Extra! Watch "Seven Samurai" today
A restored version of the film plays Saturday at the Varsity Cinema
It’s the greatest film in the history of Japanese cinema, one of the most influential movies and one of my personal favorites. And you can see this specially restored version of a 1954 classic on a local screen today.
“Seven Samurai,” now in rich black and white, will be shown at 1 p.m. today at the Varsity Cinema in Des Moines.
Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece helped inspire countless American Westerns (“The Magnificent Seven” among them) as well as Star Wars and other fantasy films.
A promotional visual for “Seven Samurai’s” Varsity Cinema showing. (Photo by John Naughton.)
If you’ve seen menacing enemies gather atop a ridge to look down on a helpless village or castle, you’ve spotted Kurosawa’s fingerprints on the screen.
If you’ve seen an outsider character suddenly spring to attack a swarm of foes with ferocious intensity, Kurosawa did that in 1954.
If you’ve heard multiple film characters with their own musical theme — such as “Star Wars” — you’ve witnessed the impact of “Seven Samurai.”
Watch this film and you’ll experience a three-hour immersive, epic journey in rich character development, brilliant storytelling, wonderful editing and rich acting.
The movie’s 70th anniversary release is delightfully sharp on the screen, and the sound is excellent on the Varsity’s system.
A bit about the film: Kurosawa spent years developing the project. It’s a study in film history. The acting, led by Toshiro Mifune, is gripping. The fight choreography is unlike anything before its time.
The film was re-released nationwide on a limited number of screens. Only a few per state. I saw it at the Varsity on Tuesday with a movie-loving crowd that seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.
See it for yourself if you can.