Seven Samurai (1954)

This monumental action-adventure film – starring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura – weaves together philosophy and entertainment, subtle human emotions and ruthless action into a rich, visually striking historical thriller and moral-political fable all in one. A village of rice farmers hires a group of samurai to defend them against marauding bandits.

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Kurosawa’s story – heavily influenced by the poetic westerns of John Ford – had a massive impact on later westerns and action films, and was deeply admired by fellow filmmakers. Peter Jackson was inspired by Kurosawa’s dramatic use of rain in battle scenes for The Lord of the Rings. John Sturges directly modeled The Magnificent Seven on Seven Samurai.

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Seven Samurai also influenced a wide range of other westerns, especially those by Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch) and Sergio Leone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West). Many filmmakers consider Seven Samurai the greatest film school cinema has to offer.