Set in medieval Japan, Kurosawa's epic centers on a group of impoverished peasants who enlist the protection of seven unemployed samurai to defend their property and harvest from the brutal bandits who terrorize their village. The film is groundbreaking for its visual intensity, stylistic command of movement, space and action, and its expressive emotional range and social criticism. The battle sequences are frightening, devastating and eerie. Cinematography by Asaichi Nakai. With Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba and Toshiro Mifune. Japanese with English subtitles.