Paul

The films The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven have many similarities. Both in theme and content, many lines can be drawn between the two. For instance, many of cowboys are essentially facsimiles of the earlier film’s samurai. But while there are many such ties, there are also quite a few points of difference. One of the most obvious differences is in the dynamic between the townspeople and their protectors. Both in their interactions and their cultural positions, each film is a product of their respective settings.

In The Seven Samurai, the interactions between the samurai and the farmers are primarily motivated by the cultural norms of feudal Japan. One of the central tenets of a samurai’s persona and lifestyle is their pride. The thought of doing a favor for a poor group of farmers was unthinkable. This is evident when the farmers first begin approaching samurai. They seem to be angered by the fact that such lowly people would even approach them. Even the most humble of the samurai in the film carry themselves with an almost aristocratic bearing. Throughout the film, the samurai occupy a separate sphere from the rest of the townspeople. They are given all of the rice and housing space while the farmers must eat millet and sleep in barns. The only one of the group who has any kind of extensive contact with the farmers is Kikuchiyo, who often regards them with complete contempt. The film often goes on to support his views. The farmers are often shown to be unintelligent, petty and easily unnerved. Take, for example, the scene in which the town attempts to lynch a captured bandit. The viewer is clearly meant to side with the disapproving samurai, whose code of honor forbids them from killing such a prisoner.

In The Magnificent Seven, the dynamic between the cowboys and the farmers are much more conventional for the time and place it was created. While the cowboys are initially greeted coldly, they eventually become a part of the town. After finding out that the farmers were starving themselves to feed their protectors, the cowboys offer to eat with them. Throughout the film, the cowboys are usually occupying the same space as the townspeople. During the final battle, the cowboys and farmers fight alongside one another as equals. In fact, when it looks like the heroes are on the ropes, it is the farmers who save the day, wielding machetes and shovels. Bernardo acts as the mouthpiece of the group when it comes to their feelings about the townspeople. When he is talking to the children, he tells them to respect their fathers for living the hard life of the farmer.

As stated above, the differences between the two films’ treatment of the hero/farmer dynamic reveal much about their historical basis. Most notably, the class system was much more rigid in feudal Japan than in the old west. As portrayed in countless media, the old west was a place relative freedom and only a loosely established ethical code. For seven drifters to help some poor Mexicans in exchange for food does not seem so ludicrous. By contrast, it is rather far-fetched for seven samurai to break the strict feudal class lines and become a help some peasants. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that even though they are helping out, they never forget that they are above the people they are protecting. Both movies’ theme of food help drive this home. As mentioned above, when the cowboys find out that the farmers have been starving themselves, they all look ashamed and invite everyone to share their food. In The Seven Samurai, the samurai only help the peasants in the most dire of circumstances. First, Katsushiro tosses a coin on the ground so the peasants can buy more rice. Afterwards, he seems ashamed of his minimal generosity. Later, the group gives up their rice only when they learn about the old woman starving to death. As I wrote earlier, there is simply no such correlation in the old west. The appeal of going west was to start a new life in near-complete freedom, so everyone was more or less equal. There were no aristocratic drifters comparable to the ronin of feudal Japan. Disregarding historical reasons, the environment in which each film was released was also conducive to their content. Japanese cinema has a long history of films that are so accurate as to be impenetrable to western audiences (Kinji Fukasaku’s labyrinth Yakuza epics come to mind). If translated directly, the historically accurate attitudes of the samurai would appear cold-hearted to Americans. Such thoughtless actions would never appear in a traditional American film like The Magnificent Seven. Much like Japan has its cinematic traditions, American cinema has a history of producing films featuring populist heroes, like those seen in The Magnificent Seven.