Bring on the tough stuff. There’s not just one right answer.
- Why do the samurai agree to take the job? What do they hope to gain?
- Why is Kikuchiyo (Toshiro Mifune) so determined to become a samurai? What Japanese traditions is he violating by doing so?
- What drives the main characters here? Is it just survival or is there some greater principle at work?
- How do the samurai handle possible betrayal by the farmers? What does this say about them? About the farmers?
- How much of this story feels like a Western?
- Conversely how much of it have you seen in later American and European movies?
- What time period does this movie take place in? How does that inform the story?
- What kinds of social castes exist in the movie? In what ways are they upheld? In what ways are they violated?