Why is Seven Samurai (1954) such a runaway critical success?

It’s been on my watch list for a while and I finally got around to it today, and I thought it was fine. Some great stuff and a couple of uniquely charming performances, but I didn’t love it, and upon reading some of the reviews I honestly don’t know how they’ve landed on their conclusions.

I can understand it being broadly positively received overall, but it‘s held universally in incredibly high regard and I can’t work out why.

Presumably I’m missing something? Did this movie originate innovative things which have gone on to be overused, so I’m not feeling the true originality of them? Am I missing some cultural touchstone that would help me enjoy it more?

Genuinely curious, please advise.

Submitted January 08, 2020 at 07:46PM by NotACartogropher https://ift.tt/2QWFSzl