THE EMPIRE CLASSIC SCENE

SEVEN SAMURAI CHOSEN BY JON FAVREAU

JON FAVREAU: “I love in Seven Samurai when they witness the duel [with] one of the samurai that they’re thinking of recruiting. They do it with bamboo swords and the whole town is witnessing it. Then it escalates and they have to do it again with bare blades. It’s over in the blink of an eye, but the build-up is so deliberate and thoughtful. It was affected by and affects the Western, and it’s always been something I go back to and watch again and again and again. Kurosawa was a master of rhythm and subtlety, and character-based action that elevates the mythic proportions of the stories he’s telling. As a young kid, first being exposed to the samurai films and being able to relate to them because they were so human, even though I knew nothing of the world and the history, I loved it. It shows you how universal that human experience is and how a good movie can open the door for a love of a whole genre I had never been exposed to, and have loved ever since.” EXT. VILLAGE — DAY

Kambei (Takashi Shimura) and Katsushiro (Isao Kimura) have come to a village hoping to recruit a samurai. They witness a duel between Kyozu (Seiji Miyaguchi) and a samurai (Hiroshi Hayashi). Both men are using bokken — wooden swords. They charge towards one another, and there’s a coming together of wood on wood.

SAMURAI: Too bad. It’s a draw. KYOZU: I’m afraid not. I won. He turns to walk away. SAMURAI: That’s ridiculous! Kyozu turns to face him.

KYOZU: If these were steel, you’d be dead by now.

The samurai, furious, throws down his bokken. He rushes over to Kyozu, and grabs his sword.

SAMURAI: Then we fight with steel!

KYOZU: [sheathing his sword] Don’t throw your life away.

SAMURAI: What?

KYOZU: Don’t you see? With steel blades, you’d die.

He picks up his hat and walks away. The enraged samurai runs after him. In the background, virtually the entire village is watching. SAMURAI: Wait! Don’t try to flee!

The samurai draws his sword and stands his ground. Kyozu is impassive.

SAMURAI: Draw! This isn’t a contest of words!

Kyozu throws his hat to the ground and draws his sword. Many villagers start falling back. The samurai circles round. Kyozu takes small steps forward. The samurai inches back. Then he runs backward, the sword held high over his head. He screams, in an attempt to intimidate Kyozu, but doesn’t move.

Kambei and Katsushiro look on, perplexed. Kambei moves his head back and forth between the two duellists.

KAMBEI: This is preposterous. There’s no contest.

Kyozu now moves back and keeps his sword low by his side, in battle pose. The samurai screams and charges at him. He slashes at Kyozu, who simply steps back and slices the samurai with a single blow down the middle.

He falls to the ground in slow motion. Dead.