The Group Western

Abstract

If Rashomon is remembered for its narrative techniques as well as for its astonishing cinematography, Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai, 1954) might be considered more important in terms of its plot and some of the visual techniques that have inspired directors from the 1960s onward. Prince (2000) has written an essay outlining Kurosawa’s influence on Arthur Penn and Sam Peckinpah, especially, so I will do lit tle more than refer here to th is at the chapter’s end—my focus will remain firmly on the remakes and the permutations that this acknowledged masterpiece of Japanese cinema inspired outside Japan. It is worth noting, however, that since the story and the plotted development of its elements have “translated” relatively easily across space and time, this chapter will consider the reasons for this ease of translation.¹

“Well, I guess we’re really seven now”

—Heihachi in Seven Samurai