Kambei (Takashi Shimura)’s Timeline and Summary
- Kambei agrees to have his head shaved in order to pose as a priest and save a small child from a bandit.
- Said child is saved, said bandit is skewered like a squab, and Kambei wins himself the admiration of the local peasants.
- He also earns the admiration of a young samurai in training, Katsushiro, who begs him to take him on as an apprentice. Kambei initially demurs but eventually gives in.
- Some of the not-so-local peasants ask him to help them out with their little bandit problem. Having nothing better to do, and being somewhat intrigued by their proposition, he agrees.
- Deciding that seven is a very pretty number, he proposes to hire five more samurai to help them defend the village.
- Auditions begin, starting with Katsushiro standing inside the door of their hut and trying to conk any prospective hire on the head. If the samurai in question avoids the blow, the "interviews" can continue.
- Kambei decides to leave for the village with just six samurai, until Kikuchiyo shows up all drunk and belligerent, and Kambei allows him to join their merry band.
- He and his buddies arrive at the village, only to be given a less-than-warm reception. He takes it in stride.
- They begin planning for the defense of the town. Kambei teaches the peasants some military basics, like not freaking out at rumors and how to block the bandits' approach through the judicious use of flooded fields.
- Kikuchiyo finds the farmers' cache of samurai gear… stolen from samurai who they've killed. Kambei takes it in stride, however, and doesn't push further.
- He orchestrates the capture of the three bandit scouts, then tries to stop the village from murdering one of them. No dice. An old woman who has lost her family leads the way while Kambei can only watch.
- He sends a group of samurai off to destroy the bandits' fortress. They succeed, but Heihachi is killed in the process. Kambei laments the loss of a cheerful comrade. Lord knows they needed one.
- The bandits attack and Kambei again commands the village in its defense. He also stresses the need to get the bandits' guns, since they kind of put a crimp in his plan.
- In the attack, the bandits burn the outlying buildings and kill some of the people in them. Kambei tries to stop Kikuchiyo from trying to save them, but he can't.
- The bandits retreat and Kambei prepares for another assault.
- When they come again, he allows a few to slip in past the "breach," then has them cut down.
- He gives Kikuchiyo the smackdown for leaving his post, even though the would-be samurai scored one of the bandits' guns.
- The bandits exploit the breach and he helps fight them off, though Gorobei is killed in the process.
- Kambei prepares for a final assault from the bandits.
- They arrive and the battle begins. Kyuzo and Kikuchiyo are killed by gunfire, but the samurai and the villagers prevail. Kambei, Shichiroji and Katsushiro are the only ones left.
- Kambei stands in front of the graves of the four fallen samurai while the peasants return to planting rice. He laments his survival quietly, then notes that the peasants are the real winners, not them. (You're gonna be hearing that line a lot in this.)