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七人の侍 / Shichinin no samurai is considered one of cinema's greatest-ever masterpieces, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) is an epic tale of heroism, camaraderie and sacrifice. In 16th-century Japan, the residents of a small farming hamlet find they are incapable of defending themselves from a group of marauding bandits. To salvage their livelihoods, the villagers entreat a number of masterless samurai, or ronin, to protect them, their families and crops. Presented at its original length and starring the legendary players Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune, Seven Samurai remains today a beautiful and powerful specimen of the art of cinema." 

2 videodiscs (207 min.) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet. Audio in Japanese with optional English subtitles.

Bonus features: Two audio commentaries, one featuring film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie, and the other Japanese film expert Michael Jeck; 50-min. documentary on the making of Seven samurai, created as part of the Toho masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It is wonderful to create; My life in cinema, a two-hour video conversation from 1993 between directors Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima; "Seven samurai": origins and influences, a documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that helped shape Kurosawa's masterpiece; theatrical trailers and teaser; gallery of rare posters, behind-the-scenes photos, and production stills; a booklet featuring essays by Kenneth Turan, Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Stuart Galbraith, Arthur Penn, and Sidney Lumet, and an interview with Toshiro Mifune from 1993.