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To celebrate its 70th anniversary, Akira Kurosawa\u2019s black-and-white epic Seven Samurai <\/em>is coming back to theaters with a new 4K restoration. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Arguably the crowning achievement of one of the world\u2019s most lauded filmmakers, the film depicts a small village in the 16th century that is threatened by bandits. To protect themselves from the invaders, the farmers go in search of ronin \u2014 master-less samurai for hire \u2014 who can ward off the marauders and keep the village safe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of the film\u2019s co-writers, Shinobu Hashimoto, found the process of putting together Seven Samurai<\/em> so exhausting that he checked himself into a hospital. \u201cI thought I\u2019d never be able to write anything as good ever again,\u201d he said. \u201cOn the other hand, I thought since writing it was so difficult, and I survived, I could write anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It was also a tremendously expensive film, especially for the 1950s, with a budget estimated between $150,000 and $200,000 \u2014 far above the $70,000 average of Japanese films of that era. During filming, Kurosawa had to stop production after he realized he had run through his funding only a third of the way through the shoot. The entire shoot lasted nearly a year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Still, Seven Samurai<\/em> proved well worth it, becoming a box office success in Japan and, in the 70 years since its release, now considered one of the greatest films of all time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The 4K restoration debuted at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. In New York, the movie opens at Film Forum on July 5th; in Los Angeles, the premiere will be on July 7th at the Egyptian Theatre, with an opening at Laemmle Royal to follow on July 12th. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n