Seven Samurai (1954) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers

In 1954, Akira Kurosawa co-wrote, edited, and directed an epic film called Seven Samurai. The story takes place in the Sengoku period of Japan, during 1586. The story follows a group of desperate farmers who hire seven samurai masterless guards to fight bandits who want to steal their crops after harvest.

Brief Synopsis

The bandit chief decides to wait until after the harvest before raiding a mountain village in 1586. Gisaku, the miller and elder of the settlement, suggests hiring samurai to protect the villagers after hearing this news. Gisaku advises them to find hungry samurai to offer them food.

The villagers discover Kambei, a ronin who had saved a young boy from being held hostage by a thief. A young samurai named Katsushiro requests Kambei’s assistance, and he agrees reluctantly. Shichiroji, Gorobei, Heihachi, and Kyuzo, a reticent samurai that Katsushiro admires, are recruited, and a renegade ronin, Kikuchiyo, were also welcomed, despite Katsushiro’s attempts to prevent him from joining.

The villagers refuse to greet the samurai when they arrive, cowering in their homes. After being insulted, Kikuchiyo calls the village alarm, causing the villagers to come out and ask for help. Eventually, the samurai and farmers learn to trust each other. Even though their social classes prohibit it, Katsushiro becomes intimate with Shino, a farmer’s daughter whose father disguised her as a boy. The father shaved her head to protect her from the world but failed to keep her from being intimate with the samurai.

Movie’s Success

Japan’s Seven Samurai was the third highest-grossing film of 1954, out-grossing Godzilla, which had sold 9.69 million tickets.