Seven Samurai
BTS details the troubled production of one of Kurosawa’s greatest achievements, a mythic and primal epic of feudal Japan that became a virtual template for latter-day action films, influencing western filmmakers for decades. Kurosawa professed himself disappointed with the popular 1960 Americanized remake The Magnificent Seven, which spawned numerous sequels and ripoffs. Screenwriter John Sayles blasted the concept into outer space in 1980 for Battle Beyond the Stars.
About Brian Trenchard-Smith
Brian Trenchard-Smith has been burning to make genre films ever since seeing Hitchcock’s Vertigo at age 13. So far he has directed 42 Crimes Against Cinema, and counting (He’s an enthusiastic recidivist.) The Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival recently gave him a career achievement award. His cult hits include The Man from Hong Kong, Turkey Shoot, BMX Bandits, Stunt Rock, Dead End Drive In, The Siege of Firebase Gloria. He has also made over 100 trailers ranging from Hammer horrors to Australian films of the 70′s and 80′s. His latest film is Drive Hard, a quirky action comedy with John Cusack and Thomas Jane. He hopes to shoot a Sci-Fi action picture in Tianjing, China later this year. Brian shares a passion for history with his wife Byzantine historian Dr. Margaret Trenchard-Smith. His first novel Alice Through The Multiverse, and his autobiography Adventures in the B Movie Trade, are available on Amazon and Kindle.