Cinematheque Ontario presents - Seven Samurai

Cinematheque Ontario presents Akira Kurosawa’s classic SEVEN SAMURAI on the big screen.  Screening is this Sunday 7 pm at jackson Hall, AGO. Toronto.  Check the cinematheque website for more details.

http://www.cinemathequeontario.ca

This is part of the Kurosawas retrospective that begins this week.

SEVEN SAMURAI (Japan 1954) ***** Top 10
Directed by Akira Kurosawa

This is arguably one of the most respected and well-known Japanese film in North America.  SEVEN SAMURAI’s are hired by villagers to protect them from marauding bandits who plan to strike after the next harvest.

The lead character is played by Kurosawa’s staple Toshiro Mifune, who here plays a clownish ronin (masterless samurai) with an unknown past.  At first rejected by the other samurai to be in their group, he proves his worth and even more when revealed that he is in act a farmer’s son by birth.

Besides being an action flick, Kurosawa’s film is much, much more! Romance, chivalry, heroics and ultimately hope are the necessary elements found in Kurosawa’s tale of desperation that elevates this otherwise ordinary samurai tale into classic status.  Filmed and told with great emotion, conviction and atmosphere and spirit, SEVEN SAMURAI is a compelling watch from start to finish, despite its over 3 hours length.  Kurosawa ever so often shifts focus to individuals (villagers or samurai) to humanize his story.

Divided into many parts, the most intriguing is the beginning in which the villagers search for worthy, broke and hungry samurai.  Not an easy task, but made all believable by Kurosawa’s great storytelling skill.  The other parts include the bonding of the villagers and the samurai (which begins with mistrust), the training and strategy and finally the battle between the samurai and villagers against the bandits.

Remade as a western, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and on many critics’ list of top 10 films of all time, SEVEN SAMURAI is a MUST-SEE for all those who love cinema.

(Screening: June 13th at 7 pm) Cinematheque Ontario
http://www.cinemathequeontario.ca