User reviews

daryush shokof is foremost and primarily a brilliant mind who created perhaps our century,s most vivid, original and timeless artistic, philosophic, and literary works and simultaneously he is responsible for some amazing movies that only could have come from shokof, and shokof only. now seven servants is a classic in comparison with all other films by shokof. here he remains subtle, and dedicated to tell the story in limited shots, movements, without his usual fierce obscurity of camera angels and scenes or perspectives because the concept alone takes care of all that for it is doubtlessly the most incredible story ever told in the history of mankind,not just in movies,or in the arts and....literature but "mankind,s" history period. it would be useless to ever write a critic about shokof,s works and or less to rate any of his films.they are simply a world apart. now back to this jewel of world culture called seven servants (the movie): i have heard tons of stories about the story how and under what conditions this extraordinary piece of film-making has been made. to sum it all up i would only suggest that there will be no doubt that it remains a shame for all and every culture related concern to have had this film banned and or neglected and or.........for almost 15 years!!???above all equally a shame to know that shokof himself had gone through the same fate (reportedly he and all his works ever after seven servants were never to be shown in any festivals world wide!?)for just having created the most beautiful mind blowing, different, original and genius piece of art and movie.seven servants will go down the history of the greatest and most important films ever made but shame on all who prevented this monumental gift to humanity never reach the world.it is very easy to understand that this movie could have been a start of many discussions,and could have been striking many uninvited arguments politically (because of shokof being an Iranian alone is enough of an issue where the whole entertainment and festival world has been keen and under agreement to work with Iranian based Directors rather than one and again only one courageous shokof who does not live in Iran and has been a sound critic of the regime in his home land (the Islamic republic and...)if it has surfaced in the global context (where it most deservedly should have been and in my opinion could have won at least 4 Oscars from Quinn to Shokof and story and design alone).

all in all and 15 years after we will finally see it on DVD coming out through Pathfinder. now all that is one human injustice and tragedy that again all of us thank the global politics forever. a real shame

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.

its a man, called anthony quinn at his best. its a connection never seen before in any creativity of thoughts, its a story about unity of mankind, its shokof,s greatest work as a visionary, its shokof,s contribution to the world of humanity, equality, brotherhood, sisterhood, and its the most amazing movie ever made, if not the most important as well, and all in all one of the greatest gifts to mankind from Shokofestan. shokof and his world are here to be remembered forever. another 10 your way shokof and to your planet as well. the Shokofestan.i saw the movie, and it touched me deep in my heart but my brain as well. then, i was so disappointed not to ever see the film come to the public for so many years until it just recently got released. you know what is great about a great work is that like a great work of art it will stay eternal. in fact they should have really waited to publicize this extraordinary work in year 3000. it is still too early for such a monumental work to be ready for public . however, i am happy and have no problems with it coming out sooner, much sooner than expected. the 10 seven servants gets from me now will last anothe 3000 years. man, what a mind.

i just read that this wonderful jewel of a film finally gets to be released. what a great surprise, even though for whatever the reason(s) it had to stay hidden for over 13 years. this film represents what an idea can do to a whole generations to come only if that idea is understood rightly and promulgated even more correctly and orderly. seven servants is really not just a movie. it has no red line m and or any standards a movie has had for over 100 years. it is best said by Quinn himself perhaps to be seen in 2300. it would be looked at with some definitively stunning reactions when showed in 2300 somewhere in a cinema on earth on top of a hill where someone holds it dearly to his chest and announces it as the holy film to the viewers watching the wide screen digital thing in the hands of the person on top of the hill.it is a religion. it has to do with all of Shokof,s thoughts, life, paintings, beliefs and above all Yekishim in which he sees our only way out of this planet and encountering the truth about the creation is man,s UNITY (Yekishim). regardless of terrible acts by most all of the male servants, the film stands tall and above everything we have ever seen before with the addition of Quinn having delivered his doubtlessly greatest act of his life.

the film could have easily been nominated and in my opinion worthy enough of 4 Oscars starting with Directorial , Quinn, and Gato Barbieri,s music+ some amazingly original set design, and above all one hell of a script.

go for this one if this film happens to be the only movie you would ever see in your life.

seven servants, Mr. Shokof, and.......................get at least a 10 from me for being out of this world and on the right track leading all of us with it.

here is a film that has a global view, level, and more so a cosmic goal.i feel sorry to read some terribly banal reviews about this movie by a writer Klein? i am sure many who do not appreciate such films are just used to other type of movies.otherwise how could one understand arts and its related perspectives and would not admire Anthony Quinn,s acting in his perhaps best ever in this remarkably original piece of art work? how could one trash the design of the film? it's most unique, script, and concept? and the Directing that is absolutely a miracle for a debut from an artist that i would openly argue is perhaps the most shining Debut i have ever seen in the history of cinema? this movie has it's place high up in the skies when it comes to the list of original works of artistic merits and is perhaps way below the expectations of those who would admire "only" films for fun, rambo-like and or, simply entertainment pure films. with all due respect to Mr.Klein who by the way only writes a line in his destruction of such a giant art work i also criticize IMDb, and would like to report this critic as one with less than necessary words for it to be printed in the first place. what Mr. Klein writes about such an art work with extraordinary humane dimensions reminds me of the Nazis and or the current Religio Fundamentaists all over the planet who are doing all they can not to ever see mankind becoming "united" on earth. this movie remains yet to be appreciated when we have a whole different world full of the arts and fantasy for appreciating it.

i had read the philosophical thoughts of Yekishim,and Maximalism by Shokof before i finally saw the movie (seven servants) just recently in a festival in Germany. shokof himself was not present as always. people who stood to take questions were less impressive with the answers as the fate of this magnificent movie which has been in a hide for almost 15 years. shokof has just brought his manifest and thoughts of Yekishim in form of a most refreshing, and simply magnificent movie onto earth with this film. it is not that the acting of Quinn is not matched not just by him but by no one else in my opinion ever, and that for what he had to go through making the film throughout some extraordinary configurations in the film history, and above all not even getting an Oscar for his performance cause the film did not even get released. it is not that the directing is phenomenal by shokof (his debut) which should have gotten him nominated for the Oscar the least, and : it is not unfortunate that such a unique and doubtlessly the most original story ever told did not get that Oscar it should have and or for the one of a kind Design by shokof and.........

none of the above hurts more than the speculation that only due to the political circumstances connected to this film shokof who i believe is by far one of the most extraordinary multi-talented minds of our times did not ever get a chance to continue as one hears more and more often that all his future works have been completely ignored globally?!(this was brought up in a question at the festival,and no one was able to point out to shokof,s other brilliant works) it hurts more to see that such situations still occur in even a most free minded scenes of the world that is supposed to be that of the arts?! seven servants and daryush shokof bring about the notion that there are no limits to the boundaries of the arts no matter where one comes from. he and his works are a landslide away from all Conservative Iranian recent films and much more ahead of even the free world as each oe of his works has introduced a certain dimension of originality of thoughts to mankind for centuries to come. i salute Mr. shokof,s seven events and all his existing record as an artist. a 10 and a lot more to all his courage.