I was lucky enough to stumble into this film as part of the Denver Film Festival in November 2009. It was amazingly good.
The film, set in 1953, tells the story of the actor hired to play the eighth samurai in Kurasawa's next great film. Unfortunately for the actor, the Director (never referred to by name, but we all know who he is) has a dream and decides his film needs to be "The Seven Samurai" instead of "The Eighth Samurai." This is apparently the end of the actor's career, and the story takes us through the period of turmoil around the delivery, denial, and finally acceptance of the bad news.
The filmmakers did an amazing job imitating Kurasawa's style, including lighting, shot selection, acting, pace, and editing. It was clear that someone has studied the master very well. Unfortunately, I think the painstaking accuracy of the homage was lost on probably 90% of the audience. That may be one of the flaws of the film. Unless you're a real film buff and a fan of Kurasawa, you probably won't really appreciate "The 8th Samurai" for all it's worth. But if you know your samurai movies, you owe it to yourself to find a way to watch this film.
The film, set in 1953, tells the story of the actor hired to play the eighth samurai in Kurasawa's next great film. Unfortunately for the actor, the Director (never referred to by name, but we all know who he is) has a dream and decides his film needs to be "The Seven Samurai" instead of "The Eighth Samurai." This is apparently the end of the actor's career, and the story takes us through the period of turmoil around the delivery, denial, and finally acceptance of the bad news.
The filmmakers did an amazing job imitating Kurasawa's style, including lighting, shot selection, acting, pace, and editing. It was clear that someone has studied the master very well. Unfortunately, I think the painstaking accuracy of the homage was lost on probably 90% of the audience. That may be one of the flaws of the film. Unless you're a real film buff and a fan of Kurasawa, you probably won't really appreciate "The 8th Samurai" for all it's worth. But if you know your samurai movies, you owe it to yourself to find a way to watch this film.