Comment re Tokyo Story and Things to Watch For in Seven Samurai

I just wanted to say that I'm always a bit worried when I assign Tokyo Story to my class due to its admittedly slower pace.  However, I was very pleased that as a class you were able to long beyond that and to appreciate the film for what it is.  If you enjoyed Tokyo Story, I think you would also enjoy Ikiru, which I sometimes assign in its place.  Ikiru is a Kurosawa film and it's astonishing to watch it and Seven Samurai and realize that the lead samurai and the lead character in Ikiru are the same actor.  Anyway, for those of you with extra time (yeah, like I have any of that Dr. B) check it out.

Now for some things to watch during your second viewing of Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai):

• Background: This film is considered the greatest Japanese film ever made and it is Kurosawa's first samurai film and the first set during in the sixteenth century Sengoku jidai era of civil strife and feuding samurai clans.
  
• Note the shot of the horizon that opens the film and the amplified hoof beats.
  
• Note the economy of exposition at the beginning of the film when the farmer overhears the samurai.
  
• Note the motif of the circle throughout the film. Circle not only an organic symbol of unity but also embellishes the end of hierarchy and class distinction.
  
• Note how Kurosawa debunks many of the stereotypes & inflated myths associated with samurai in jidai-geki films.
  
• Note Kurosawa's wide-screen cinematography and large scale mise en scène in the action sequences said to have been influenced by American director John Ford, a hero of Kurosawa's.
  
• Kurosawa had been associated with wide-angle composition in the past, but beginning with this film he begins using a lot of telephoto shots which flatten perspective.
  
• Note also his use of deep focus where we can see characters in the foreground, middle ground, and background.
  
• Note how often he uses the composition of 3's in shots. And note how he uses wipes––both left and right––in the film.
  
• Note Kambei's shocking action when he is first introduced in the film.
  
• Note Kikuchiyo's oversized sword and overaggressive actions as he is introduced.
  
• Note how Kurosawa invents the modern action scene by intercutting slow motion with regular motion.
  
• Note Kambei's head-rubbing as his key gesture.
  
• Note that when Kambei tells Shichiroji that "perhaps we'll die this time." It's ironic as the two of them and Katsushiro, who are all three in the scene, are the only samurai who will not die.
  
• Note how Kurosawa shows us process. For example, how Kambei plans on defending the village with the maps, roads, and discussion of defense with others.
  
• Note the bond between Heihachi and Kikuchiyo, the two clowns among the samurai. Also, note how Kikuchiyo understands what is going on in the village before the other samurai and understands the farmers better than the other samurai.
  
• Note how Kikuchiyo chooses to stay in the barn with Rikichi.
  
• Note the banner and how Kikuchiyo is represented as a triangle unlike the other samurai.
  
• Note how Kurosawa gives us POV shots where we watch the watcher watch as opposed to showing us the watcher then giving us their POV. Also note that we typically get Katsushiro's POV.
  
• Note how Kurosawa deflates the typical heroic ending with a more realistic one.