Seven Samurai (七人の侍) is a is a 1954 Japanese Samurai Drama directed by Akira Kurosawa. Taking place during the Sengoku period of Japanese history, the film tells the story of a veteran Samurai that arrived in a defenceless village that has been repeatedly looted by murderous thieves. As the villagers ask for his help, he recruits six other Ronin who agree to teach the inhabitants how to defend themselves in exchange for food. Each of the warriors had a specific talent in addition to their use of the iconic Japanese sword.

The film is just over 3 hours long and shows the political and social chaos of 16th century Japan. It was the biggest production in the country up to that moment and it was not an easy process, since it had to be interrupted several times due to budget problems. They were even short on horses for the final battle scenes!

Another fun fact is that actor Seiji Miyaguchi, who plays the samurai Kyuzo, had never touched a sword before the film. With no background on sword training, Kurosawa brought the masters Yoshio Sugino and Junzo Sasamori onto the set to teach the actor basic techniques. Sasamori had to abandon the quest early due to other commitments, but Sugino stayed and prepared a choreography focused on bringing some reality to scenes. Thanks to this expert input and careful editing, Miyaguchi was able to convey to the audience the impression that he was a skilled swordsman.

It’s really interesting to see the artistic representation of martial arts when transported to mass media, like cinema and television. Seven Samurai is still seen as one of the greatest productions of all times, still inspiring and influencing films around the world.