Product Details

• Actors: R. Bruce Elliott, Christopher Sabat, Sean Teague, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Luci Christian
• Directors: Toshifumi Takizawa
• Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Atsuhiro Tomioka
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 7
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Funimation Prod
• DVD Release Date: March 27, 2007
• Run Time: 600 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000LP5FXQ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,082 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The broadcast series Samurai 7 (2004) borrows the premise of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954): driven to desperation by bandits who steal their crops, the inhabitants of a small village hire unemployed samurai to defend them. With nothing to offer as wages but their precious rice, the villagers recruit warriors poor enough to accept the dishonor of working for peasants. Samurai 7 moves the story into the future: the bandits and some of the samurai are mecha. The grim ronin Kambei leads the viewers in the defense of their village, then tackles the forces of the orchidaceous emperor Ukyo. Kambei and his mismatched band attack the Capitol,Ukyo's equivalent of the Death Star. The warriors perform gravity-defying leaps, as they slash through steel plating, deflect bullets, and split laser beams with their swords in a climactic battle that occupies most of the last three episodes. The drawn/CG combinations reveal why Samurai 7 cost a reported ¥32,500,000 (nearly $300,000) per episode, an extremely high price by Japanese standards.

Widely acclaimed as a masterpiece of world cinema, Kurosawa's Seven Samurai stressed the shared humanity of the peasants, the samurai, and even the bandits; the often grotesque people and mecha in this sci-fi adventure lack that essential bond. Samurai 7 offers plenty of over-the-top battle sequences for viewers who enjoy a mixture of feudal and futuristic daring-do. But its meandering plot, stock heroes, and tin pot villains have very little to do with its supposed model. (Rated TV PG, suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Product Description
Legendary Epic Reborn!

This 7-disc set contains the enitre Samurai 7 saga - over 11 hours of action!

Samurai 7 is set in a futuristic world that has just seen the end of a massive war, many villages are being terrorized by Nobuseri bandits. The Nobuseri are no normal bandits. They were once men, but during the war they modifed themselves with machines to become living weapons and now apprear as more machine than man. A group of villagers decide to hire samurai to protect their village. These men of valor are as skilled as they are unique.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "On the battlefield, there were samurai. On the land, there were peasants.", April 15, 2007

By	H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Absolutely, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai - Criterion Collection - 3-Disc Remastered Edition is one of the great films of all time, and, in attempting a remake, one would require a hefty set of balls, as well as ample funding and talent. In 2004, with the approval of Akira Kurosawa's estate, a top notch anime version, SAMURAI 7, was created and debuted on Japanese television. In SAMURAI 7 - THE COMPLETE SERIES, we get the entire series, consisting of 26 episodes on 7 discs. SAMURAI 7 takes Akira Kurosawa's original masterpiece and transports it from the 16th century to a war ravaged, sci-fi future setting. However, the tweaked storyline still chronicles the tale of seven samurai who come to the aid of a tormented farming village that has been subjugated by bandits; this time, however, the bandits are the Nobuseri, mechanically-integrated predators who themselves were once samurai.

You don't need to have seen the 1954 film to enjoy SAMURAI 7, though viewers of both will make rapid connections between the two. The makers of this anime did a great job of instilling into their project the same heart and intent of the original SEVEN SAMURAI. This isn't just a meaningless point A to point B anime action flick. Emphasis is thoughtfully placed on character and plot development as we actually get to know the players in this series, from the ragtag samurai, which the last great war has largely reduced to a jobless and purposeless state, to the lowly farmers, who are insular, abhor fighting, and fear the samurai almost as much as the bandits.

Although palpable throughout the series, it's in the samurai's stay at the Kanna village where the distinction between the two social classes become most pronounced as the bushido code clashes with the villager's less "noble" but infinitely more realistic principles. The bridge between the two castes lies in the form of Kikuchiyo, the boorish but exuberant mechanical samurai who used to be a farmer; this was the role originated by the great Toshiro Mifune. Don't get me wrong, this animated Kikuchiyo version doesn't even come close to bringing to the table what Mifune did. It just underscores how bigger than life Mifune made his character that this incarnation actually had to be in a mechanical shell to halfway compete. Honestly, Kikuchiyo here is adequate and, at times, nerve grating.

But there comes a time when plot and character development must give way to serious hind kicking. And, in these moments, the samurai do NOT mess around. The action scenes are astounding! You almost believe a regular-sized guy can take out a mechagiant. These key sequences are significantly emphasized by the blood-pumping score, which uses a healthy dose of Japanese taiko drums. The animation is very, very nice to look at, even if, at times, the CG doesn't quite harmonize with the 2-d animation.

By the way, this thick box set also comes with 7 booklets with interviews and production art. Special features of note are: weird animated shorts of "Mr. Stain on Junk Alley" on discs 2, 3, and 4; relaxed commentary by the Voice Director & several voice actors on disc 4; and character profiles and image galleries on several discs.

Along with the sci-fi trappings, there are a few other significant changes that were made from Kurosawa's original film. There's a more impactful role played by the love interest Kirara the water priestess, as well as the introduction of her younger sister Komachi, who, along with Kikuchiyo, serves as comedy relief (Kirara and Komachi, by the way, are also Japanese brands of rice). Another change made is that, here, the samurai actually take the battle beyond the village bandits. But, listen, even with the sci-fi elements, the cool animation, the awesome battle scenes, I feel that the best thing about SAMURAI 7 is that it somehow retains the humanity of the original film. This really is anime for grown ups. The ending is still appropriately bittersweet as, ultimately, it's the villagers who win. There will always be harvests and harvest songs for the farmers. The samurai, on the other hand, just drift away. And the samurai leader, Shimada Kambei, who claims to have lost every war he's been in, has just lost another one...

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fine remake of Kurosawa's Epic Film, March 6, 2007

By	Tommy Milagro (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews

For anyone who enjoys anime, this is a good series to start with. Even though the story takes place in a futuristic setting and many of the storyline concepts have changed, much of the plot and rich characters of the original "Seven Samurai" have been retained. Clearly the budget was spent in making sure the Nobuseri and other CG images meshed well with the traditional animation of the characters, and it works on that level.

Granted the first two episodes of Samurai 7 start slow, but it is necessary to establish the characters of the mismatched seven who come to the aid of Kanna Village. Furthermore, the issues of honor, war, respect that were prevalent in the original are once again on display in this anime without overshadowing the awesome fight scenes, or vice versa.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Those who know what is right..., May 4, 2007

By	JFGrissom "JF" (San Diego, CA. USA) - See all my reviews

Solid, meaningful, worthwhile, must see... I can't think of any other way to describe it.

Our world is filled with those who KNOW what is right (but don't do it) and those who DO what is right...

This work reminds me a lot of (sorry I know there is a LOT of buzz, but clearly this is true) Frank Millers 300.

Just like the Spartans of pre-Greece fame the Samurai of Samurai 7 were the guys who did the right thing even when the odds were stacked in favor of the house.

It just goes to show you that themes of right and wrong transcend cultures.

Money well spent.