The Magnificent Seven Teaser Trailer

The Magnificent Seven, an upcoming remake, of a remake, which has been remade various times, and it stars Chris Pratt, Peter Sarsgaard, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Denzel Washington, and others. Finally, a western! And starring Chris Pratt? Sign me up! 

For those unaware, The Magnificent Seven is a remake of the 1960 film, The Magnificent Seven, which was a remake of the classic Japanese film, Seven Samurai (1954). Usually, Hollywood remaking an old classic is an instant turnoff for many, but I am excited and optimistic. Magnificent Seven is already a remake, so saying that remaking is an awful idea is rather unfair. Actually, taking one of the best westerns and revamping it with a modern cast and some style makes me excited! Antoine Fuqua directs the film, and visually, it looks good, and the all-star already makes this a must-watch. But as a teaser, this trailer has me excited for a rip-roaring western adventure. What do you think? Please comment below and let me know!

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Seven Samurai vs. The Magnificent Seven

On today's FIlm Versus, we have a battle of a remake and the original with Seven Samurai vs. The Magnificent Seven. 

Before comparing the two films and deciding which one is the best, let’s discuss remakes of foreign language films and how they are translated to the American culture.

When adapting a foreign language film, not only is translating the language important, the writers must translate the culture so that it fits the different setting. Both American and Japanese fiction and legend have stories of skilled warriors helping small towns and villages. In America, that warrior is often the cowboy, and conversely, it is the samurai in Japan, thus why Japanese samurai films translate so well into the western genre. In regards to translation of language and culture, Smartling provides exceptional language translation software for businesses to translate websites or applications as a whole to preserve the original intent, so that the content can be easily shared with a global audience.

For example, Japan's samurai films, referred to as "chanbara," translated as "sword fighting," have had a surprising influence on western cinema. Due to both the Wild West and samurai eras featuring many of the same motifs, such as skilled swordsman/gunman facing insurmountable odds, the west has adapted various samurai films into westerns, with the one of the most notable being A Fistful of Dollars, a remake of Yojimbo. 

Now that you know how samurai films have influenced the western genre, let's move on to the showdown.

Plot Comparison

Taking place in 1587, during the Warring States Period of Japan, Seven Samurai tells the story of a village that hires seven lone samurai, also known as ronin, to protect their village from bandits. On the other hand, The Magnificent Seven, takes the original film's setting and moves it to the Wild West, an apt replacement for the Warring States Period, and obviously changes the samurai to gunman. Ultimately, the differences between the two in the overall narrative are minor aside from setting.

Characterization

Seven Samurai: Thanks to the long runtime, each character is given ample development and motivation. Each character follows a now familiar archetype with a likable personality and unexpectedly deep motivations. You get to know each and every one of the main cast, and while some receive more screen time than others, the characters are distinct from one another. However, the antagonists is notably weaker compared to the protagonists as they receive little development and are not particularly memorable.

The Magnificent Seven: Containing the same archetypes, The Magnificent Seven’s characters all have an undeniable cool factor to them, largely due to the all-star cast of actors. Towards the end a few of the character receive development, although it is not particularly deep or complex. However, the villain, Calvera, is a memorable foil to the heroes, as he is one of the more notable characters from the film.

Verdict - Seven Samurai: Despite The Magnificent Seven's antagonist being far more memorable, Seven Samurai's band of seven are further developed with more complex motivations, which is largely due to the much longer runtime.

Entertainment Value

Seven Samurai: Even though Seven Samurai is an engaging film, its pacing can be incredibly slow at times. It takes nearly 45 minutes before anything is set in motion. However, once the film reaches the second half of its nearly four hour runtime, the story moves along at a relatively swift pace. With that said, Seven Samurai is not a particularly rewatchable film. How often do you have enough time to rewatch something that is almost longer than two entire films!?

The Magnificent Seven: At a standard runtime of 128 minutes, The Magnificent Seven condenses the original film's story into something that fits the tone and pacing of a Hollywood action adventure flick. The result is a fun western adventure with plenty of action and old-school entertainment.

Verdict - The Magnificent Seven: Thanks to the much shorter runtime and faster pacing, Magnificent Seven is a more enjoyable and entertaining flick with greater rewatch value.

Direction

Akira Kurosawa: Kurosawa is a masterful director, one of the best to ever live, and Seven Samurai is among his best work visually. Despite having a much smaller budget than its contemporaries, Kurosawa manages to display a large sweeping landscape of the Warring States Period. The action sequences towards the end, filmed entirely in the rain and mud, while not as impressive today, was well ahead most other films from the era.

John Sturges: Sturges' directing of The Magnificent Seven is perfectly adequate for what the film required. It looked like a classic western flick, and it did not require anything special.

Verdict - Akira Kurosawa: While Sturges' direction is adequate, Kurosawa's direction is among the best of the era; this is an easy win for Seven Samurai.

Overall 

Verdict - Seven Samurai: While both films are classics in their respective genres, it is Seven Samurai that wins today's battle thanks to Kurosawa's visionary direction and deeper characterization. However, Magnificent Seven reminds one of the most fun and entertaining westerns to date, and neither film should be missed.

Which is your favorite? Have you seen either one? Please comment below and let me know!

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Seven Samurai Review.

Seven Samurai, the iconic and critically acclaimed Japanese historical epic that has inspired countless remaking including the classic western, The Magnificent Seven.

Seven Samurai is about the story of a village hiring Seven "ronin," another name for a masterless or freelance Samurai, to protect their village from bandits that annually steal their crops.

According to George Lucas, the work of Akira Kurosawa, the director of Seven Samurai and many other classics, influenced some aspects of Star Wars, particularly the Samurai, which are obviously similar to the Jedi. One minor aspect is that the older leader of the group, Takashi Shimura, rubbed his in a fashion very similar to how Yoda does several times during the films, which I believe Lucas confirms in the commentary track. A while back, I even wrote a post about a possible Seven Jedi movie, which you can read here, but please note that it is not as high quality as my newer posts. Even an episode of The Clone Wars, entitled “Bounty Hunters,” is a remake of the classic story.

Back when I watched the movie for the first time, Seven Samurai was my first real introduction to Japanese cinema. While, at the time, I had probably seen parts of Japanese movies, this was the first one that I watched in subtitles to completion. In fact, this was well before I become an Otaku (anime-fan), and watching Seven Samurai probably indirectly influenced my interest in anime. Of course, since watching Seven Samurai I have seen other Japanese films, as well as a lot of anime. On a side note, there is even an anime series that is inspired by Seven Samurai titled, Samurai 7.

Samurai 7

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Genre: Epic, Foreign Language, Action,
Release Date: April 26, 1954
Running Time: 207 minutes
MMPA rating: PG

The Good: Epic sweeping story, Likeable characters, Excellent directing, Impressive final battle, Effective character development, Superb cinematography, Strong performances,

The Bad:

Plot: 9.7/10- Seven Samurai’s plot is deceptively simple on the outside, but incredibly effective and perfectly executed. Considering that the premise has been remade so many times, it should be no surprise that the themes resonate so well with so many cultures even today. While viewers with short attention spans might be easily bored by the film’s slow start, and because the first 30 minutes are somewhat odd, for those not familiar with the culture, which included me when back when I first watched it, the film is deliberately paced for a reason. By the end of the movie, you feel the impact of the journey that the film has taken you on.

Characterization: 9.5/10- Thanks to the long runtime, each character is given ample development and motivation. Each character follows a now familiar archetype, which was likely started by this film. Among the excellent cast of likable characters, Kambei Shimada and Kikuchiyo are my personal favorites.

Kikuchiyo

Action: 9.2/10- While far from being action packed by today’s standards, Seven Samurai’s action in the later portions of the film are rather impressive, so much so that I even included the final on my Top 10 Movie Battles of All-Time. For the time, few, if any, action scene was better than many of the ones in Seven Samurai. The stun work is impressive and all of it is done with wide angle shots that heavily contrast the horrid shaky-cam of today’s action. However, viewers that are expecting fast paced action will likely be disappointed. Also, filming the final battle in the rain could not have been easy.

Acting: 9.3/10- Even though some of the background actors overact, the main cast is excellent. Despite not being to understand the language, the expressiveness in the performances of the cast almost conveys what they are saying, particularly Toshiro Mifune as Kikuchiyo and Takashi Shimura as Kambei Shimada. The rest of the Seven are all fantastic as well.

Soundtrack: 7.7/10- Seven Samurai’s soundtrack compliments the film well.

Humor: 7.5/10- To my surprise, there is some good humor to be found in the film, particularly from the character of Kikuchiyo.

Entertainment Value: 7.9/10- Admittedly, with a runtime of over three hours, Seven Samurai is not the type of film that you can just rewatch and have a fun time. However, despite a few slower points, the film maintains a constant level of interest by the viewer.

Overall: 9.5/10- Overall, Seven Samurai more than lives up to its legendary status. While many modern viewers will likely find the film too slow, any classic film fan, Otaku, or anyone interested in foreign cinema should most definitely watch Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece.

Closing comments: While many remakes have tried, you can never top the original Seven Samurai.

Recommended for: Classic film fans, Otaku, Historical epics fans, Epic fans, Magnificent Seven fans,

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