'Sansho the Bailiff' or 'Seven Samurai': which do you prefer?

I think both are great films. But I agree that "Sansho Dayu" was a much more emotional viewing experience. Beautifully and evocativally composed, filled with an extraordinary pathos and gorgeous sadness, Mizoguchi's film is an utter masterpiece.

Besides them both being japanese from '54, where do you see a common ground here? Can't think of two more different films, and i'd definitly go with Sansho.

I like Sansho better myself. Its a powerful story.

I have always had problems with 7 Samurai: the obvious skin-head wigs and the silly story. Do the villagers really need the Samurai to tell them to sharpen some sticks? Why are they guarding a bowl of rice like it was made of gold? Aren't they rice farmers who would have tons of rice? I have always found the storyline premise of that film rather questionable.

Sansho is purely mesmerizing to watch. If you want a Akira Kurosawa film with a comparably clever character driven storyline I'd definitely recommend Rashomon.

Seven Samurai is a great film, but Sansho the Bailiff is a sublime film. It exists up there in the ether where only a very few films, such as Murnau's Sunrise or Abel Gance's Napoleon, reside. Sansho the Bailiff exists on a spiritual plane that few films have ever achieved. How it does this, I'm not sure, because it is a grueling and very difficult film to watch. I can only imagine that what the viewer suffers in watching this film unltimately brings him/her into closer contact with the redemption that the protagonist finally achieves in the film's closing scene.

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"Seven Samurai," easily. I just watched Sansho for the first time. It has some wonderful and wrenching moments, no question. I felt that when the girl talked her brother into escaping, it was as much to rescue him from becoming Sansho's brute as it was anything about finding Mom: well done. So was the sequence where the peasants run amok and burn Sansho's house, which gives one mixed feelings about the boy's insistence on enforcing his proclamation. I don't need to rell you how heartbreaking the kidnapping or the final sequence were, either. Lots of great stuff there.

But I kept wondering: How did the siblings hang onto that sizeable heirloom statuette while enslaved for ten years? If the sister thinks she'd be hampering the brother by escaping with him, why does she saddle him with the sick girl who'll be even more of a burden--why not come along to help carry her? Permanently laming a whore significantly damages her value--wouldn't a good beating suffice? Would the ruler immediately hand over a governorship to someone, just for having a statuette and claiming he was the son of the prior owner, and not take it away on the spot if he then threatened to abolish slavery in the district? If you thought you had a mother to rescue from prostitution and a sister from slavery and torture, would you go to your father's grave first, or let Dad wait till later? The logical questions undercut the tragedy, at least for me.

The pathos in "Seven Samurai" is of the passing and ultimate futility of heroism. As in Sansho, the characters are well drawn and magnificently acted. In addition, the action sequences are excellent. The plot logic holds up. (Yes, I do believe peasants would value rice over coins, and hoard it as best they could between the evidently frequent bandit raids.) It's pretty much a perfect movie if you have patience with subtitles and close to four hours to spend.

One of my criteria for deciding how much I like a film is whether I can see myself watching it again. By that measure, 7S wins hands down. I can see I'm in the minority here, but that's to be expected when posting on the Sansho board. Sorry, guys.

<covering head with a tarpaulin in expectation of thrown cyber-eggs and tomatoes>

Seven Samurai is my favorite film, so obviously I'll pick that one.

But for some reason, I can't really get into Mizoguchi. It's not that I dislike his films, it's that they never get inside me the way many great films can. At the end, they always just go away, while a film like Seven Samurai, or Hara-Kiri, or Tokyo Story (just to stick with the Japanese) continues to resonate in my mind for days.

I recognize Mizoguchi's skill and talent, and I'll take everyone's word that he's great, but I just can't see it myself.

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Ratings: http://us.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=4996900&s=uservote&s=reverse_uservote

Both by Mizoguchi. I would give The 47 Ronin the edge.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/Reviews/47_ronin.htm