The Seven Samurai

Akria Kurosawa's classic, The Seven Samurai, currently regarded as one of the most influential films in the history of motion pictures, is an epic, following the story of seven samurai who venture out of their individual paths to defend a small town from a league of bandits. Featuring one of the most famous actors for this particular era of samurai films, Toshiro Mifune, Kurosawa aimed to recreate one of the most triumphant and remembered eras of culture that we have ever explored, and provide it with a story of honor,  hope in calamity, and the power in faith. 

Most notably, he filmed the motion picture in 148 days with a small budget, however in spite of that he managed to input the quality, mastered cinematography, and powerful performances that placed this film as one of the most notable and successful films ever produced. His original budget was set at 700,000, however, after the company learned of Kurosawa's plans to build a live set in the Izu Peninsula instead of building a set in Toho Studios, they stripped 200,000 out of his original 700,000, leaving close to a half million dollar budget. 

Although the film was shunned by the studio and regarded as a waste of money, it became one of the largest projects ever attempted in classic cinematography and one of the largest grossing movies of the time. It set a new standard in the industry, marking a revolution in multi-camera editing and quality of production. 

It has recently been added to the Criterion Collection, and was originally sponsored by Janus Films, a leader in foreign films adaptations and re-releases of classic masterpieces. It can be viewed on many popular websites, DVD releases, and television. I would recommend this film for anyone patient enough to sit through the three hour film, because what you get out of it goes beyond most recent films and hollywood releases of this age. 

The Social Network

First off I would like to say that this movie, regardless of the subject matter you are into, is a must watch. The initial story follows the creation of Facebook, a popular social networking site, created by Mark Zuckerburg. While you might not be into the techie crowd the movie goes beyond the actual work on the site into a much deeper observation of the tribulations that commenced after the creation of Facebook, currently one of the most popular websites in the world and valued at close to 26 billion dollars. One of the main underlying stories is the turbulence and finally the destruction of a friendship due to the success and jealousy that came from Facebook.
Although I'm not immensely interested in Facebooks creation, this movie managed to wrap me into the story by utilizing the best directors, cinematographers, composers, and actors for the part. This movie could have managed a lot worse of a wrap if the pieces hadn't fallen into place so well, because despite David Finchers success with this previous endeavors, no director can make a movie work if the ball isn't even rolling in your court. Having said that he is the only director I could have picked for this movie, perfect match, all of his movies have that sort of youthful optimism yet inevitably dark feel.
All in all the movie was a 9.2/10. The cast and crew where phenomenal and it is a must watch. So if you are in the mood to watch more than just another movie, then I would recommend going and spending ten bucks on a copy, you won't regret it.

-John Tanner