Simon Shrewsbury

Tired of being raided by bandits a farming village hires a team of Samurai to defend them. I have waited almost a year to finally watch this epic after having it recommended several times. At 3 hours and 10 minutes it is a big film but to be honest it needed to be. The film is a work of beauty. The scenes are filmed to perfection. An example is Toshiro Mifune's performance as Kikuchiro. He acts a scene where he rages about farmers and Samurai in long one take and he never drops the intensity for a moment. The final scene in the rain and mud was wonderful as you witness a desperate final stand knowing some of the characters wont make it. This film showed all sides of mankind, charity, insecurity, love and vengeance. I would watch it again in a heartbeat if I had the time.