Director: Akira Kurosawa

Writer: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni (Screenplay)

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Daisuke Kato, Isao Kimura, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yoshio Inaba

Plot: A poor village under attack by bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: True Master Class

Story: Seven Samurai starts as we see the small poor village getting approached by bandits that they have already raided but decide to wait until the barley is ready which one of the villagers over hears. Searching for answers some of the villagers decide to go in search of poor hungry samurai to fight back against the bandits.

When the villagers find Kambei (Shimura) he purposes they need seven samurai including himself to defend the village once he learns just how desperate the villagers are. Kambei recruits the further six samurai Katayama (Inaba), Shichiroji (Kato), Kyuzo (Miyaguchi), Heihachi (Chiaki), Katsushiro (Kimura) and Kikuchiyo (Mifune) to come and protect the village putting aside all their difference they fight for honour.

Thoughts on Seven Samurai

Story – The story shows how the villagers must defend themselves from bandits and just how they went about that happening. We get to see the honour of a samurai who are willing to fight not for money but for the right thing. This story is simple to follow but most importantly it is about how you can help somebody with their problems if you believe in the right things.

Action/Adventure – When you look at the action inside tis film we get brilliantly choregraphed fight sequences for the time would have been something nobody would have seen and they still stand the test of time now.

Characters/Performance – Each of the samurai has their own characteristics which makes us have added laughs for some but know they will be a force when it comes to battle. The performances are all good to throughout as we see the events of the film unfold.

Settings – The settings for this film are constant as we see most of the film happen within the small village that needs defending, this helps us show just how close the community living there is making us support them through their struggles with the bandits.

Final Thoughts – This is the classic people say it is, while it might be a little bit long you barely notice the 3 hour plus run time.

Overall: Essential viewing for anyone that wants to know how to make a truly special film.

Rating

The Simpsons Challenge

Season 2

Episode 4 – Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish

Couch Gag – This time the couch turns into a bed, but we do get the first appearance of the entrance we have come to know and love.

Plot Synopsis – After the power plant experiences bad publicity and is threatened with closure, Mr. Burns decides to run for Governor in order to have power over the law.

What is going on really – Bart and Lisa start this episode fishing in near the nuclear park where Bart uses the ‘I’m Bart Simpson, who the hell are you line’ before catching a three-eyed fish making headlines.

With the headlines shocking the nation the Government inspect the power planet as we see how Mr Burns squirm through all the faults in the planet as we see many and blackmail is offered.

To overcome a potential closure of his power planet Mr Burns runs for Governor in a campaign against the most popular Governor around as he needs to turn the average people against her and towards him.

This episode reminds me of plenty of events that have happened during 2016 with the election race. Only in this episode we do learn the lesson that the corrupt political man will end up paying for their mistakes.

Star Character

Mr Burns

Final Thoughts – This is the first episode where we get to see a fellow Springfield resident become centre stage. Mr Burns has many brilliant episodes and this could easily be the best considering the recent events in the political world.

Rating 5/5