Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai - 8/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047478/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_samurai
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/seven_samurai/
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sevensamurai.htm

This movie was much better then I expected it to be. From browsing various movie websites and forums over the past I've seen that this movie was held in pretty high regards, but I never really felt like spending the 3 and a half hours to watch this film. I'm glad I finally did!

I think the thing I like most about this movie is that, in my opinion, it holds up very well for a 55 year old movie. A lot of time when watching older films I can't help but realize how dated they are. I think that if this movie were remade today it would do very well in theaters. Not to say that I hope it ever gets remade, because I don't. I think this one is best left as the classic that it is.

I also liked how realistic it seemed. Not necessarily the actual fighting, but the fact that it was just a simple battle that seven samurai had to fight against a group of 40 bandits to protect a village. They weren't fighting for money or glory, just to protect the innocent farmers. I also loved Kikuchiyo. He gave great insight to what the villagers were going through and that they might be so helpless after all. Not to mention that he provides comic relief in some of the more serious situations.

Great, great movie. The only reason I'm not rating it higher is because I don't see myself watching it again alone. It was definitely a great film, it's just that it's length doesn't sit very well with my rating system.