Movie/DVD Review: Seven Samurai

One of the greatest movies of all-time finally gets a DVD treatment worthy of its legendary status. I have held out on getting Seven Samurai on DVD since I first got my DVD player, sometime in 2000. The original barebones DVD was felt by many to be worthy of purchase for the film alone, no matter what its quality was, as long as it was watchable, afterall, it was Seven Samurai. However, I held off because I heard of rumours of a re-release with new features, new subtitle translation, and improved audio and video quality. Fast forward to September 2006 and our prayers were finally answered as the best DVD production company in the world, the Criterion Collection, finally releases a new 3-disc DVD of Seven Samurai, with upgraded video quality, and a smattering of quality extras.

About the movie (the simple version): Set in 16th century Japan, a small village hires a group of samurai to help protect themselves from bandits who have stolen and ransacked their village, killing some villagers in the process. The movie is long (almost 3.5 hours), but it's never boring, and I found myself sucked into this deeply engrossing movie. Like all great movies, it just gets better everytime you watch it. And everytime you watch, you find something new to like about it that you didn't catch before.

Criterion's DVD features a brand new restoration that simply looks incredible compared to previous releases. It's not perfect, but for a film made in 1954, it has never looked any better. But don't take my word for it, here's some comparisons of screen captures from various DVDs of the film at DVD Beaver. The audio is presented in original Japanese mono or Dolby Surround. The score is conveyed well but voices can seem harsh and tinny at certain times. Again, technological limits at the time of its making limit the quality it could've been. That being said, it's not a big deal and remains very listenable and watchable.

Extras include two informative full-length commentaries, one by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck, and another featuring a roundtable of several film scholars. Also included is a lengthy documentary on the making of Seven Samurai filled with much insight by surviving cast and crew. It does not include any comments from Kurosawa himself as it was made after his passing in 1998, however that slight is belayed by the inclusion of a two hour interview with Akira Kurosawa where he recounts nearly his entire career in filmmaking. Finally there is also an hour long documentary called "Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences" which looks at the film's influences from other cinema, as well as the Samurai tradition and lifestyle.

You ever see those DVDs that scream at you "HOURS AND HOURS OF EXTRA FEATURES" and when you finally see them, it's either grossly inflated, or complete dreck? With this release, you not only get quantity, but you also get quality. Criterion's releases tend to be more pricey than the average DVD release, but they're worth it. It's obvious that this company is made up of people who love movies. Each movie they release is done with the utmost care and respect, with quality being their primary goal.

For people who owned previous versions of this movie, this is well-worth the upgrade, and for those who've never owned this movie, a true movie lover's collection is not complete without it.