Shichinin no samurai (1954)

Réalisateur:

Akira Kurosawa

Scénaristes:

Akira Kurosawa (screenplay) &
Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay) ...
(suite)

Date de sortie:

19 novembre 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Aventure | Drame | Guerre

Accroche:

The Mighty Warriors Who Became the Seven National Heroes of a Small Town

Intrigue:

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

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Bandit | Farmer | Japan | Rice

Récompenses:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

Solid Gold

Ensemble

Takashi Shimura	...	Kambei Shimada
Toshirô Mifune	...	Kikuchiyo
Yoshio Inaba	...	Gorobei Katayama
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Kyuzo
Minoru Chiaki	...	Heihachi Hayashida
Daisuke Katô	...	Shichiroji
Isao Kimura	...	Katsushiro Okamoto
Keiko Tsushima	...	Shino
Yukiko Shimazaki	...	Rikichi's Wife
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Manzo, father of Shino
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Mosuke
Bokuzen Hidari	...	Yohei
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Rikichi
Kokuten Kodo	...	Gisaku, the Old Man
Takuzo Kumagaya	...	Peasant (as Jirô Kumagai)
Eijirô Tôno	...	Kidnapper
Haruko Toyama	...	Ginsaku's Daughter-in-law
Tsuneo Katagiri	...	Farmer in front of Gono
Kichijiro Ueda	...	Captured Bandit Scout
Jun Tatara	...	1st Coolie
Yasuhisa Tsutsumi	...	Farmer in front of Gono
Atsushi Watanabe	...	Bun Vendor
Toranosuke Ogawa	...	Grandfather of Kidnapped Girl
Yu Akitsu	...	Husband in Burnt House
Isao Yamagata	...	Samurai
Sojin	...	Blind Minstrel (as Sojin Kamiyama)
Gen Shimizu	...	Samurai who kicks farmers
Keiji Sakakida	...	Gosaku
Shinpei Takagi	...	Bandit Chief
Shin Otomo	...	Bandit second-in-command
Toshio Takahara	...	Samurai with gun (as Shuno Takahara)
Hiroshi Sugi	...	Tea Shop Owner
Miki Hayashi
Sachio Sakai	...	2nd Coolie
Akira Tani	...	Bandit
Sokichi Maki	...	Strong-looking Samurai
Haruo Nakajima	...	Bandit
Ichirô Chiba	...	Buddhist Priest
Noriko Sengoku	...	Wife of Gono Family
Fumiko Honma	...	Woman Farmer
Masanobu Ôkubo	...	Samurai
Etsuro Nishijo	...	Samurai
Etsuryo Saijo
Minoru Ito	...	Samurai
Hideo Shibuya
Kiyoshi Kamoda	...	Samurai
Senkichi Ômura	...	Bandit who escapes
Takashi Narita	...	Bandit who escapes
Shoichi Hirose	...	Bandit
Koji Uno	...	Bandit
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
Hiroshi Agetsu	...	Gono Husband
Ryutaro Amami	...	Bandit
Goro Amano	...	Farmer
Shizuko Hogashi	...	Farmer's Wife
Tazue Ichimanji	...	Woman Farmer
Toku Ihara	...	Farmer
Kaneo Ikeda	...	Samurai
Kazuo Imai	...	Farmer
Hisaya Ito	...	Samurai wandering through town
Koji Iwamoto	...	Farmer
Kyoichi Kamiyama	...	Farmer
Shigeo Kato	...	Farmer
Masayoshi Kawabe	...	Farmer
Michiko Kawabe	...	Farmer's Wife
Ippei Kawagoe	...	Farmer
Yoshikazu Kawamata	...	Farmer
Akira Kichoji	...	Farmer (as Akira Kichijoji)
Yayoko Kitano	...	Farmer's Wife
Fumiyoshi Kumaya	...	Ginsaku's Son
Akio Kusama	...	Bandit
Masahide Matsushita	...	Samurai
Jun Mikami	...	Bandit
Sanpei Mine	...	Farmer
Keiko Mori	...	Farmer's Wife
Kyoji Naka	...	Bandit
Eisuke Nakanishi	...	Farmer
Toshiko Nakano	...	Farmer's Wife
Junpei Natsuki	...	Farmer
Hideo Oe	...	Farmer
Yasuo Onishi	...	Farmer
Matsue Ono	...	Woman Farmer
Masako Oshiro	...	Woman Farmer
Hideo Otsuka	...	Farmer
Keiko Ozawa	...	Woman Farmer
Haruya Sakamoto	...	Samurai
Kyoro Sakurai	...	Samurai
Takeshi Seki	...	3rd Coolie
Megeru Shimoda	...	Farmer
Seiji Sunagawa	...	Bandit
Misao Suyama	...	Woman Farmer
Jiro Suzukawa	...	Farmer
Kazuo Suzuki	...	Farmer
Toriko Takahara	...	Woman Farmer
Yuko Togawa	...	Farmer's Wife
Kamayuki Tsubono	...	Bandit
Tomeko Umayato	...	Woman Farmer in front of Gono
Michiko Uwamoto	...	Farmer's Wife
Akira Yamada	...	Farmer
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Samurai wandering through town (uncredited)
Kaneyuki Tsubono	...	Bandit (uncredited)
Ken Utsui	...	Samurai wandering throuth town (uncredited)
Ren Yamamoto	...	Farmer (uncredited)

Réalisé par
Akira Kurosawa

Scénaristes
Akira Kurosawa		(screenplay) &
Shinobu Hashimoto		(screenplay) &
Hideo Oguni		(screenplay)

Produit par
Sôjirô Motoki	....	producer

Musique originale
Fumio Hayasaka

Image
Asakazu Nakai

Montage
Akira Kurosawa

Création des décors
Takashi Matsuyama

Création des costumes
Kôhei Ezaki
Mieko Yamaguchi

Maquillage
Midori Nakajo	....	hair stylist
Junjiro Yamada	....	hair stylist

Directeur de production
Hiroshi Nezu	....	production supervisor

Assistant réalisateur
Sakae Hirosawa	....	assistant director
Hiromichi Horikawa	....	chief assistant director
Toshi Kaneko	....	assistant director
Masaya Shimizu	....	assistant director
Yasuyoshi Tajitsu	....	assistant director

Département Art
Kôhei Ezaki	....	art consultant
Koichi Hamamura	....	property master
Yoshirô Muraki	....	assistant art director

Technicien du son
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Masanao Uehara	....	sound assistant
Fumio Yanoguchi	....	sound recordist

Caméra et Département Electrique
Masao Fukuda	....	still photographer
Mitsuo Kaneko	....	assistant lighting technician
Shigeru Mori	....	lighting technician
Takao Saitô	....	assistant camera

Dpartement Editorial
Hiroshi Nezu	....	editing manager

Département Musique
Masaru Satô	....	assistant to composer

Divers
Shigeru Endo	....	instructor: horseback archery
Kôhei Ezaki	....	folklore researcher
Yuji Hamada	....	accountant
Ienori Kaneko	....	archery instructor
Toshio Nakane	....	acting office
Teruyo Nogami	....	script supervisor
Takeharu Shimada	....	production assistant
Yoshio Sugino	....	swordplay instructor

Companies de production

• Toho Company

Distributeurs

• Toho Company (1954) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (US network premiere)
• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Films Incorporated (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Janus Films (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Landmark Films (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1989) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Cowboy Pictures (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Toho Company (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• Shoval Film Production (2003) (Israel) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2009) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Atlantic Film (2002) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Cinédis (1955) (France) (theatrical)
• Jaguar Film (1965) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Rosenbergs Filmbyrå (1965) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Studio 43 (????) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (2002) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Television och Smalfilm (1965) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Tocantins (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Toho Video (1996) (Japan) (VHS)

Autres Companies

• Toho Genzosho  video editing

Autre(s) titre(s):

Seven Samurai (UK) (USA)
Shichi-nin no samurai (Japan) (alternative transliteration)

Durée:

160 min (international version) | Argentina:163 min | Japan:206 min (initial release) | Sweden:202 min (2002 re-release) | UK:150 min (original version) | UK:190 min (1991 re-release) | USA:141 min | USA:203 min (re-release) | USA:207 min (restored version) | Spain:202 min (DVD edition)

Pays:

Japan

Langue:

Japonais

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Rapport de forme:

1,37 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:10 | Czech Republic:U | Spain:T | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 (re-rating) (2002) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | Switzerland:14 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16

Société:

Toho Company

Anecdotes:

According to a Japanese film scholar, one of the things that inspired this film was an account that director Akira Kurosawa read about a village that actually did hire samurai to protect them from marauding bandits.

Goofs:

Considéré à tort comme goofs: During the final battle, when first we see Kikuchiyo enter the females' hut, it appears that he backs the bandit out twice. In reality, it is two different bandits, as can be seen by the fact that they are wearing different helmets. What is strange is that Kikuchiyo kills the bandit chief, who fired the two final and fatal shots, but the second man (wearing a kabuto with a wide, flat neck-guard) seems to vanish without trace after leaving the building.

Guillemet:

[first lines]
Bandit second-in-command: We'll take this place next.
Bandit Chief: We took it last autumn. They haven't got anything worth taking yet. Let's wait.

Connexions De Film:

Refait comme "Samurai 7" (2004)

Solid Gold

I discovered 16 of Kurosawa's best known films before returning to the which is commonly thought of as his masterpiece. Seven Samurai is unlike any other grand classic ever produced. It's basic plot can be summed up in a single easy sentence, yet its refinement and execution rival any movie you've ever seen.

The premise: in chaotic 16th century Japan, as marauders threaten raid villages, one village hires samurai to defend it from a group of bandits. Yet Kurosawa (also co-writer) developed these characters in a way unheard of for what might pass as an epic action film. To its astonishing credit, through all of its 207 minutes running time, Seven Samurai never falters or bores. And if the script is a marvel in itself, the acting and production design than derive from it are nothing short of superlative. It is said that Kurosawa forced the villagers (from supporting role to mere extra) to live together as a community during production and be their characters, each and every one of which he had drawn out specifically. This unusual technique gave Seven Samurai a feel of authenticity unparalleled in film history.

The samurai themselves are so richly given life to in the screenplay that little more would have been needed to make them memorable characters, yet the main cast pay off at every turn, and though every one of the seven main actors give in perfect performances (never as I had feared before watching it do you confuse them, even in the chaotic battle scenes), two immortal roles have a particularly resounding effect: Takashi Shimura (Kambei Shimada), who plays the leader of the ragged band of samurai, gives his sage and venerable warrior a god-like intensity that makes the magnetic charisma of his character unquestionable. One of the easiest leaders to root for in all the history of film-making. Stealing the show however, albeit by a very thin margin, is longtime Kurosawa favorite coworker Toshiro Mifune (Kikuchiyo) as the rogue seventh, the black sheep of the herd, giving the bravura ultimate performance of a lifetime paved throughout with great roles.

The story follows them and the villagers, equally nuanced and developed, through their encounter, training, eventual bonding and the big inevitable fight for survival. Unlike subsequent very successful remakes (i.e. Magnificent Seven), seven Samurai transcended excellency by having many layers (nothing or no one is white or black: everything exists in shades of gray) and thus being very real and human. Even without the menace, its interpersonal dynamics would have made it perfect human drama, subtle, balancing comedy, intensity, realism, drama and a deep philosophy with astonishing ease, yet the menace does materialize and thus Seven Samurai unleashes its violence in a series of action scenes crafted with such vision and ingenuity as has ever reached an action film (the frenetic battle scenes at the end rather evoke Saving Private Ryan in their relentlessness).

In the end, what made this into solid gold was, at the core, Akira Kurosawa, who would, despite directing many further masterpieces (Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Red Beard, Dersu Uzala, Kagemusha, Ran), would never top this one. Throughout his life, Kurosawa kept confirming his status as perhaps the greatest director ever. If so, Seven Samurai is the ultimate proof of that truth. One of the very best films ever made and personal all-time favorite.