Why So Blu?

Seven Samurai – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Like Godzilla, the other Criterion Collection film recently released on 4K UHD, Seven Samurai also turns 70 this year. It’s been treated to a full-on 4K restoration that was toured worldwide in theaters. Often regarded as the “Best Japanese Film of All Time” and one of the greatest and most influential films in cinema history, Akira Kurosawa’s epic samurai action classic is easily one of my favorite films. Whether it’s the story, the characters, the action, the grand sweeping nature of the film, or just the excitement and fun that comes with this story, it is satisfying in pretty much any way I look at it, along with being as essential as plenty of other classics, be it Citizen Kane, The Battle of Algiers, or 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now presented with a new restoration, the film looks better than ever at home, with the continued presence of the terrific extras that have accompanied previous releases.

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Film:

Part of the joy comes from how straightforward the plot is. Set in 16^th-century Japan, a group of farmers seek out several experienced samurai-for-hire to combat the bandits who plan to steal their crops after the harvest. If this plot sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the first version of this sort of story that would inspire so many films, from The Magnificent Seven to Three Amigos to 13 Assassins to A Bug’s Life to Battle Beyond the Stars. However, the original is undoubtedly the best. It features incredible performances from many, including Takashi Shimura as Kambei, the leader of the seven, and the brilliant Toshiro Mifune as Kikuchiyo, the humorous and hotheaded rogue who eventually proves his worth.

As an epic, Seven Samurai has a level of scope that one would expect. Still, so much of the film is rooted effectively in building out these characters and the stakes before getting to any of the action found in the film’s second half. So much time is spent on setting up the titular seven, with no real regard for adding more generically exciting scenes to match some version of audience expectation. Instead, this is a film geared toward understanding the points of view of many, and doing so with dramatic understandings of certain situations, comedic moments to show the bonds and make the audience more comfortable, and conversations that continually make the circumstances clear for all.

For a three-and-a-half-hour movie, it moves at the pace of a much shorter film yet makes every moment count. And even then, the dynamics between the characters vary, with some of the relationships being rooted in some explicit details while others are left vague. That comes from a confidence in storytelling, which isn’t unheard of for Kurosawa but remains impressive nonetheless. When you think about how much slack there is on modern films that are shorter yet still long based on what they are attempting to accomplish, it really speaks to just what an accomplishment Seven Samurai is.

The filmmaking at play is, of course, a huge asset for the film. Having proved himself several times over (Stray Dog, Rashomon, and Ikiru, for example), Kurosawa’s cinematic choices for Seven Samurai continue to show what a fantastic filmmaker he was. Choices innovative for the time, whether it is camera placement, uses of zoom, additions of slow motion, close-ups, wide shots, etc., all speak to a director with complete control over conveying everything needed for such a grand feature. Even Kurosawa’s signature use of wipes for scene transitions (George Lucas took note of this) makes more of an impression than so many films that would follow.

By the time Seven Samurai gets to the action, the tension is high. Long shots, the use of rain and other weather elements, let alone the sword and bow-and-arrow combat, raise the excitement levels to a maximum. It also speaks to just how effective the whole ordeal has been, as we don’t want to see the deaths of any of the samurai, let alone the farmer’s village, which we’ve been endeared to, yet we know everyone is at risk, and anything could happen.

On top of all this, I haven’t even mentioned the film’s themes at play, reflecting the nature of the wandering Ronin, the haves and have-nots, and the nature of heroism, among other ideas. Whether one wants to speak to how the film reflects the economic nature of the Japanese people in the 50s or how similar the samurai and the bandits are to each other, it’s just a way of noting the levels of depth one can appreciate with this film that easily goes alongside how well the film works as a spectacular adventure story.

Seven Samurai is pure brilliance. Everything it aims to accomplish is handled with an incredible level of skill. The joy that comes with a movie like this is reflected by how every minute is packed with something to think about, let alone gain something from, whether it’s rooted in drama, comedy, or action. Suffice it to say the film is as close to perfect as it can get.

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Video:

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1

HDR: N/A

Layers: BD-100

Details: “This new digital transfer was created from a 35 mm master positive by TOHO Archive Co., Ltd. The original negative of the film is no longer available.”

Clarity/Detail: At this point, I’ve seen Seven Samurai enough times to know how much better the film looks thanks to this restoration. It’s not as though the previous Blu-ray transfer was poor, but everything seems improved. I had the pleasure of watching this restoration in theaters before watching it again at home, and there’s just so much information present, thanks to what 4K can offer. As a big-budget film for Japan at the time, it’s not like Night of the Living Dead, where the low-budget origins see a wildly new clean-up, but the period aesthetic present in Seven Samurai means appreciating so much of the detail found in the production design, costumes, and more. Close-ups, in particular, reveal so much incredible detail that is always astounding to see this well represented in black-and-white features.

Depth: Look at the scenes featuring huge crowds, including horses and buildings, and one can appreciate just how well the dimensionality functions for this presentation.

Black Levels: A proper 4K transfer wins again when considering the strength in the black levels. The image is never washed, with deeper blacks and no real sign of crushing. It’s a benefit here, given all the nighttime sequences and darker areas of the black-and-white film at play.

Color Reproduction: N/A

Flesh Tones: The close-ups allow for a terrific presentation of so many iconic faces.

Noise/Artifacts: This disc is clean.

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Audio:

Audio Format(s): Japanese LPCM 1.0 Monaural, Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0

Subtitles: English SDH

Details: “The original monaural audio was remastered from a 35 mm soundtrack positive.”

Dynamics: It’s a mono soundtrack (though the optional DTS-HD 2.0 track is nice to have, I suppose), which will only provide so much to dig into. As one would expect, it’s a track that never hits any flat moments or deals with poor mixing. This is near-identical to the previous release but it sounds terrific regardless.

Low-Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Everyone is heard loud and clear.

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Extras:

This is a three-disc set with the bulk of the extras appearing on the second Blu-ray disc, while both commentary tracks can be found on the 4K and first Blu-ray discs. Everything has been carried over from the previous releases of the film. While there’s nothing new to report on, outside of some new retrospective honoring the film’s 70^th anniversary (and I know the BFI release of the film has a few different extras), there’s really nothing more that can be said that’s genuinely new about the movie. Once again, the discs are housed in a sturdy cardboard case featuring stills and artwork from and related to the film.

Features Include:
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4K Disc / Blu-ray Disc One

• Commentaries
  • Scholar’s Roundtable – Film Scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie all take turns discussing 40-minute sections of the film. The more recent of the two commentaries, this is a terrific breakdown of the history of the film, it’s impact on filmmaking, and other forms of analysis.
  • Michael Jeck – Japanese film expert Michal Jeck’s track was originally recorded back in 1988 and offers plenty of insight about the film.

Blu-ray Disc Two

• Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create (SD, 49:10) – An archival documentary focused on the making of the film, taken from the Toho Masterworks series focused on Kurosawa. Featured interviews with the crew. Presented in Japanese.
• My Life in Cinema (SD, 115:59) – This is a nearly two-hour conversation with Kurosawa and filmmaker Nagisa Oshima, originally filmed for the Directors Guild of Japan in 1993. Presented in Japanese.
• Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences (SD, 55:12) – An archival documentary originally produced by Criterion, featuring various scholars and critics. Presented in English and Japanese.
• Promotional Materials
  • Trailer One (SD, 4:11)
  • Trailer Two (SD, 2:57)
  • Trailer Three (SD, 2:44)
  • Teaser Trailer (SD, 0:42)
• Galleries
  • Behind the Scenes (HD)
  • Posters (HD)

PLUS – Essays by Kenneth Turan, Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Stuart Galbraith IV, Arthur Penn, and Sidney Lumet, and an interview with actor Toshiro Mifune from 1993.

 

Summary:

The only bad thing about this release is that there are not more Kurosawa 4K releases coming with it in an elaborate box set that I can only hope happens one day. As it stands, this film, along with Dreams, Ran, and an upcoming re-release of Yojimbo/Sanjuro, is what we’ve got, and I need more. Still, as one of my absolute favorite films, Seven Samurai delivers, as this is a stellar release with plenty to offer for fans of cinema, Japanese cinema, Criterion, classics, and pretty much anything else film-related. Fantastic video and audio presentations, and an excellent collection of extras to go with it. A “can’t miss” release.

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