Seven Servants (1996)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good start, but then it gets ruined

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

his first film is supposed to be this one.Seven Servants. However, as in many cases with visionaries and exceptional creative so called geniuses amongst us they suddenly have a vision, a lightning strikes them and then they transfer the force of that message to us through whatever their encounters happens to be.shokof's idea and obsession with unity of mankind had to have happened initially in his maximalism "the art movement he founded in the eighties" and then further his philosophical admissions under the title "yekishim" until this dream came about. according again to his own admission the story of this incredible film came to him in a dream which repeated itself in the same very night in Germany. Thereafter he wrote the script, composed the drawings and being a craftily painter he started designing the scenes. Thus the creation of the world of cinema most unique, original and astounding production called Seven Servants. The film is actually not in anyway a first film but rather a last film from a master filmmaker who never made a movie prior to this one. amazing piece which stands tall in every facet of human creativity from the arts to the books and films. his design shines through as original as the elements of his story.He one handedly starts a movement based on shokofian style of filmmaking. In Seven Servants everything is absolutely shokof driven though he repeats all his mastery in his every future film,and still never gets the deserving applause. though It seems it is all not essential to him at all as he continued making more impressive films regardless of never having received recognition. His directing of the legendary Anthony Quinn is also flawless. Anthony Quinn never ever looked more convincing, powerful,and at ease and actually finally so powerful that it was the most obvious choice for him to receive his Oscars due many 20 years or more, and again even Quinn did not even get the nominations. The film did not either. The story neither. The directing neither. The art design neither. believe it or not it deserved to even win both the best cinematography and production in my opinion. none was achieved for one simple reason that shokof was doomed to have been politically on the wrong side of the coin. no other word explains so much mischievous under accomplishment by all existing institutes and festivals. however, now and suddenly and 20 years after, the film finally receives a slight recognition. It tops the best experimental film ever in the Ranker. It is now the best film of Quinn in ranker Quinn films. It becomes finally and gradually the Gem it is and soon perhaps even respected as the only work in form of a film that could one day become the first holy religion in form of a film. Seven Servants remains a most extraordinary visionary film in the history which will take years for us human beings to admit we did wrong to bury a grand mind and creative energy who seriously created the first ever religion having come to us in form of a film. this also explains we finally could expect amazing dimensions would come to us through cinema though it might take another 500 years as we still continue watching batman returns or james bond just cooked dinner. no rating can be justifiable for such a grand work. it is just plain awesome.

I found it quite difficult to sit through this film on DVD. I knew it was not going to be good as soon as the titles rolled. Bad, tasteful dancing letter graphics and a sepia orange filter on everything are dead giveaways. Another bad sign: two directors and a credit for additional editing. Usually means it has been cut down and possibly butchered. Reminded me a bit of the work of Parajanov and Derek Jarman. Has that kind of gay art film 'malaise' feel to it, but without the open courage and conviction of those two. It is neither film as art nor regular cinema. It falls in between the two stools. I was interested in the Gato Barbieri score but even this was very slight. As for Anthony Quinn his monologues and dialogs reminded me of the sound track of a continental high gloss porn film.

in had heard about this film many times,but could never get to see it until recently and finally i just bought it,and saw the movie of my life time.it moved me so much that i started creating a list under different names in which Seven Servants would stand as the movie to reckon with; the most original film i had ever seen the strangest film i had ever seen the most important film i had ever seen the film with funniest scenes perhaps even in the list of the most beautiful films ever as wellseven servants,Satyricon; and perhaps only &à or &( other movies in all cinema pages ave been able to open my eyes that movies are not just there to tell stories but to introduce to viewers a whole world that could only be possible to show in form of moving pictures. daryush shokof and his extraordinary film Seven Servants are perhaps also in my list of; the most underrated or perhaps even completely ignored identities of the most creative minds all together? my tip is that there really are and will always be people amongst us that would never be understood, credited, and or appreciated for what they brought to this world and some others who would be given all for so little they did? continuously a wondering question that clouds my mind many times a day? seven servants is for me perhaps really the first religion coming to mankind in form of a great picture and of artistic merits belonging to the grand masters of the arts at highest levels.

this movie was a puzzle from the day i saw it over 10 years ago.it was a puzzle how it got made at all. a true independent movie with no strings and or compromise, but it was made?! when i saw it in a major film festival, it was evident that the audience was shocked, speechless, and no matter who had what idea about the movie being good or bad it was well clear the film was one of a kind and yet it never showed up anywhere?! now and after many years i hear it finally gets distribution world wide, and that it is admittedly written being 13 years in hiding from the public (LONGTALE world sales)?!why would anyone do such a harm to such a genius work of art?! why would anyone not let this film screen for Oscar nominations?! Quinn never looked more daring than this ever. directing is phenomenal. script is just so original, it had to be nominated. design is well above just another original setting. only an artist could have done that work (which i salute Shokof for being a true artist honest to all his notes). Barbieri is great. cinematography could pack a nomination as well.and now such a huge question mark remains how on earth did anyone hide this gem of an art work in the hiding for so many years and why?!i mean it is not that the man (shokof) had just shot Kennedy, and that the truth had to be covered and remain a secret forever. he just mad a movie that could have opened the eyes of the world to new hemispheres and what is wrong with that?! i guess i just give it a 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000so it would stay fresh and respected for equally so many years in the future. one amazing piece of cinema.