Kevin Ang's "Seven Samurai" Movie Poster

If you've ever taken a college course on film history, or even a cursory glance at a book on the subject, there's a good chance you'll have heard of what is widely considered one of the greatest Japanese films ever made. Hell, one of the finest movies ever shot. Period. And if you read the post's title or looked at the image below, you could easily ascertain what film I'm talking about, but I like to think that even if you only had this paragraph to go by, Akira Kurosawa's wizened face would still briefly flash through your head. Yes, I'm of course talking about the exceptional samurai epic Seven Samurai.

Seven Samurai Movie Poster
Kevin Ang
12" x 18" - Numbered
$10 - Limited to 77

Just take it in for a second. Let its beauty wash over you. Kevin Ang, who had previously stunned us with his amazing Twelve Angry Men poster and Attack the Block print, has done it again. Now that I'm somewhat familiar with Kevin's work, I think I can safely assume two things: he's a hugely talented artist, and he has incredible taste in movies. For the record, I've seen several Seven Samurai concepts online, and have found them to be, more often than not, minimalist to the point of almost being nonexistant. And while I appreciate the intention behind the proliferation of cleverly sparse designs, I don't think I've ever seen one of Kurosawa's masterworks celebrated in such an obviously skillful manner. You can look at each of the seven men above and easily tell who's who, which is all the more impressive when you realize that every character also sports a somewhat indefinable quality as their outlines appear to fade in and out of the white or black background. The alternating lines of light and dark used to separate the titular feudal warriors are also inspired, as they look like they could be strokes from an antiquated calligraphy brush circa 1587 (just ballparking it). When it comes down to it, this poster is pretty much perfect in my opinion and I would gladly live in a world where Mr. Ang's artwork graced the cover of Criterion's lauded release of the film - and that's just about the highest praise I can give any work of art.

Kevin Ang's brilliant Seven Samurai print will be available later today through the Kingdom of Nonsense store for $10. Yes, you heard right. $10! The print measures 12" x 18" and is limited to an edition of 77 (I see what you did there). The poster will be available at 12 PM MST (11 AM on the West Coast and 2 PM on the East). For more information on artist Kevin Ang, be sure to checkout his website, deviantART page, or his Tumblr blog. Good luck everyone!