Kurosawa Comparisons: Part 2

Hoi, it's me. After putting it off for a while, I finally decided make this.

Let's Go!

This time around we'll be going through Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven.


I couldn't get an actual picture of a katana
so I censored a picture of a kitchen knife so
nobody would be able to tell it WASN'T
a katana.

...

It's quite clearly not a katana.

Seven Samurizzles

Seven Samurai is a film directed by Akira Kurosawa (Big surprise, I know) about a village that is under attack from bandits so they hire some Samurai to protect them. The number they hire happens to be, uh, I've forgotten. 

Oh that's right, they hire 6 samurai!

Nah, they hire seven.  Well, they actually only hire one - he manages to get together 6 others. Anyway, I won't say much more about it than that, as it's all you really need to know if you've seen it already, which you will have if you want to continue. This is only because I strongly believe nothing should be spoilt before watching it!  It's directed by Kurosawa and stars Mifune, you already know it's going to be good. Go watch it and come back!

The Magnificent Group of People That Also Happens to Have a Total Number of Seven 

The Magnificent Seven is about a village that is under attack from bandits so they... hire... some... gunslingers... to...  protect... them...

This sounds awfully familiar.

Why are they so similar?

The reason The Magnificent Seven is so similar to Seven Samurai is the fact that one is based on the other. Kurosawa was greatly influenced by the Western genre. After seeing how good his films were, the lads across the pacific decided to return the favor and remake one of Kurosawa's films as a Western! 

So yes, TMS (The Magnificent Seven) is more akin to Seven Samurai than Star Wars is to The Hidden Fortress by a long shot, so instead I'm going to talk about what the films do differently...

TMS makes the decision to compress the characters of Kikuchiyo and the young disciple samurai into that of Chico. I guess they felt that's what would work best. It's also interesting how at the end Chico stays at the village with his lover, but it is left to the viewer's imagination whether the equivalent character does or not in Seven Samurai. I'd be interested to find out why this was, at it can't be for the sake of a happy ending - most of the 7 end up dying in both. Speaking of which, R.I.P woodcutter samurai, i liked him a lot. :(

I also really like how well executed all the fight scenes are in both films! Considering the where/when both were set being so different, it's great to see what an awesome job both did. Whether you fancy the moody sword clashes of Seven Samurai or the pacey gunfights of TMS, you're bound to enjoy yourself either way.

I guess this sort of explains what I'm trying to drive at. Although both works came from such different cultures, they were able to appreciate the other - Kurosawa loved TMS. Not only that, but both became some of the most celebrated works of all time.

I think that's pretty great.

Quick Train Update

WHILST WRITING THIS I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE DIRECTOR OF THAMESLINK HAS RESIGNED. THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFE.

-Dexter

Comments

  1. DexterWhoJune 15, 2018 at 11:29 AM

    No comment award this week, but we did get one last week. :)

    ReplyDelete

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