Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, it's a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps

that it's a long time ago, right? It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream

van plays music when it's out of ice cream. Listen to evil genius on BBC sounds.

This is a download from the BBC. For more information and our terms of use, go to BBC.co.uk slash radio three.

Tonight and for the rest of this week, we'll be thinking inside the box, the Perspex Radio 3 cuboid that's materialised in the calf here at the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank.

And like the building in which we're squatting, this edition of the programme is a landmark.

So for the next 45 minutes, we'll be exploring a single work that deserves its own symbol

on the map of our culture.

This one would probably be denoted by two bamboo spears crossed, because it's a work

about strategy, defence, fighting,

a story about a village of farmers who are threatened by bandits

and recruit a gang of mercenary warriors to defend their homes.

Akira Kurosawa's seven samurai was made 60 years ago next month

in a Japan that was still smarting

from the violence of the Second World War

and the indignity of the Allied occupation.

It's an epic, it's an action movie,

it's a poetic film, it's also very funny,

and it's the ancestor of many other works,

from the Magnificent Seven to Blake Seven,

and most films about bands of rebels,

fighting against the odds and for uncertain reward.

...