Seven Samurai (1954) ✦ YouTube Edit
Added 2025-08-14 05:19:46 +0000 UTCEnjoy! Going on the channel Thu Aug 14. [Direct link here.]
✦ KL
Comments
Hey Chris! Great to see you on kaiielle’s channel. I’m a fan of Akira Kurosawa and he’s had a HUGE impact on film in the west. In fact, “Seven Samurai” was remade in the States as “Magnificent Seven.” His film “Yojimbo” (which was adapted from American author Dashiell Hammett’s book “Red Harvest”) was also remade, this time as the spaghetti western “A Fistful of Dollars”, by Sergio Leone. “A Fistful of Dollars” was, in turn, remade as “Last Man Standing.” So, an American novel formed the basis for a Japanese samurai film which was then remade as an Italian western which was, in turn, remade as an American gangster film set during Prohibition. Typical of Kurosawa, who frequently adapted western books and films and whose adaptations were then copied by Hollywood. Another film of his, “High and Low”, was adapted from an 87th Precinct novel written by legendary crime author Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter). It is, in turn, currently being remade in Hollywood (I believe by Spike Lee). I don’t know your reading preferences but, if you like police procedurals, they don’t get better than the 87th Precinct series. Other films by Kurosawa that were either direct adaptations of western art or which formed the basis for American remakes include: The Hidden Fortress - basis for “Star Wars”; all the major characters are there, even R2-D2 and C3P0. Throne of Blood - adaptation of Macbeth Rashomon - a tale told from the different perspectives of the characters, remade too many times to count (even in an episode of “Happy Days”) Kurosawa was obviously a very influential filmmaker in the west, which is only fair since so much of his own work is based on Western cultural touchstones. A definite case of each making the other better.
Just Plain Bob
2025-08-14 14:35:27 +0000 UTCI've never seen this, but it's famously one of Spielberg's favorite films and biggest inspirations. Think Tarantino really liked it too. And Scorsese.
Chris Thom
2025-08-14 09:47:23 +0000 UTC
