Friday, October 16, 2015

Shot-by-Shot Analysis of "Seven Samurai"

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/203402/Seven-Samurai-The-Movie-Clip-Swordsman.html

This URL should bring you to a video of Seven Samurai, and the video you should be viewing is the fight between the aggressive Samurai and Kyuzo in the fields. My analysis is from 2:29 to 3:29 of that clip.



Shot 1: A long shot that is taken above the heads of many villagers crowding around an entrance that is a gap between two walls into a field where two Samurai are having are duel. The Samurai have drawn their swords and the villagers start frantically rushing backward onto the streets from the entrance as to not interfere with the duel and harm themselves. Kurosawa cuts to-

Shot 2: A two shot of the Samurai circling each other with the villagers and the leader and apprentice Samurai watching in the background. The shot has the front of the master swordsman Samurai facing the camera and the back of the aggressive Samurai facing the camera with the villagers crowding the entrance directly in the center frame of the camera. The scene is taken at a long shot. Kurosawa quickly cuts to-

Shot 3: A long shot in the same fashion as the shot 1, however the villagers are now crowding at the entrance and others who were not there at first are joining in to view the fight. However, there are still many who stand at the streets instead of the entrance itself. This shot persists for several seconds until Kurosawa cuts back to:

Shot 4: A semi-master shot that is focused on the two dueling Samurai, but have the other key Samurai to the left of the master swordsman. The shot does not fully display the house that is in the field scenery. The entrance to the field still has villagers crowding it and is in center frame of the shot with the two Samurai viewing the duel in front of all the villagers. The master swordsman slowly approaches the aggressive Samurai until the master swordsman puts both hands on the hilt of his sword and takes a large step towards the other Samurai. This action proceeds with a fast tracking shot of the aggressive Samurai which his sword now over his head and taking large backward steps away from the master swordsman in preparation to fight. While backing away from the master swordsman, the aggressive Samurai's front now faces the camera followed by an aggressive scream and a cut to-

Shot 5: A medium two shot of the leader and apprentice Samurai in the center of the frame. The two Samurai initially look at the aggressive Samurai and then look towards the patient master swordsman and then back to the aggressive Samurai. The leader does this action one more time while the apprentice is still looking at the aggressive swordsman after his initial double take. The leader comments on how the aggressive Samurai will be wasting his life to the master swordsman, and looks at both of them once more. This action grabs the attention of the apprentice and shifts his head towards the leader. Kurosawa then cuts back to-

Shot 6: A master shot of the duel with most of the house in-frame. The entrance to the field is now off-center and the two Samurai viewing the duel are the most visible from the crowd. The shot has the master swordsman to the far left with his sword pointing towards the aggressive Samurai, and the aggressive Samurai is to the far right with his sword over his head. Other smaller statues fill the bottom of the frame and a few trees fill the background, but a lot of the sky can still be seen. A tracking shot is now used as the master swordsman takes a few steps towards the aggressive Samurai which in turn causes him to step backward a bit. After that, the master swordsman takes a large step backward and pulls his sword to his right side ready to fight which is followed by the aggressive Samurai following his foot movements. The scene abruptly cuts to-

Shot 7: A long shot of the entrance with the two Samurai viewing the duel a little off-centered. The aggressive Samurai aggressively screams during the cut. Kurosawa immediately cuts to-

Shot 8: A tracking medium long shot at eye level with the aggressive Samurai to the left of the frame rapidly approaching the patient master swordsman with shuffling feet. The frame is now a two shot with all the same traits where both swordsmen took their one swing at each other. When the master swordsman was entering the frame and when the aggressive Samurai was taking his swipe, the master swordsman was facing him frontally and then moved the left portion of his body away from the aggressive Samurai's sword which was followed by a swipe at the aggressive Samurai. After the swipe, both Samurai were motionless and the master swordsman was giving the aggressive Samurai a deep stare while the aggressive Samurai was staring blankly at the ground. After the swipe, Kurosawa immediately cuts to-

Shot 9: A two shot semi-close up of the two onlooking Samurai. The leader shuffled to his sides a bit while the apprentice had no reaction. The face of the leader is curiously looking on while the apprentice is almost shocked or baffled. Many of the villagers in the background move backward slightly. After their movements ceased, Kurosawa immediately cuts back to-

Shot 10: A long two shot of the dueling Samurai in their same poses from the end of shot 8. This shot is done in slow motion to dramatize the following. The aggressive Samurai falls to his left side to the ground with his feet flailing in the air. The master swordsman's head follows his movement subtly as he falls. The scene ends with the dead Samurai's feet falling to the ground.