Editing Seven Samurai (section)

==Legacy and cultural impact==
''Seven Samurai'' was a technical and creative watershed that became Japan's highest-grossing movie and set a new standard for the industry. It has remained highly influential, often seen as one of the most "remade, reworked, referenced" films in cinema.<ref name="Desser" />

There have been [[pachinko]] machines based on ''Seven Samurai'' in Japan. ''Seven Samurai'' pachinko machines have sold 94,000 units in Japan {{as of|2018|March|lc=y}},<ref name="fields20">{{cite book |title=Fact Book: Supplementary Financial Document for the Year Ended March 31, 2018 |date=May 11, 2018 |publisher=Fields Corporation |pages=20–21 |url=http://www.fields.biz/ir/j/files/press/2018/press_20180511oe.pdf#page=20 |access-date=September 26, 2018 |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617043126/http://www.fields.biz/ir/j/files/press/2018/press_20180511oe.pdf#page=20 |url-status=live }}</ref> equivalent to an estimated {{US$|{{#expr:(94000*5000)/1000000}} million|long=no}} in gross revenue.<ref name="fields20"/><ref name="variety">{{cite news |last=Graser |first=Marc |title='Dark Knight' Producer Plays Pachinko to Launch Next Franchise (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2013/digital/games/dark-knight-trilogy-producer-plays-pachinko-to-launch-next-franchise-1200571785/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=August 2, 2013 |quote=Each machine typically costs around $5,000 each. |access-date=November 8, 2018 |archive-date=November 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129044609/https://variety.com/2013/digital/games/dark-knight-trilogy-producer-plays-pachinko-to-launch-next-franchise-1200571785/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Remakes ===
{{Further|Remakes of films by Akira Kurosawa}}

Its influence can be most strongly felt in the Western ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'' (1960), a film specifically adapted from ''Seven Samurai''. Director [[John Sturges]] took ''Seven Samurai'' and adapted it to the Old West, with the samurai replaced by [[gunslinger]]s. Many of ''The Magnificent Seven''{{'}}s scenes mirror those of ''Seven Samurai''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=Joseph L.|title=When the Twain Meet: Hollywood's remake of 'Seven Samurai'|journal=Film Quarterly|date=1962|volume=15|issue=13|pages=55–58|doi=10.2307/1210629|jstor=1210629|url=http://spot.colorado.edu/~mcmorran/1962AndersonSevenSamurai.pdf|access-date=February 17, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217160014/http://spot.colorado.edu/~mcmorran/1962AndersonSevenSamurai.pdf|archive-date=February 17, 2015}}</ref> The film's title itself comes from the US localized title of ''Seven Samurai'', which was initially released under the title ''The Magnificent Seven'' in the United States in 1955.<ref name=":4" /> However, in an interview with R. B. Gadi, Kurosawa expressed how "the American copy of ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a disappointment, although entertaining. It is not a version of ''Seven Samurai''".<ref name="bertcardullo" />{{rp|42}} [[Stephen Prince]] argues that considering samurai films and Westerns respond to different cultures and contexts, what Kurosawa found useful was not their content but rather he was inspired by their levels of syntactic movement, framing, form and grammar.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Prince|first1=Stephen|title=The warrior's camera : the cinema of Akira Kurosawa.|date=1999|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, N.J.|isbn=978-0691010465|page=18|edition=Rev. and expanded}}</ref>

''[[The Invincible Six]]'' (1970), an [[United States|American]] [[action film]] directed by [[Jean Negulesco]], has been described as "a knockoff of the ''Seven Samurai''/''Magnificent Seven'' genre set in 1960s Iran."<ref name="Schell">{{cite web |last1=Schell |first1=Michael |title=Film review: The Invincible Six |url=http://www.schellsburg.com/InvincibleSix.htm |website=Schellsburg |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=May 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527141238/http://schellsburg.com/InvincibleSix.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[Battle Beyond the Stars]]'' (1980) is an American [[science fiction film]] directed by [[Jimmy T. Murakami]] and produced by [[Roger Corman]]. The film, intended as a "''Magnificent Seven'' in outer space",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/battle_beyond_the_stars/|title=Battle Beyond the stars|date=December 25, 1980|work=rottentomatoes.com|access-date=March 10, 2016|archive-date=March 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310022122/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/battle_beyond_the_stars/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Gray|first=Beverly|title=Roger Corman: Blood-sucking Vampires, Flesh-eating Cockroaches, and Driller Killers|publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press|year=2004|page=147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1E_3Zy1QhKkC&pg=PA147
| isbn = 978-1-56025-555-0}}</ref> is based on the plots of ''The Magnificent Seven'' and ''Seven Samurai''. The movie acknowledges its debt to ''Seven Samurai'' by calling the protagonist's homeworld ''Akir'' and its inhabitants the ''Akira''.

Some film critics have noted similarities between Pixar's ''[[A Bug's Life]]'' (1998) and ''Seven Samurai''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Armstrong |first=Olivia |date=November 19, 2014 |title='Seven Samurai' and 'A Bug's Life' are the Same Movie |url=http://decider.com/2014/11/19/seven-samurai-a-bugs-life/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018232952/http://decider.com/2014/11/19/seven-samurai-a-bugs-life/ |archive-date=October 18, 2016 |access-date=October 17, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brew |first=Simon |date=December 7, 2010 |title=The origins of A Bug's Life |url=http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/16747/the-origins-of-a-bug%E2%80%99s-life |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018223348/http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/16747/the-origins-of-a-bug%E2%80%99s-life |archive-date=October 18, 2016 |access-date=October 17, 2016 |work=Den of Geek}}</ref>

Several elements from ''Seven Samurai'' are also argued to have been adapted for ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.forcecast.net/story/blog/In_Memory_of_Akira_Kurosawa_130542.asp | title=In Memory of Akira Kurosawa | date=April 7, 2010 | publisher=ForceCast.net | access-date=May 9, 2018 | archive-date=May 10, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510050701/http://www.forcecast.net/story/blog/In_Memory_of_Akira_Kurosawa_130542.asp | url-status=live }}</ref> Plot elements of ''Seven Samurai'' are also used in the [[Star Wars Anthology|''Star Wars'' Anthology]] film ''[[Rogue One]]'' (2016).<ref name="Billson">{{cite news |last1=Billson |first1=Anne |date=October 30, 2018 |title=Why is Seven Samurai so good? |work=BBC Culture |agency=[[BBC]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181025-why-is-seven-samurai-so-good |access-date=May 31, 2020 |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814052437/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181025-why-is-seven-samurai-so-good |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)|Clone Wars]]'' episode "Bounty Hunters" (2008) pays direct homage to Akira Kurosawa by adapting the film's plot, as does ''[[The Mandalorian]]'' episode "[[Chapter 4: Sanctuary]]" (2019).<ref name=":2">{{cite news |last1=Sherlock |first1=Ben |date=December 13, 2020 |title=10 Ways Akira Kurosawa Has Influenced Modern Blockbusters |work=[[Screen Rant]] |url=https://screenrant.com/akira-kurosawa-huge-influence-major-hollywood-blockbusters-star-wars/ |access-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421071150/https://screenrant.com/akira-kurosawa-huge-influence-major-hollywood-blockbusters-star-wars/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Director [[Zack Snyder]] credited ''Seven Samurai'' as being an inspiration for his 2023  [[space opera]] film ''[[Rebel Moon]]'', which shares the plot element of villagers assembling a team of warriors to defend their farming settlement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Colbert |first1=Stephen M. |title=What Zack Snyder Is Doing With Rebel Moon That Differs From Star Wars & George Lucas |url=https://screenrant.com/rebel-moon-zack-snyder-star-wars-george-lucas-differences/ |website=Screen Rant |date=December 26, 2023 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=December 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226212844/https://screenrant.com/rebel-moon-zack-snyder-star-wars-george-lucas-differences/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Snyder has described the movie as "Seven Samurai in space."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Travis |first1=Ben |title=Why Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Didn't Become A Star Wars Movie: 'I Knew It Was A Big Ask' – Exclusive Image |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/why-zack-snyder-rebel-moon-didnt-become-star-wars-movie-exclusive/ |website=Empire |date=March 7, 2023 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902224958/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/why-zack-snyder-rebel-moon-didnt-become-star-wars-movie-exclusive/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Director [[Denis Villeneuve]] cited ''Seven Samurai'' as one of his favorite films of all time and as an influence on his 2015 film ''[[Sicario (2015 film)|Sicario]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Denis Villeneuve’s Favorite Movies: 29 Films the Director Wants You to See |url=https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/denis-villeneuve-favorite-movies/ |access-date=17 March 2025|work=IndieWire |date=26 February 2023 }}</ref>

"Marauders", the sixth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' (2002), is based on ''Seven Samurai''.

===Cultural impact===
''Seven Samurai'' is largely touted as what made the "assembling the team" trope popular in movies and other media. This has since become a common trope in many [[action movies]] and [[heist films]].<ref name="Billson" /> ''Seven Samurai'' spawned its own subgenre of "men-on-a-mission" films,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Warren |first1=Adrian |date=June 11, 2014 |title='Seven Samurai' Spawned a Subgenre All of Its Own, PopMatters |work=[[PopMatters]] |url=https://www.popmatters.com/182639-seven-samurai-2495651387.html |access-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421063159/https://www.popmatters.com/182639-seven-samurai-2495651387.html |url-status=live }}</ref> also known as the "''Seven Samurai'' formula" where "a team of disparate characters are grouped to undertake a specific mission." The formula has been widely adopted by many films and other media.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Along with remakes already listed above, other examples of the "''Seven Samurai'' formula" can be seen in films such as ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'' (1998),<ref name=":2" /> ''[[The Dirty Dozen]]'' (1967), [[Star Wars (film)|''Star Wars'']] (1977),<ref name=":0" /> ''[[The Savage Seven]]'' (1968),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baltake |first=Joe |date=September 9, 1998 |title=Kurosawa deserved master status |page=B6 |work=[[The Windsor Star]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/504336842/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 21, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=April 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419020915/https://www.newspapers.com/image/504336842/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The 13th Warrior]]'' (1999), ''[[The Expendables (franchise)|The Expendables]]'', and ''[[Marvel Cinematic Universe|Avengers]]'',<ref name="Flickeringmyth">{{cite web |last1=Jolliffe |first1=Tom |date=April 13, 2019 |title=How Seven Samurai created the blueprint for this year's biggest film Avengers: Endgame |url=https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2019/04/how-seven-samurai-created-blueprint-for-this-years-biggest-film-avengers-endgame/ |access-date=May 3, 2022 |website=flickeringmyth.com}}</ref> as well as television series such as ''[[The A-Team]]'' and ''[[The Walking Dead (TV series)|The Walking Dead]]''.<ref name=":2" />

According to Stephen Prince, the film's "racing, powerful narrative engine, breathtaking pacing, and sense-assaulting visual style" (what he calls a "kinesthetic cinema" approach to "action filmmaking and exciting visual design") was "the clearest precursor" and became "the model for" the [[Hollywood blockbuster]] "brand of moviemaking" that emerged in the 1970s.<ref name="Prince132">{{cite book |last1=Prince |first1=Stephen |title=Rashomon Effects: Kurosawa, Rashomon and their legacies |date=November 6, 2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-57464-4 |editor-last1=Davis |editor-first1=Blair |page=132 |chapter=Kurosawa's international legacy |access-date=April 21, 2022 |editor-last2=Anderson |editor-first2=Robert |editor-last3=Walls |editor-first3=Jan |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ebXhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA132}}</ref> The visuals, plot, dialogue and film techniques of ''Seven Samurai'' inspired a wide range of filmmakers, ranging from [[Steven Spielberg]] and [[George Lucas]] to [[Martin Scorsese]] and [[Quentin Tarantino]].<ref name="Prince132" /><ref name="Winfrey">{{cite web |last1=Winfrey |first1=Graham |date=May 2, 2017 |title='Seven Samurai': How Akira Kurosawa's Masterpiece Continues to Influence Filmmakers Today — Watch |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2017/05/seven-samurai-akira-kurosawa-masterpiece-influence-filmmakers-mad-max-fury-road-1201811690/ |access-date=May 31, 2020 |website=[[IndieWire]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]] |archive-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601083522/https://www.indiewire.com/2017/05/seven-samurai-akira-kurosawa-masterpiece-influence-filmmakers-mad-max-fury-road-1201811690/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Prince, Kurosawa was "a mentor figure" to an emerging generation of American filmmakers, such as Spielberg and Lucas, who went on to develop the Hollywood blockbuster format in the 1970s.<ref name="Prince132" />

Elements from ''Seven Samurai'' have been borrowed by many films. Examples include plot elements in films such as ''[[Three Amigos]]'' (1986) by [[John Landis]], borrowed scenes in [[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]]'s ''[[Mad Max: Fury Road]]'' (2015), and various elements (including visual elements and the way the action, suspense and movement are presented) in the large-scale battle scenes of films such as ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' (2002), ''[[The Matrix Revolutions]]'' (2003) and numerous [[Marvel Studios]] films.<ref name="Winfrey" /><ref name=":2" /> The opening action scene (where the hero is introduced in an action scenario unrelated to the rest of the plot) later seen in many action films (such as the [[Pre-credit|pre-title]] scenes in [[List of James Bond films|''James Bond'' films]]) has origins in ''Seven Samurai'', whose first action scene has Kambei posing as a monk to save a boy from a kidnapper.<ref name=":2" /> A visual element from ''Seven Samurai'' that has inspired a number of films is the use of [[rain]] to set the tone for action scenes; examples of this include ''[[Blade Runner]]'' (1982), ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'', and ''The Matrix Revolutions''.<ref name="Scroll">{{cite web |last1=Karkare |first1=Aakash |date=September 19, 2016 |title=What keeps drawing filmmakers to Akira Kurosawa's decades-old 'Seven Samurai'? |url=https://scroll.in/reel/815224/what-keeps-drawing-filmmakers-to-akira-kurosawas-decades-old-seven-samurai |access-date=June 1, 2020 |website=[[Scroll.in]] |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625000447/https://scroll.in/reel/815224/what-keeps-drawing-filmmakers-to-akira-kurosawas-decades-old-seven-samurai |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Seven Samurai''<nowiki/>'s [[film editing]] technique of [[cutting on action|cutting on motion]] and the mentor–student dynamics in the plot (also seen in other Kurosawa films) have also been widely adopted by Hollywood blockbusters (such as Marvel films).<ref name=":2" />

''[[Sholay]]'' (1975), a "[[Curry Western]]" [[Indian film]] written by [[Salim–Javed]] ([[Salim Khan]] and [[Javed Akhtar]]) and directed by [[Ramesh Sippy]], has a plot that was loosely styled after ''Seven Samurai''. ''Sholay'' became the most [[List of highest-grossing Indian films|commercially successful Indian film]] and revolutionized [[Hindi cinema]].<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last=Pandya |first=Haresh |date=December 27, 2007 |title=G. P. Sippy, Indian Filmmaker Whose ''Sholay'' Was a Bollywood Hit, Dies at 93 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/arts/27Sippy.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828135232/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/arts/27Sippy.html |archive-date=August 28, 2011}}</ref><ref name="rediff1">{{cite web |last=Raheja |first=Dinesh |date=August 9, 2009 |title=Why Sholay is a cult classic |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2002/aug/09dinesh.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122450/http://www.rediff.com/movies/2002/aug/09dinesh.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=December 1, 2010 |work=[[Rediff.com]]}}</ref> Later Indian films inspired by ''Seven Samurai'' include [[Mani Ratnam]]'s ''[[Thalapathi]]'' (1991) and the Hindi film ''[[China Gate (1998 film)|China Gate]]'' (1998).<ref name="Scroll" />

Director [[Zack Snyder]] said, "[[Batman|Bruce [Wayne]]] is having to go out and sort of 'Seven Samurai' the [[Justice League]] together” in the 2021 film ''[[Zack Snyder's Justice League]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Butler |first=Tom |date=March 24, 2016 |title=Zack Snyder Teases 'Intense, Gigantic' Seven Samurai-inspired Justice League |url=https://news.yahoo.com/zack-snyder-teases-intense-gigantic-seven-164828113.html?nf=1 |access-date=May 25, 2020 |website=Yahoo News |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807050603/https://news.yahoo.com/zack-snyder-teases-intense-gigantic-seven-164828113.html?nf=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Bryan Young (filmmaker)|Bryan Young]] of ''[[Syfy Wire]]'', the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] films ''[[The Avengers (2012 film)|The Avengers]]'' (2012) and ''[[Avengers: Infinity War]]'' (2018) also owe "a great debt to" ''Seven Samurai'', noting a number of similar plot and visual elements.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Young |first1=Bryan |date=May 9, 2018 |title=Yep, Infinity War owes a great debt to The Phantom Menace (and Seven Samurai) |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/yep-infinity-war-owes-a-great-debt-to-the-phantom-menace-and-seven-samurai |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509193726/http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/yep-infinity-war-owes-a-great-debt-to-the-phantom-menace-and-seven-samurai |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 9, 2018 |access-date=May 31, 2020 |website=[[Syfy Wire]] |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] }}</ref> Other examples of films that reference ''Seven Samurai'' include the Australian [[science fiction film]] ''[[Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior]]'' (1981), the American [[comedy film]] ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'' (1999), and the [[The Magnificent Seven (2016 film)|2016 remake of ''The Magnificent Seven'']].<ref name="Scroll" />

American author [[Helen DeWitt]]'s debut novel ''[[The Last Samurai (novel)|The Last Samurai]]'' heavily features ''Seven Samurai'' as the title is a reference to the movie and characters within the novel watch and respond to the movie throughout the book.