Sure it was groundbreaking for its time, but for what in essence is such a simple plot, the Seven Samurai for all intents and purposes should not have had the lasting impact it has had nor the legendary status it has achieved. But through both Kurosawa's direction and the performances on screen that this relatively simple defense of a sixteenth-century Japanese village becomes far more enveloping than almost every modern action film. And while I could wax lyrical about the…