Yojimbo (1961)
Yojimbo DVD Movie Review
Akira Kurosawa?s Yojimbo is a story about a ronin named Sanjuro who comes to a town that is being destroyed by gang warfare. Rival gang leaders, Seibei and Ushitora are fighting for control of the town. Seibei runs the local brothel and the sake brewer, Tokuemon, has allied with Ushitora. These alliances ensure that each man controlls a major vice in the town. Sanjuro befriends Gonji, the tavern keeper who fills him in on the state of affairs in the town. After witnessing Sanjuro's prowess with a sword, both Seibei and Ushitora?s gangs feel that they will be victorious with him as an ally. Sanjuro, being the self-centered, antihero that he is, develops a scheme to play each gang against each other for his own personal gain.
With Yojimbo, Kurosawa set the standard by which all other action films have been judged. As well made as the action scenes are, what really stands out is Kurosawa?s character development. Sanjuro is a masterless samurai in a time of peace, which means he has no way of earning a stable income. Most ronin lived as bandits and drifters until they were hired by a new daimyo, usually for protection. Kurosawa makes Sanjuro?s plight known when this character is introduced. The movie opens with a shot of Sanjuro?s back as he walks along an empty road. The setting of this shot mirrors the emptiness of Sanjuro?s existence, while the shot from the rear establishes him as the stoic figure that he is. Cinematographer, Kazuo Miyagawa masterfully uses deep focus and several low angle shots to convey that Sanjuro, although downtrodden, is a powerful samurai.
Toshiro Mifune?s depiction of Sanjuro is nothing short of legendary. Even though his character is calloused and immoral, Mifune makes it easy to see that Sanjuro has a good heart and his activities are interpreted more as mischievous acts of self-preservation. Mifune's portrayal of Sanjuro is hardened enough to remain true to the film but still human enough for the audience to rally behind. With all of these factors, and the biting sarcasm that he brings to the character, it is no wonder that Sanjuro is one of the most emulated action movie protagonists in film history. In fact, this character was so well received that one year later Kurosawa cast Mifune in this role again with Sanjuro.
The story of Yojimbo was made as an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest. Three years later, Sergio Leone made A Fistful of Dollars as a remake of Yojimbo. Later, in 1996, Walter Hill made yet another adaptation of this story called Last Man Standing. While those three movies are blatant remakes of Kurosawa's adaptation, it would be hard to find a cocky, tough as nails, self-centered antihero that did not gather inspiration from Sanjuro in this movie.
Yojimbo is a movie that is virtually flawless. Over the years, this movie has won several awards and has been hailed by critics everywhere as one of the greatest films of all time. Every aspect of this movie from Kurosawa's superb writing and directing, to Miyagawa's brilliant cinematography, to Toshiro Mifune's amazing acting is a perfect example of the height of film making. Yojimbo truly has something for everyone and is essential viewing for fans of all forms of cinema.
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