ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Film Club: Seven Samurai directed by Akira Kurosawa
Date
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Time
6.30pm (BST)
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Booking Details
Online meeting on Zoom
Please register for the meeting in advance from the link below. After registering, you will receive an automated confirmation email with meeting access details (please check your spam folder if you don't receive any emails).
Free for members of The Japan Society
Please remember to watch the film in advance.
Seven Samurai is available to watch online on BFI player (with subscription) and to rent and buy on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Please help us to keep this event free and open to all!The Japan Society is a charity and its activities are made possible thanks to the support of its members. If you are planning to attend this event and are not a member (as an individual or through your employer), please consider becoming a member or making a donation if you can - the recommended donation is £5. Thank you!   |
Join us for our May Film Club to explore Akira Kurosawa’s ground-breaking samurai epic, Seven Samurai, a powerful reflection on honour, survival, and community in medieval Japan.
A masterpiece of Japanese cinema, Seven Samurai follows a group of masterless samurai hired to defend a village from ruthless bandits in 16th-century Japan. Led by the seasoned Kambei (played by Takashi Shimura), the warriors must train the desperate villagers for an inevitable battle, forging unlikely bonds across class divides. Blending exhilarating action with moments of humour and humanity, the film offers a powerful exploration of honour, sacrifice, and collective resistance. Widely regarded as one of the most influential films ever made, this epic remains as gripping and resonant today.
Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) is considered one of the greatest film directors in the history of cinema in Japan and beyond. After training as a painter, he entered the film industry in 1936 and made his directorial debut in 1943 with the film Sanshiro Sugata. After the war, Kurosawa went on to write and direct celebrated and influential films such as Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961), Dersu Uzala (1975) and Ran (1985). Often regarded as the most Western of Japanese directors, Kurosawa is celebrated for his innovative style, visual composition, and storytelling. During his 50-year career in which he directed 30 films, he received numerous film awards and career honours, including a Golden Lion for Career Achievement at the 1982 Venice Film Festival and an Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1989.