{"product_id":"seven-samurai-paperback","title":"Seven Samurai - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJoan Mellen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eSeven Samurai\u003c\/i\u003e (1954) a whole society is on the verge of irrevocable change. Akira Kurosawa's celebrated film, regarded by many to be the major achievement of Japanese cinema, is an epic that evokes the cultural upheaval\u003cbr\u003ebrought on by the collapse of Japanese militarism in the 16th century, but at the same time echoes also the sweeping cultural changes occurring in the aftermath of the American Occupation that followed Japan's defeat in the Second World War. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe plot is deceptively simple. A village of farmers is beleaguered by a horde of bandits. In desperation, the farmers decide to hire itinerant samurai to protect their crops and people and defeat the bandits. There had never been a Japanese film in which peasants hired samurai, or an evocation of the social transformation that made such an idea credible. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThere are six samurai and one who is accepted as such. Together they reflect the ideals and values of a noble class near the point of extinction. \u003ci\u003eSeven Samurai \u003c\/i\u003emay be the greatest action film, a technical masterpiece unmatched in its depiction of movement and violence, but running beneath the sound and fury is a lament for a lost nobility, 'a dirge for the spirit of Japan, ' writes Joan Mellen, 'which will never again be so strong.' \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMellen's study contextualises \u003ci\u003eSeven Samurai\u003c\/i\u003e, marking its place in Japanese cinema and in Kurosawa's film-making career. She explores the film's roots in medieval history and, above all, the astonishing visual language in which Kurosawa created his elegiac epic.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoan Mellen\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of English and Creative Writing at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. Among her books are \u003ci\u003e Marilyn Monroe\u003c\/i\u003e (1973), \u003ci\u003eVoices from the Japanese Cinema\u003c\/i\u003e (1975), \u003ci\u003eThe Waves at Genji's Door: Japan Through Its Cinema\u003c\/i\u003e (1976), the dual biography\u003ci\u003e Hellman and Hammett: The Legendary Passion of Lilian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett\u003c\/i\u003e (1996), and, more recently, \u003ci\u003eFaustian Bargains: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eLyndon Johnson and Mac Wallace in the Robber Baron Culture of Texas\u003c\/i\u003e (Bloomsbury 2016) and \u003ci\u003eBlood in the Water: How the US and Israel Conspired to Ambush the USS Liberty\u003c\/i\u003e (2018).\u003cbr\u003e She is the author of \u003ci\u003eIn the Realm of the Senses\u003c\/i\u003e (2004) and \u003ci\u003eModern Times\u003c\/i\u003e (2006), also in the BFI Film Classics series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 112\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.26 x 7.4 x 5.53 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 19, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50333010165997,"sku":"9781839024771","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0020\/8918\/9441\/files\/pxGFhriT009781839024771.webp?v=1784974784","url":"https:\/\/www.webster.direct\/en-au\/products\/seven-samurai-paperback","provider":"Webster.Direct","version":"1.0","type":"link"}