Seven Samurai

The last typically martial arts film on the list for the year. Like City of God it is a film in entirely in a language that I do not speak or understand.

Black and white film all about a Samurai that agrees to help a village out. He teaches six men to become Samurai's and then there is an epic battle where they take on 40 villains. It's hard to really comment on black and white films that aren't subtitled or in a language that you can't understand.

Some of the training scenes were cool but some were also really silly and rubbish. Two minutes of waiting whilst they pose and stare at each other before a thirty second fight scene. For a film about martial arts we want to see long ish but realistic scenes. When you start out training then fighting your instructor would look a bit like that but if it did then you probably wouldn't chose to fight them with a real sword. The addition of the real sword that just showed a black hole in difference of quality between the fighters was needless and pointless. Even if you are that good try to drag it out a little for entertainment.

I got fed up with it when the camera spent a long time focusing on a woman's ass. I have no wish to go into a feminist rant (I am not a feminist) but watching films that were clearly filmed by a man who thinks like a boy is just frustrating.

Next up Apocalypse Now (and hopefully more enjoyable).