ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the genre of jidaigeki and its subgenre, chanbara. The very word chanbara is a Japanese onomatopoeic indicating the clatter of swords; the term itself thus indicates the centrality of sound to the genre film. After a brief synopsis of the film and an overview of soundtrack elements, the chapter turns to particulars of sound in the movie. It is especially concerned with the slippage between discrete soundtrack elements—music, sound effects, and voice. Sometimes sound effects take on a narrative weight equivalent to that typically afforded to the underscore. The compelling nature of Seven Samurai lies in its potent combination of realism and myth. The narrative and the soundtrack reflect the juxtaposition between the realistic and the mythic via depictions of technology and nature. The clashes between the samurai and the bandits best clarify the contrast between nature and technology in the film.
