Take a look at where you can watch Akira Kurosawa’s classic, Seven Samurai, and what streaming platform to find it on.

As Japanese Samurai movies go, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is an absolute classic. Originally released in 1954, the movie is set in 1584 Japan during a period of almost constant civil war in Japan named the Sengoku period. When the movie was released, it was a watershed moment in Japanese cinema, it quickly became the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time and inspired countless recreations in some form or another, perhaps the most famous inspiration was The Magnificent Seven, where director John Sturges adapted Seven Samurai and dressed it up as a Western, with gun-slinging cowboys and Native Americans. Seven Samurai remains an all-time classic and if it is still on your one-to-watch list, now is the chance. Read on to find out more about Seven Samurai, and watch it on HBO Max via Amazon Prime.

Watch Seven Samurai on Amazon Prime Video

What Impact did Seven Samurai have on Cinema?

Seven Samurai

As mentioned, Seven Samurai was seen as a watershed moment in Japanese cinema, but this sentiment can easily be extended to world cinema, as the film inspired a trope that has been used time and time again by directors and film studios. If we were to mention the ‘assembling the team’ trope, you can probably think of a plethora of popular and culturally iconic films that follow this trope. The ‘assembling the team’ trope is always found in the ‘men-on-a-mission’ genre and these two movie narratives have been bundled together in popular culture and named the ‘Seven Samurai formula’. If you are unsure that you have seen a movie adopt the ‘Seven Samurai formula’, think of the tried and tested movie formula where a team of rag-tag, disparate people collectivize and take on a task, whether that be rescuing a person in distress or blowing up the Death Star, you are bound to have seen this. More recent blockbusters like The Expendables and Avengers: Endgame have both used this formula, Marvel are particularly fond of this formula and doesn’t seem to deviate from it too often. Other films like Star Wars, Saving Private Ryan, and Inglorious Bastards have all been inspired by the ‘Seven Samurai formula’ and gained a lot of success in doing so. This isn’t exclusive to the silver screen either, television series like The Walking Dead and The A-Team are but two.

The Sengoku Period In Japan

Seven Samurai Movie

The Sengoku Period in Japan was a period that lasted for a period of 136 years, between 1467 and 1603. Seven Samurai is based in 1584, towards the end of The Sengoku period after years of civil war between different factions. It was a tumultuous era in Japan with social unrest and civil war constantly erupting between different factions trying to gain superiority and control. The Sengoku era was initiated in 1467 with the onset of the Ōnin War which has been credited with the collapse of the feudal system throughout Japan. With the collapse of feudalism, many different clans and Samurai warlords fought over power. This is the scene in which Seven Samurai is set, and the social hostility can be felt through the plot where a village hires a group of masterless samurai to defend their farm from bandits who are expected to return after the harvest to steal their crops. Nobody is safe, and the law is administered by the sword.

Where to Watch Seven Samurai

If you want to treat yourself to Kurosawa’s classic, you can do so on HBO Max via Amazon Prime. If you have an Amazon Prime subscription with access to HBO Max you can stream all 3 hours and 26 minutes of this epic samurai movie. There are no subtitles available, but you can change the audio to Japanese if that is your preferred language.

Watch Seven Samurai on Amazon Prime Video