaker at the time, Seven Samurai was a technical and creative watershed that became Japan’s highest-grossing movie and set a new standard for the industry. Its influence can be most strongly felt in the western The Magnificent Seven (1960), a film specifically adapted from Seven Samurai. Director John Sturges took Seven Samurai and adapted it to the Old West, with the Samurai replaced by gunslingers. Many of The Magnificent Seven’s scenes mirror those of Seven Samurai.

Screening as part of Art of Action, a UK-wide film season supported by National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network.