Seven Samurai (1954) Review: BFI Limited Edition 4K

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Kurosawa Akira’s 1954 film Seven Samurai was to go on to become the most successful and most acclaimed film of his career. It heralded a new era in his filmmaking career, a new direction, a new level of comfort and experimentation in his filmmaking. It marked his first use of telephoto lenses to flatten the action and draw viewers closer into the film, and its three-and-a-half-hour length left no doubt about his mastery over his art.

The slow, methodical epic samurai drama focuses on a provincial farming village harassed by a band of marauding bandits who, on the suggestion of the village elder, decide to hire seven masterless samurai, or ronin, to help defend them. They have nothing to offer in return for the samurai’s services other than shelter and one bowl of rice a day.

Upon finding the eponymous seven samurai, the warriors not only come in to defend the village and train the villagers to defend themselves, but they change how the villagers think about and see themselves.

Kurosawa’s film takes place over the span of an entire year, and it took nearly as long to create. Six weeks of script writing, three months of pre-production and 148 days of shooting — it shows in the careful way in which the action unfolds in Seven Samurai. Not a moment is wasted, not a line of dialogue out of place. An entire hour goes by before the eponymous warriors of the film are even hired. With most directors, this would seem tiresome and self-indulgent, but with Kurosawa and Seven Samurai, it is all in the pursuit of perfection.

Seven Samurai‘s influence has been far-reaching in the world of entertainment. In 1960, the film was remade as the Hollywood western The Magnificent Seven. There was even an anime series based on the film, Samurai 7, released in the US by FUNimation now Crunchyroll.

Purchase Seven Samurai (Limited Edition) 4K Ultra HD on Amazon UK

The Video

Seven Samurai is taken from a new 4K restoration from a 35mm master positive undertaken by TOHO Archive Co. Ltd. The original camera negative is no longer available. BFI film is presents the in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio in a HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement. In a comparison to the Criterion Collection release on 4K with a SDR transfer, I will have to give the Criterion the slight edge in overall picture quality. This is not to say that the BFI transfer looks bad. All of the strengths that were seen in the Criterion are still here — an nearly miraculaous amount of detail for a film taken from a master positive, decent shadow detail, and so on. The bald caps many of the actors playing the villagers wear to portray the chonmage hairstyle are still very noticeable.I think the biggest issue is that the Dolby Vision/HDR grading, which does mildly enhance the overall contrast, such as in the 28-minute 40-second mark in Chapter 4, for instance. The trade-off is the heightened contrast exposes more of the noise and a light scratches present throughout in the source, which is much less noticeable (and less distracting) in the Criterion Collection transfer.

The Audio

Unlike the Criterion which offers two audio choices, the original monaural audio in LPCM 1.0 and a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 surround mix, the BFI offers only the original mono mix in DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. The mono mix is mastered from a 35mm master positive. The sound is clean but the level is low, requiring some bumping up of normal listening levels. It sounds as good as can be and better than expected for a monaural mix, especially the haunting thud of the drum that opens the film.

The Supplements

BFI includes a new audio commentary, but some of the supplements on the Special Features Blu-ray Disc are the same as the archival extras that have also been included on the Criterion Collection 4K release, such as Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create and My Life in Cinema. They also pack in lots of extras with a double-sided poster, four postcards and an 80-page book with essays on the film from the likes of Tony Rayns, Jasper Sharp, and others.

Limited Edition Contents:

• Double-sided poster featuring artwork by Matt Needle and the BFI’s poster designed for the film’s rerelease
• A set of four postcards featuring iconic scenes from the film
• 80-page book with new essays by Tony Rayns, Cristina Álvarez López, Charlie Brigden and James-Masaki Ryan, plus writing by Philip Kemp and Jasper Sharp, and contemporary reviews by Gavin Lambert and director Tony Richardson.

Bonus Features:

• Newly recorded audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin (NEW)
• Trailer
• Gallery (1080p)

Special Features Blu-ray:

• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create (1080i; 00:49:08) – This 2002 documentary was created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create, and features interviews with Kurosawa, screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, script supervisor Teruyo Nogami, actors Seiji Miyaguchi, and Yoshio Tsuchiya.
• Philip Kemp Selected Scenes Commentary (1080p; 00:20:15) – Film critic and writer Philip Kemp analyses key scenes from the film. Recorded for the BFI’s 1999 DVD release.
• The Art of Akira Kurosawa (1080p; 00:48:36) – Asian-cinema expert Tony Rayns discusses Kurosawa’s career and influence.
• My Life in Cinema (1080i; 01:55:58) – A conversation between filmmakers Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima filmed for the Director’s Guild of Japan in 1993 – the two legendary directors discuss Kurosawa’s life, career, and legacy.
• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 00:04:10)
• 2024 Restoration Trailer (1080p; 5.1; 00:01:35)

The Final Assessment

They rarely make them like this anymore and you would be hard pressed to come by a film of this length as easy to sit through as Seven Samurai. The brilliance of the film is in the seamless blending of history, philosophy, action, social commentary, and Kurosawa’s filmmaking prowess. This new 4K release from BFI has the film looking and sounding excellent. It really comes down to personal preference if you will prefer this over the Criterion — or, hey, if you want to and can afford it, buy both. It’s that good a film. Highly recommended.

Seven Samurai Limited Edition is out on 4K Ultra HD in the UK November 18, 2024 from the BFI

Purchase Seven Samurai (Limited Edition) 4K Ultra HD on Amazon UK

• Rating Certificate: UK: PG
• Studios & Distributors: Toho | The British Film Institute (BFI)
• Director: Kurosawa Akira
• Written By: Kurosawa Akira | Hashimoto Shinobu | Oguni Hideo
• Run Time: 207 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• Primary Audio: Japanese DTS-HD MA 1.0
• Subtitles: English
• Street Date: 18 November 2024