Seven Samurai

Criterion Collection Challenge #2 This film is literally the Avengers but with actually good dialogue and emotion. "Your head is on the block, and all you can think of is your whiskers." - absolute brilliant line that pretty much sums up the level of writing this film contains. As a person with ADHD the 200 minute runtime absolutely destroyed me which is why I can't in good faith give this film a 100 The Seven Samurai is a beautiful tale of 7 incredibly different samurai assembling together to protect a village of farmers from the bandits stealing their crops. But, it is so much more than that, it is a tale on the honor that comes with being a samurai and the sacrifices required to become the honored warriors that the men are. As for why it is part of the Criterion Collection is evident as it has the best cinematography of the time and it is the first action film to have scenes spliced together from multiple stationary cameras, allowing the actors to separate themselves from the audience entirely which creates the real looking action we see. The reason this film hits so well is it does not feel like a film, it feels like I am watching history, real occurrences, real emotions, and real tragedy, while also getting blessed with some of the best quotes of dialogue surrounding war. The line at the end of this film when our remaining samurai are mourning about the peasants time to rejoice but not the warriors as they can not look past the death of their comrades is just so powerful. Overall, the impact this film has on its genre and its culture is simply unmatched. 98/100