Talk:Seven Samurai

Clooney Remake
Terrible news but shouldn't this be mentioned somewhere in the article?--Hypermagic 02:32, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

A Compliment
With the possible exception of the last line (which seems potentially a little too political, depending on how you look at it), this plot summary is awesome. It manages to describe all the important details of a 3 and a half hour movie without being overlong. Props to the writer-SF (unsigned)

remake of an American western
Magnificient Seven on TMC right now, the prelogue said that this is remake of Seven Samurai which is a remake of an American Western but didn't say which one. Would love to know, thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.54.160.202 (talk) 20:04, 11 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Seven Samurai isn't a remake of anything. Doc StrangeMailbox Logbook 20:53, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Origin of the story?
Is the basic story of the film the original (modern) creation of the screenplay writers, or is it based on a previously existing traditional Japanese fictional tale, or actual historical events? 87.81.230.195 (talk) 00:58, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
 * According to the DVD commentary, the basic idea (peasant village hiring samurai) is based on historical incident/-s in the time period (no details given, but c. 1580 or so). Six of the seven samurai are more or less based on real-life counterparts, Kikuchiyo was devised on-set because Kurosawa felt a comic figure fit Mifune better. CFLeon (talk) 08:16, 22 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Upon re-checking the movie, although the commentary mentions the real event, no date is given. Seven Samurai takes place in C.E. 1587, and Gisaku ('Grandad') indicates the previous instance was when he was young, so probably around 1550. Also, although it's said that the six samurai are based on real people, only Kanbei's original is revealed. CFLeon (talk) 09:32, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Errors?
Michael Jeck's DVD commentary states that the only error in the film is the timing of gunshots when Gorebei is killed, but would 16th Century Japan be using iron horseshoes? Also, Jeck states that the appearance of the bandits is the first use of an over the horizon shot "of an alien horde", but it was not uncommon in Westerns of the '30s and '40s; in fact is used in "The Great Train Robbery" in 1903.CFLeon (talk) 10:41, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

Translation issues
Many have said that it is debatable whether 七人の侍 (Shichinin no Samurai) translates into "The Seven Samurai" or "Seven Samurai". It is "Seven Samurai". There is no "the". Therefore, cite/footnote 1 should not exist or should be deleted.AndrewOne (talk) 14:00, 7 July 2011 (UTC)


 * You are incorrect on both counts. I am stunned that no one with actual knowledge of the language has jumped on this. The footnote, though incorrect (as I'm about to explain) is relevant to the misunderstanding.
 * As for the incorrect translation currently standing: definite article in Japanese is implied by the "no" after "Shichinin". An indefinite Seven Samurai is in Japanese "Shichinin Samurai". The number and the noun. So then the possessive "no" adds weight to the number; it tells you it's not just any seven samurai, it's the samurai of the seven - it's the seven samurai.
 * But I can't be bothered creating an account and explaining intermediate Japanese grammar to Wiki-know-it-alls over and over in order to actually get the article name changed, so if anyone discovers this note and is so inclined, thanks. 110.142.235.213 (talk) 05:25, 25 January 2014 (UTC)

Samurai 7
Should not the Anime remake "Samurai 7" be mentioned and or referenced to? There is already a Wikipedia article about it.

Rm macrons from Toshiro
The macrons have gone on the Toshiro Mifune article already so the editor removing them from this article is correct, this is not vandalism. JoshuSasori (talk) 02:57, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

Problem with image
There is a problem with this article's image. The Facebook automatically generated page from the article won't display the Seven Samurai poster (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seven-Samurai/105564736143780?ref=profile), It's a shame as this is the only page for Seven Samurai on Facebook.


 * We are sorry that this is happening and it is hard to know why this is occurring. Unfortunately what happens with Facebook and its links isn't really Wikipedia's concern. MarnetteD | Talk 23:35, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Sources/Citation
Going through the page, myself and a few companions have noticed that some of the sources need to be updated as some no longer exist and others seem to be outdated (polls/recognitions from 2009-2012) which can now be updated to more recent polls.
 * Sometimes, these citations can be retrieved from the archives. Most actual web citations do not permanently disappear. Student7 (talk) 22:06, 18 February 2015 (UTC)

Mentioning of Jidaijeki and adding to structural innovations
What do people think of mentioning "Jidaigeki" (a japanese period drama genre) to the page? It is often mentioned in writing and analysis of the film. There is a whole page dedicated to the genre which I could add to the page?

Also, although the structural innovations section has important information on structure should editing and the film's style be mentioned too? Perhaps as separate subheadings in the section.

MariaCabrera23 (talk) 16:06, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

Narrative

According to Michael Jeck's DVD commentary, Seven Samurai was among the first films to use the now-common plot element of the recruiting and gathering of heroes into a team to accomplish a specific goal, a device used in later films such as The Guns of Navarone, Sholay, the western remake The Magnificent Seven, and Pixar's animated film A Bug's Life.[9] Film critic Roger Ebert speculates in his review that the sequence introducing the leader Kambei (in which the samurai shaves off his topknot, a sign of honor among samurai, in order to pose as a monk to rescue a boy from a kidnapper) could be the origin of the practice, now common in action movies, of introducing the main hero with an undertaking unrelated to the main plot.[10]

Technical

(104, The films of Akira Kurosawa - Donald Richie) Through the creative freedom provided by the studio (x11 The Films of Akira Kurosawa - Donald Richie) Kurosawa used telephoto lenses, which were rare in 1954, and multiple cameras allows the action to fill the screen and place the audience right in the middle of it (link)? (89, Akira Kurosawa Interviews - edited by Bert Cardullo) Kurosawa quickly earned a reputation with his crew as the ‘world’s greatest editor’ because of his practice of editing late at night during the shooting. (89, Akira Kurosawa Interviews - edited by Bert Cardullo) He thus describes as practical necessity a procedure that is incomprehensible to most directors, who on major production spent at least several months with their editors assembling and cutting the film after shooting is competed.

Mjcl12005 (talk) 15:34, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Reception and Legacy
Dear Wiki users, we are university film students doing some group work editing this page. In regards to the reception and legacy section, some of the claims need updating. For example, perhaps deleting the claims such as that it was the ‘highest grossing film in Japan’ (it is hard to find figures of what was the highest grossing film as it doesn't specify which context). Also, some of the rankings and reviews are out of date so I intended on updating the links.

In terms of the reference to Magnificent Seven, I would like to add a reference linking to some relevant scholarly discourse on the remake. But to retain a balanced argument, perhaps it is worth noting Kurosawa’s disappointment with the remake. In an interview he claims it ‘is not a version of seven samurai’. It might be worth specifying that the Samurai film and the Western should be compared in terms of syntactic movement, framing and form rather than contextually, due to their very different contextual and cultural agendas? (I can also supply the sources for this information). Thanks and all the best! Ml13253 (talk) 11:07, 15 February 2015 (UTC)ml13253
 * Let's face it. The Magnificent Seven, while having superb casting, was a puerile copy of the Seven Samurai. Not really in the same league. A knockoff. The American film might be compared to other famous American "Westerns," like Spaghetti Westerns, Shane, High Noon, etc. But the Seven Samurai is in a class by itself IMO. Student7 (talk) 22:25, 20 February 2015 (UTC)
 * If Magnificent Seven is discusses, then Battle Beyond the Stars needs to be referenced. It may not be highbrow cinema, but unlike The Magnificent Seven it does explicitly acknowledge Akira Kurosawa. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stub Mandrel (talk • contribs) 13:00, 2 March 2016 (UTC)

Removed external links
Just wanted to make a quick note on why I removed the Criterion Essays and Roger Ebert's essay: reviews and essays are better used as sources in a reception section or other relevant statements. (1st point in WP:EXT) Ebert's review was already being used in the article, as well as Turan's essay. Here are the other essays for your convenience in case you want to incorporate them:


 * Criterion Collection essay by Philip Kemp
 * Criterion Collection essay by Peggy Chiao
 * Criterion Collection essay by David Ehrenstein — Preceding unsigned comment added by Opencooper (talk • contribs) 09:14, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Themes and Analysis Section
Shouldn't this article have a themes and analysis section as a lot has been written about the film. For instance, the french wikipedia page about this film has a large section about analysis of the film. Pineapple4321 (talk) 19:26, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

References 1 and 4 are the same thing
They are the same article. However, the article has been updated and has had its title changed. Should I update the first reference to make it the updated page? Pineapple4321 (talk) 23:57, 19 January 2021 (UTC)