Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai (aka Shichinin no Samurai) is the Japanese version of The Magnificent Seven. Vice versa actually. Samurai was made six years earlier.

A remote village in 16th century Japan has been under the thumb of bandits for several years. When the bandits promise to return after the barley harvest, the villagers determine to fight back by hiring seven down on their luck samurai. The story and acting was good. Yoshio Tsuchiya and Takashi Shimura were great. The character and subplot involving Rikichi's wife could have used a little more attention. The battle scenes were sometimes very confusing. (Maybe that was on purpose. I've heard combat can be that way.)

What I found most interesting was a glimpse into how the Japanese see their own past and how almost no attempt was made to glamorize the characters or setting. There were no knights in shining armor, no super-human martial acrobatics, and very little selfless heroism. This was a story about real people in a dirty world and in bad situation.

Worth watching.