Editing Seven Samurai (section)

==Release==
{{Expand section|date=April 2022}}

===Theatrical===
At 207 minutes, including a five-minute intermission with music, ''Seven Samurai'' was the longest film of Kurosawa's career. Fearing that international audiences would be unwilling to sit through the entire picture, Toho Studios, alongside Kurosawa himself, originally removed 50 minutes from the film for international distribution & reshowing in Japan.<ref name=":3" /> This "General Release" cut distributed around the world until the 1990s; since then, the complete version is usually seen.

The film was released in the United States in 1955, initially under the title ''The Magnificent Seven''.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=LaFave |first=Kenneth |date=February 6, 1983 |title=Full-length 'Samurai' is masterful |pages=73 |work=[[Arizona Daily Star]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/162688962/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 21, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421134259/https://www.newspapers.com/image/162688962/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Daily">{{cite news |last1=Hale |first1=Wanda |title=The Guild Presents Fine Japanese Film |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/455680836/ |access-date=April 21, 2022 |work=[[New York Daily News]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |date=November 20, 1956 |page=50 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421135802/https://www.newspapers.com/image/455680836/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 23, 1959 |title=New Shoes: "The Magnificent Seven" |pages=14 |work=[[Spokane Chronicle]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/565651391/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 21, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421134300/https://www.newspapers.com/image/565651391/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the 1960 release of the American remake ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'', the Japanese film's title reverted to its original ''Seven Samurai'' in the United States.<ref name=":0" />

===Home media===
Prior to the advent of DVD, various edited versions were distributed on video, but most DVDs and Blu-rays contain Kurosawa's complete original version, including its five-minute intermission. Since 2006, the [[The Criterion Collection|Criterion Collection]]'s US releases have featured their own exclusive 2K restoration, whereas most others, including all non-US Blu-rays, have an older HD transfer from [[Toho]] in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=211|title=Seven Samurai DVD comparison|publisher=DVDCompare|access-date=October 27, 2019|archive-date=March 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301145950/http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=211|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=16834|title=Seven Samurai Blu-ray comparison|publisher=DVDCompare|access-date=October 27, 2019|archive-date=November 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103112703/http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=16834|url-status=live}}</ref>

===4K restoration===
In 2016, [[Toho]] carried out a six-month-long [[4K resolution|4K]] restoration, along with Kurosawa's ''[[Ikiru]]'' (1952). As the whereabouts of ''Seven Samurai'''s original negative are unknown, second-generation fine-grain positive and third-generation duplicate negative elements were used.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/topic/744265.html|title=4K Restoration Aiming at Highest Quality for Seven Samurai and Ikiru (Japanese)|date=February 22, 2016|publisher=AV Watch|access-date=November 8, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108123004/https://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/topic/744265.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20160223/k10010419301000.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223104038/http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20160223/k10010419301000.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 23, 2016|title=Seven Samurai Restored with 4K High Image Quality|publisher=NHK News}}</ref> It is available as a [[Digital Cinema Package]] from the [[British Film Institute]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/distribution/node/3589|title=Seven Samurai (4K Restoration) &#124; Distribution|website=British Film Institute|access-date=June 3, 2021|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603155304/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/distribution/node/3589|url-status=live}}</ref> This version was first released on [[4K Blu-ray]] in Japan as [[standard-dynamic-range video]] in June 2023<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tohotheaterstore.jp/items/TBR33123D|title=Seven Samurai (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray) &#124; Distribution|website=Toho Co., Ltd.|access-date=January 25, 2024|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125040157/https://tohotheaterstore.jp/items/TBR33123D|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tohotheaterstore.jp/items/TBR33124D|title=Seven Samurai (Blu-ray) &#124; Distribution|website=Toho Co., Ltd.|access-date=January 25, 2024|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125040550/https://tohotheaterstore.jp/items/TBR33124D|url-status=live}}</ref> and was released on home video by the [[British Film Institute]] .<ref>{{cite web |title=Seven Samurai 4K Blu-ray |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=34944 |website=Blu-ray.com|access-date=2 August 2024 |date=1 August 2024}}</ref>