Best Buy  ›  Movies & Music  ›  Movies & TV Shows  ›  Product Info
Seven Samurai DVD 715515019927 Front

Seven Samurai  (Black & White)  (DVD)  (Japanese)  1954

SKU:  7949161 Release Date: 9/5/2006
Customer Reviews:
5.0 of 5 5.0 of 5 (8 reviews)

Shipping: Usually leaves our warehouse in 1 business day

Estimate Arrival Time

Store Pickup: Not Available

Special Offers:

Best Buy Cardholder Offers:

Our Price:
$36.99
List Price:
$49.95

Share This Product

What Parents Need to Know

Common Sense Media Says:

Famous epic with stylish violence and subtitles.

Read the full review


All Movie Guide  

Synopsis

Akira Kurosawa's epic tale concerns honor and duty during a time when the old traditional order is breaking down. The film opens with master samurai Kambei (Takashi Shimura) posing as a monk to save a kidnapped farmer's child. Impressed by his selflessness and bravery, a group of farmers begs him to defend their terrorized village from bandits. Kambei agrees, although there is no material gain or honor to be had in the endeavor. Soon he attracts a pair of followers: a young samurai named Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), who quickly becomes Kambei's disciple, and boisterous Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune), who poses as a samurai but is later revealed to be the son of a farmer. Kambei assembles four other samurais, including Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi), a master swordsman, to round out the group. Together they consolidate the village's defenses and shape the villagers into a militia, while the bandits loom menacingly nearby. Soon raids and counter-raids build to a final bloody heart-wrenching battle. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Cast

Minoru Chiaki - Heihachi, amiable samurai
Ichiro Chiba - Priest
Yoshio Kosugi - Mosuke
Kuninori Kodo - Gisaku, village elder
Toshiro Mifune - Kikuchiyo, would-be samurai
Haruo Nakajima - Bandit
Sojin - Minstrel
Seiji Miyaguchi - Kyuzo, swordsman
Senkichi Omura - Bandit
Keiji Sakakida - Gasaku
Takashi Shimura - Kambei, leader of samurai
Gen Shimizu - Masterless Samurai
Noriko Sengoku - Wife from Burned House
Kichijiro Ueda - Bandit
Yoshio Tsuchiya - Rikichi, militant villager
Atsushi Watanabe - Vendor
Isao Yamagata - Samurai
Kamatari Fujiwara - Manzo, Shino's father
Fumiko Homma - Peasant Woman
Bokuzen Hidari - Yohei
Yoshio Inaba - Gorobei, wise warrior
Ko (Isao) Kimura - Katsushiro, young samurai
Daisuke Kato - Shichiroji, Kambei's friend
Toranosuke Ogawa - Grandfather
Sojin Jr. - Minstrel
Ko Kimura - Katsushiro, young samurai
Eijiro Tono - Bandit

Crew

First Assistant Director: Hiromichi Horikawa
Screenwriter: Akira Kurosawa
Editor: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Screenwriter: Hideo Oguni
Cinematographer: Asakazu Nakai
Production Designer: Shinobu Muraki ,Yoshiro Muraki
Screenwriter: Shinobu Hashimoto
Composer (Music Score): Fumio Hayasaka
Producer: Shojiro Motoki
Art Director: So Matsuyama
Production Designer: Takashi Matsuyama
Stunts: Yoshio Sugino
Consultant/advisor: Ienori Kaneko ,Shigeru Endo
Costume Designer: Kohei Ezaki
Cinematographer: Asaichi Nakai

Customer Reviews

Seven Samurai - Fullscreen Subtitle - DVD (8 out of 8)
The Best of the best
5
Posted by: from Knoxville TN. on 02/22/2010First of all the forst time i seen this movie i was very young and i had just started watching kung fu and karate films and never really seen a Samurai film, well what i was looking for was some hard hitting Karate or some high flying Kung Fu kicks, well once i seen this movie i was mad no karate no kung fu kicks i rushed it back to the video store and said this was no good at all very lame move......what i didnt know was i had just seen the best movie ever made, so what i did after seeing a few other Samurai films like Zatoichi the blind swordsman i was ready to see Seven Samurai again and OMG this time it blew me away and this was the only films that i ever got so much into i felt like i was in the movie with the players it was that good , now to some that may seem lame but how many movies can you think of that when you first seen it you hated it and the next time you 1000% loved it? that is the power of a film like Seven Samurai, watch it and enjoy classic filming.

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful?

Kurosawa's masterpiece
5
Posted by: from on 01/07/2009This is one of the best of the best! Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is one of the finest, and most influental films ever made. The story tells of a village suffering attacks by bandits, in an effort to save thier lives and property, they hire samurai to fight the bandits. Seven Samurai has some truly outstanding action sequences with some great cinematography and brilliant stunt choreography. Each action scene is exciting and a true pelasure to watch. Seven Samurai also features some stirring performaces by a great cast, including the legendary Toshiro Mifune in one of his best roles as the rough and tumble Kikuchiyo. Each samurai is a distict and well-developed character and the movie explores the true meaning of honor. Each of the samurai exemplifies what it means to be samurai. The movie may be long, but it is exactly the length it needs to be and it does not feel long when you watch it. Seven Samurai also inspired other films, from the classic western 'The Magnificent Seven' to one of my favortie anime series 'Samurai 7'. I would recommend this to anyone who likes great movies.

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful?

A Great Film from A Master Film Maker!
5
Posted by: from Atlanta on 01/04/2009There are films that are difficult to define or explain in plain terms, as to their quality aspects. " Seven Samurai " fortunately is not one of those films. In Historical terms, this film has to be considered one of the greatest adventure films ever to be exported outside of Japan. Akira Kurosawa is a master at character development, with a slow methodical briliance of one who can take a script and masterfully translate it to film. Luckily for Akira Kurosawa, he had the advantage of directing at a studio (Toho) willing to take chances and had the expertise to create the background and effects to support this Master film Maker's vision of the old world, in a very authentic manner, teleporting the viewer into Samurai society where honor and a code of ethics are still a core belief in feudal Japan. You would think that it would be difficult to sit thru a 207 minute film, but this is a very special film that will have your complete attention, by 5 minutes into the first half. At the end of the film you will be completely exhausted by the action and drama this film contains. Criterion's remaster of this film gem is the best sounding and clearest visually speaking, I have seen of this film. Its money well spent and I doubt there is a better DVD version of this film, elsewhere. Seven Samurai is just one of those films that you can talk about, without doing it justice. Its an event, not a movie.. Five Star Rating * * * * *

3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful?

One of the great ones
5
Posted by: from MI on 11/03/2008This is one of the defining action movies. Many films made later in the united states barrow form Seven samurai. It is movie about honor and self worth. Mfune is brilliant in the movie.

3 out of 4 found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful?

Best live action movie ever filmed!
5
Posted by: from on 04/02/2008Seven Samurai is a movie about a rag-tag group of veteran warriors, an apprentice, and a man who's only wish is to be a samurai who join together out of the goodness of their hearts to protect a simple farming village from the yearly attack of a bandit gang when the lord of the land will not. I have been and continue to be a practicer of martial arts, specifically Iaijutsu (sword techniques) and this movie more than any other exemplifies the way of the warrior in which he will lay down his life in order to protect someone who cannot. I am a grown man and I can honestly say that there is no other movie I have ever seen that can make me cry openly at its ending. This is a must own for any person familiar or interested in black and white films, Japanese culture, Japanese martial arts, or anyone interested in the way of the samurai, not to mention anyone interested in a phenomenal movie that will remain with you always. I first saw this movie late at night when I was early in my teen years, I waited endlessly when for a quality version of this movie came out and with Criterion, that desire is fulfilled.

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful?

One of Kurosawa's Best
5
Posted by: from TX on 10/13/2007Criterion's new 3-disc edition of "Seven Samurai" is undoubtebly one of the best DVDs in their library. Besides being one of the best films in the history of cinema (I won't dwell on this fact. I'm sure you can find similar claims in other reviews), this is also a must-have DVD. The new, restored high-def transfer is far superior to the prior release. They did an amazing clean-up job. The film is spread over two discs in order to maintain high quality video. The original mono track is included and sounds great. They've added a new Dolby Digital Surround Sound track, but in my opinion, it doesn't add very much. This set is loaded with extras. It includes two commentary tracks (a new one, and the one from the previous release), three documentaries (running over 3 hours total), trailers, and photo galleries. All of which are very interesting and entertaining, and not just filler. The packaging itself is beautifully done, including a 56-page book featuring photos and essays. All-in-all, this was one of the best DVDs to be released in 2006, and it deserves to be in every film fan's collection.

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful?

Great Film, Great Edition!
5
Posted by: from on 10/11/2007By far the best samurai film I've ever seen, yet Kurosawa doesn't present a simple sword-slashing film. This is all about the people, their character and personalities. This has it all: humor, love, hate, honor, duty, etc. The included booklet and extras do a very nice job of giving, those not familiar with Akira Kurosawa or his work, a good overview of the man and his influences (like director John Ford).

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful?

An Akira Kurosawa classic.
5
Posted by: from Green Bay, WI on 09/21/2007This is one of the biggest classic samurai movies of all time. This movie is what the western The Magnificent Seven is based off of. It is a must see for all samurai film buffs.

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful?

Other Formats

Seven Samurai - Fullscreen - Blu-ray Disc

Our Price: $34.99