October 27, 1996 When Kurosawa produced his version of the Western in _Seven Samurai_, what did he add to that genre by way of originality and/or commentary? One innovation was the change of setting, meaning that the film was a Western in all but its location in time and space (with whatever changes were necessary to fit the changed setting). In that sense his film is a model for sci-fi Westerns like _Outland_ and maybe _Star Wars_. What else is new, or fairly close to new in his film? One possibility: I don't recall any Westerns where the stranger who comes in and cleans up the town is not one person but a group formed specifically for that occasion. Ford's _My Darling Clementine_ is not a counter-example because, although it features more than one Earp, they had previously worked together as a group. Even the addition of Doc Holiday does not seem to make it a counter-example because Holiday was already there and joined with the Earps *after* they came to town. If anyone can suggest a citation of a group formed for the purpose of cleaning up the town in a Western before _Seven Samurai_, I would appreciate it. Also any other suggestions about substantial changes/contributions/ commentary on the genre made by Kurosawa in this film would be appreciated. Thanks. Kendall D'Andrade ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]