We are hearing about Saptarishi. But what about Saptayoddha? Well, 71 years ago today, on April 26, 1954, 'Seven Samurai' was shown for the first time. It is not a matter of saying who the director of this Japanese film is. Well, let's say formalitybus, with the release of 'Seven Samurai', many came out in the world of cinema who consider filmmaker Akira Kurosawa as their guru.

The remake of 'Seven Samurai' was made in many languages ​​of many countries of the world. One of the famous remakes is John Sturgis' The Magnificent Seven (1960). Also, Bollywood's epic hit 'Sole' (1975) is also believed to be directly or indirectly inspired by Seven 'Samurai'. It is called

, if a person who only watches commercial cinema wants to become an art cinema viewer, it is best to start with 'Seven Samurai'. If you have seen Alex Pina's series 'Money Heist' and haven't seen 'Seven Samurai' then you are definitely missing out. I'm not saying that 'Seven Samurai' wouldn't have been made and 'Money Heist' wouldn't have been made either. However, it can definitely be said that the road that 'Money Heist' walked, was dug decades ago by 'Seven Samurai'. Yesterday there was 'Seven Samurai', today there is 'The Magnificent Seven', there is 'Sole', there is 'A Bugs of Life', there is 'Lord of the Rings', there is 'Money Heist'.

But, again, what is it about this film that is almost three and a half hours long that makes it so special? Even after 7 decades, why is it not considered to be old? Come on, let's get into the subject. 

The Unification Campaign

This is a story from the 16th century. Samurai, or warriors, were considered distinct from peasants in Japan at that time. And there were others - bandits, who did nothing but ace and rest, and looted the grain crops of the farmers. They have looted the rice. Now they plan to loot barley. Somehow, the farmers get to know the bandits' plan. Trahimam spreads throughout the village. The crying begins.

(Remember 'Lagaan'?) Well, a character like Bhuvan from 'Lagaan' (2001) also happens in that Japanese village. One who carries a sense of rebellion, does not want to cry and run away. But how to fight with bandits? The Japanese Bhuvan devises a plan to find a samurai to fight the rifle-wielding bandits on horseback. Then, the story of the mission begins. First one, then second, third, seven warriors unite for the same goal, form a strategy and show it by implementing it gradually.

Kurosawa's film is based on cinema 

taught the world to tell mission stories for the first time. It has been said above - the recent hit series 'Money Heist' is also a mission story. However, one key and interesting difference between the many divisions is that while 'Seven Samurai' tells the story of 'How to stop bandits?', 'Money Heist' tells the story of 'How to pull off the perfect heist?'

However, this film by Kurosawa is the first example that the journey of many people together to achieve the same goal can be a story worth telling. Which is still being followed by old and new filmmakers with great enthusiasm. 

Decentralized characterization

As we see today, films often have one main character. A character is written in such a way that all attention is focused on that one character. Let's take 'Money Heist' again. Also, every character in 'Money Heist' is equally interesting. While someone's favorite character is a professor, someone else's could be Berlin, Tokyo or Nairobi. Because, like in 'Seven Samurai', the audience is familiar with every character in 'Money Heist', has knowledge about the character's background. Because of this, the audience gets emotionally attached to whatever happens next in his life. After all, they say, until you don't know who you are, after you know who you are, it's the same - love and affection!

Despite this, the character writing of 'Money Heist' has not been completely decentralized like that of 'Seven Samurai'. The audience is familiar with each character, but the professor is more special than each character. But if the film can be seen as an asceticism, in decentralization, Seven Samurai has done asceticism as if he had achieved it. There is no 'Professor' in 'Seven Samurai'. Maybe in characterization, but not in character writing. Or let's say it in simple language, it may be in the role but not in the commentary. Kurosawa did not allow such a comment to be established in the film that the hero of 'Seven Samurai' is so-and-so or the central character is this. But, the question is - how?

We see when a problem arises in 'Money Heist' the professor has to be called. The professor is placed at the decisive point. However, in 'Seven Samurai', every character solves the problem independently. As such, Keizo does not attempt to play a decisive role when seeing Katushiro and Shino together. Neither reports to anyone. There is no housewife or protagonist in the language of cinema to report in "Seven Samurai" as "I'll tell you mommy" when the kids fight at home. Hence, the characterization of this film has become completely decentralized.

innovation 

New heroism can be seen in this 71-year-old film - 'Neo Heroism'. Let's look for traditional heroism in our society, not in movies. Let's look in our tongues and eyes. They are found, because we are carrying it around in our mentality. If he is a man and has a tall stature, with a delicious life, we praise and say - what 

Handsome, like a movie hero. If it's a woman, the bone below the neck is clearly visible and if you don't see the bulging stomach when you sit, you will be praised - how beautiful, like a hero. We don't hesitate to give advice - hey, don't go to film. 

The traditional heroism said that the hero, the heroine should be like this and it came to stick in our mentality through cinema, which we are gradually getting rid of. By the way, how did Kurosawa practice acting in 'Seven Samurai' in 1954? All the seven heroes of the film are wanted, who are poor. Some are young, some are young, some are old, some are old, some are old. Others are afraid.

If you look at it through traditional lenses, none of the characters seem to be qualified to be heroes. However, these seven people were shown by Kurosawa as heroes in 'Seven Samurai'. The hero may not look attractive, he may not be tall but short, he may not have a smooth-fair face, the hero may have one or two defects instead of virtues. And, such a hero is a Navanayak. These qualities are the new heroism in a hero. More than Hulia, 'Seven Samurai' is a masterclass in the lesson that character makes a hero or a villain. 

Character Letters The audience is familiar with every character in the

film. Kurosawa has his own way of introducing these characters to the audience. This character's name is this, his background is this, his... Oh, not by being so wordy, not at all. Without speaking, Kurosawa introduces the characters. Let's say the character is a field, his identity is water, and Kurosawa is a farmer, so he didn't dig a well to bring water to the field. Instead, the river has diverted itself towards the fields. Or the cloud has melted at the same time. It can be said that Kurosawa's portrayal of the character in this anime has done magic. The backgrounds of the characters are not forced, but rather emerge spontaneously from the context. And, when the character of the characters is distinct and clear, they stand out in the eyes of the audience.

The story of all the seven heroes is being told, apart from them, the story of others is also told without telling the story. Like, once upon a time there was an old man, he tried his best to hide his young daughter so that someone would catch his eye. He also cut his daughter's hair, and gave his son's hulia. But, in the end, he left because of what he was afraid of. Another story could be like this - Bandits were attacking a village in Ekadesh.

At that time the flood was coming, the fire was going on. However, even in that case, a mother kept her baby close to her chest even though she was dead. The mother who was shot died only after handing over the child to the village. Such stories have come in "Seven Samurai" as if nothing is coming, who would look at an empty room and say that there is air?

Another lesson that can be learned from 'Seven Samurai' is the language of the camera. The camera follows the characters and events throughout the film, as if we were not being narrated by a third person, but were following the characters ourselves. We are jumping and running after him. 

Whether it is a long shot scene of Kikuchiyo running in the forest or a tracking shot of samurai, bandits and horses fighting in the water during the war! The audience thinks, this is what I saw with my own eyes, this is not a story that someone is telling, it is an actual event. 

Also, Kurosawa has adopted another style of storytelling within this film. Whenever he wants a certain event to evoke a certain emotion in the audience, he lives the story through characters. As if the expression on Katushiro's face after Simadha's dialogue is teaching us how to feel and accordingly sometimes we are shocked and sometimes happy. Overall, sometimes the camera and sometimes the characters tell us the story of 'Seven Samurai'.