Seven Samurai

In 16th-century feudal Japan, a villager seeks out samurais willing to defend his village from the bandits that plague the region after the harvest. With virtually no pay other than food, seven warriors —each with their own code and story— accept the task. Akira Kurosawa filmed the definitive action movie in 1954: combat choreography, character development, and torrential rain as a metaphor. The template for all subsequent group action films.

Seven Samurai is the origin of all group films since Kurosawa: each character has their dramatic and human function. The final sequence in the rain has not been equaled. Essential for understanding 20th-century action cinema.

" We're not samurais, we're just men. — Kambei Shimada

" Who's the strongest of all? — Kikuchiyo