Yojimbo & Sanjuro - Two Films By Akira Kurosawa

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After Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo was released in 1961, the samurai film would never be the same. It's difficult for latter-day Western audiences to fully appreciate just how revolutionary Kurosawa's film was in its time; it had the same kind of popular impact that Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction had 33 years later, which is to say, it completely revolutionized its genre, and its influence continues to this day. With an emphasis on dark, delicious comedy, Kurosawa deliberately set out to overturn the conventions of chambara--or swordplay film--and he began by casting the great Toshiro Mifune in the role that would define his career. Unlike the samurai of previous films (including Kurosawa's own masterpiece, Seven Samurai), Sanjuro was an unkempt, down-and-out drifter, a masterless ronin and with time on his hands and nowhere to go. When he chances upon a corrupt, terror-stricken village where clashing merchants are engaged in a ruthless range war, Sanjuro amuses himself by playing both ends against the middle, offering his services as yojimbo (bodyguard) to both sides, then standing back to watch all hell break loose. It's a perfect game of wily deception, hugely popular with Japanese moviegoers as Mifune's performance gained iconic status. Yojimbo's international success was no less impressive; it eventually inspired two noteworthy remakes (Sergio Leone's spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars in 1964, and Walter Hill's mobster interpretation, Last Man Standing, in 1996), and remains one of Kurosawa's most popular classics.

A sequel was inevitable, and Kurosawa responded to public demand as only a true artist would, with the equally impressive Sanjuro, quite different from Yojimbo while allowing Mifune to reprise his signature role with a lighter comedic touch. This time, Sanjuro is recruited by a group of young, idealistic samurai to eliminate corruption in their clan, and in the process he completely subverts their overly reverent notions of "proper" samurai behavior. And while both Yojimbo and Sanjuro were milestones in movie violence (featuring the spurting geysers of arterial blood that would become a staple of chambara from this point forward), the calmer, more comically subdued Sanjuro actually boasts a higher body count, and both films rank among the finest examples of Kurosawa's peerless mastery of action.

The Criterion Collection's double-disc set is a must-have for any serious cinephile. Both films (also available separately) are presented with all-new, fully restored high-definition digital transfers, representing (as in the case of Seven Samurai) a significant improvement over Criterion's previous DVD releases. Both films feature full-length commentaries by Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince (with eloquent emphasis on camera movement and composition) in addition to retrospective documentaries culled from the priceless Japanese Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create, featuring illuminating interviews with many of Kurosawa's closest collaborators. Theatrical trailers and behind-the-scenes photo galleries are also included, along with new-and-improved subtitles, insightful booklet essays by critics Michael Sragow and Alexander Sesonske, and rarely seen production notes by Kurosawa and members of his casts & crew. With this two-disc reissue, Criterion's previous releases of Yojimbo and Sanjuro should now be considered officially obsolete. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Excellent transfer.......2007-07-22

I'm going to work under the assumption that you have already seen these movies (if not, there are plenty of reviews about how great the movies themselves are, so I won't belabor the point). I bought these movies as an upgrade to the 1998 Criterion release that I still have, and I think it was a worthwhile investment.

Although the differences between 1998 and 2007 pressing are not as great as the differences between the 1998 and 2007 pressing of Seven Samurai, these two movies did get a significant upgrade. While they are not flawless, they are closer than I would have ever expected to see them. I actually watched the first few chapters of each pressing of both movies, and the differences are amazing. The graininess has been cleared up, almost all the scratches have been removed, and there are very few blemishes (you pretty much have to be looking for them to even notice them).

Although these aren't cheap by an stretch of the imagination, if you love these movies and would like to see and hear them at their best, then the pricetag is well worth the cost. If, on the other hand, you haven't seen these movies (of you're just not insane about AV quality, like me) keep in mind that you can pick up the older pressing for half as much.

A very good movie and a masterpiece.......2007-07-20

Yohimbo ****
Sanjuro *****

Yohimbo is the story of a samurai (Toshimo Mifune) who arrives at a small town where there are two rival gangs that are making peace only a fading memory. The samurai plays both sides against each other. Later Sergio Leone would make his spaghetti western with Eastwood "A Fistful of Dollars" based on this story. It's good and light entertainment; a story well told, and fun to watch.

Sanjuro is to me one of Kurosawa's best in his grandiose career. Toshiro is again a lone samurai who happens to get mixed between other 2 sides. This time he altruistically (for some food and sake) helps the young guys who try to get rid of the bad weed who are corrupting their clan. But they are in minority. It will take a lot of wisdom (wich the young guys lack alarmingly) and good swordsmanship to fix this one. A couple of rich and delicate women, mother and daughter, throw in the humor that enlivens and really puts the charm to this movie. It has all the ingredients for a great classic. Treated with the simplicity of Kurosawa's narrative style it's an easy to see film and a lot of fun, plus it provides a lot of food for thought on human nature and sin. Kurosawa is the Shakespeare from Japan.

It's alright.......2007-05-02

After seeing Seven Samurai, this movie is OK, I was hoping more out of it, but it's OK.

Two prime examples of the mastery of Kurosawa in one great set!.......2007-03-12

The Clint Eastwood western A Fistful Of Dollars is the better known version of Akira Kurosawa's wonderful Yojimbo, but no matter how familiar you think you are with the plot of the Eastwood movie, Yojimbo has several surprises and cinematic treats (and special features) in store for you. Intrigue and conspiracy are two themes of Yojimbo and Sanjuro, the sequel which is also packaged in this wonderfully produced set, but in addition to the plot twists and skullduggery, there are thrilling and lightning-fast displays of samurai swordsmanship. Like all great movies, though, both Yojimbo and Sanjuro have elements of all kinds of storytelling, and this Criterion Collection edition puts these two excellent films on DVD in an excellent transfer. Worth the money, and an excellent addition to my movie collection!

The Incomparable Toshiro Mifune.......2007-03-09

Out of all of the incomparable Toshiro Mifune's films, Yojimbo and Sanjuro are possibly the most fun. Mifune certainly seems to be enjoying himself as he glowers his way through both films. If you are a fan of any kind of Chambara films you will almost certainly have seen these films previously. However, the presentation of these new Criterion editions is superb and the extra's are first rate. Yojimbo of course is the basis for Sergio Leone's Italian Westerns with Clint Eastwood, but I perfer the Japanese original. Kurasawa's direction if first rate as usual. The set is strongly recommended for anyone who has even a passing interest in the Chambara or "samurai" type film.

Average customer rating:

Yojimbo
Great Film
Sword out at the O.K. Corral
Funnest Mifune and/or Kurasawa Movie
I am in love with Toshiro Mifune....great film, too, by the way.....

Yojimbo - Criterion Collection
Starring: Toshirô Mifune , Tatsuya Nakadai , Yôko Tsukasa , Isuzu Yamada , and Daisuke Katô
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000K0YLZ0
Release Date: 2007-01-23

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This semi-comic 1961 film by legendary director Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon, Ran) was inspired by the American Western genre. Kurosawa mainstay Toshirô Mifune (The Seven Samurai) plays a drifting samurai for hire who plays both ends against the middle with two warring factions, surviving on his wits and his ability to outrun his own bad luck. Eventually the samurai seeks to eliminate both sides for his own gain and to define his own sense of honor. Yojimbo is striking for its unorthodox treatment of violence and morality, reserving judgment on the actions of its main character and instead presenting an entertaining tale with humor and much visual excitement. One of the inspirations for the "spaghetti Westerns" of director Sergio Leone and later surfacing as a remake as Last Man Standing with Bruce Willis, this film offers insight into a director who influenced American films even as he was influenced by them. --Robert Lane

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The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa's visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo. To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars) and Walter Hill (Last Man Standing), this exhilarating genre-twister remains one of the most influential and entertaining films ever produced. Criterion is proud to present this Kurosawa favorite in a new, high-definition digital transfer.

Customer Reviews:

Yojimbo.......2007-07-02

A bleakly funny samurai epic from Japanese master Kurosawa, "Yojimbo" is built around the commanding physical performance of Mifune, the archetype for many spaghetti Western antiheroes, including Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name". Highly stylized and choreographed by Kurosawa and cameraman Kazuo Miyagawa, this violent morality tale is also a devastating satire of gang warfare, with Sanjuro as its smirking, neutral overlord. A witty, turbulent masterpiece, later adapted by Sergio Leone for his "A Fistful of Dollars."

Great Film.......2007-06-22

Kurosawa never made a bad film, did he? Everything he touched (particularly with the involvement of Toshiro Mifune) was automatically amazing. With many of my favorite directors I will have to let the odd movie grow on me before I can really enjoy it but anytime I see something by Kurosawa I just want to watch it again. Yojimbo was no different. Set during the samurai decline (i.e. civil war era America), the samurai Sanjuro finds himself in a town that has been split by greed and gambling. With warring middle class factions attempting to take over the entire territory, Sanjuro defends the poor and disadvantaged.

Sword out at the O.K. Corral.......2007-06-03

Japan's classic `Yohimbo' feels like a ground-breaking picture because it demonstrates a martial arts movie in it's modern birth. Genuinely violent 'Yohimbo' is unique for its upscale craftsmanship, including the acting and directing. Akira Kurosawa's insistence on building up tension and fight scenes brimming with authenticity make the movie a rewarding success even today.

Samurai warrior, Sanjuro Kuwabatake (Toshiro Mifune) is only in it for the money. As suave as he is savage, he negotiates on both sides of a town's feud for hire as a bodyguard. Playing it cool, he knows how to work a crowd. Instead of taking them all on like Bruce Lee (and later like in 'Kill Bill'), he uses his head. Using sweeping scenes with warriors lined up in a Japanese town during the Tokugawa Dynasty of 1860, the windswept confrontations borrow heavily from American Westerns no matter how much Kurosawa reinvented the wheel. (Interestingly enough, Clint Eastwood based 'A Fistful of Dollars' on the film, so influences flow both ways.)

`Yohimbo' is amusing and formidable. Mifune plays the steely protagonist to his own trademark, even if he reminds one at times of a Japanese Gary Cooper or Robert Mitchum. Carrying their swords with a readying stance, we get the feeling we're experiencing 'High Noon' or 'Shoot out at O.K. Corral'. The movie is balanced with time outs for private swagger and men discussing the feud while enjoying sake or tea. Meanwhile, they show chivalry for the local geisha girls at the local brothel. 'Yohimbo' isn't a perfect movie, but it is as solidly presented as it is great fun.

(Some imperfections going from the master to the DVD are present but mostly minor.)

Funnest Mifune and/or Kurasawa Movie.......2007-06-01

Easily "Yojimbo" is the most accessible and one of the most enjoyable Kurasawa films out there. Watch this and it will take about 5 minutes before you're hooked in.

I am in love with Toshiro Mifune....great film, too, by the way............2007-04-10

YOJIMBO was my introduction to the great body of work from the incomparable Japanese actor, Toshiro Mifune, who stars as the title character, Yojimbo (English translation: Bodyguard). This man can be bought off with sake or rice, to basically do what he does best--be physically imposing, and do away with the bad guys. Yet, he keeps his cool, even when he discovers that the couple who hired him is out to stab in the back (I mean this as a figure of speech, of course....or do I? haha....you'll just have to see the film to find out, right?).

The great Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa, does a fantastic job of telling a compelling, quirky, darkly comedic and very engaging story. The jazzy, Japanese soundtrack and greatly reflects the themes and tensions in the storyline, the incidental camera work is spontaneous and teases the audience, while the actors grimace, growl and go after each other with vicious and (at times) reckless abandon. Fantastic......By the way, this was the inspiration for the Spaghetti western, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, starring Clint Eastwood. Not to be missed........

Akira Kurosawa - 4 Samurai Classics (Seven Samurai / The Hidden Fortress / Yojimbo / Sanjuro) - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

4 Classics in a box set? Priceless!
To the Criterion Collector.....
Awesome movies, but way too expensive.
Kurosawa Movies
Don't pass it up

Akira Kurosawa - 4 Samurai Classics (Seven Samurai / The Hidden Fortress / Yojimbo / Sanjuro) - Criterion Collection
Starring: Takashi Shimura , Toshirô Mifune , Yoshio Inaba , Seiji Miyaguchi , and Minoru Chiaki
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00006IUI5
Release Date: 2002-10-08

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Leading off the set of four Akira Kurosawa classics is Seven Samurai (1954), unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture. It was the inspiration for countless films modeled after its basic premise, but has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set in the 1600s, when the residents of a small Japanese village seek protection against repeated attacks by a band of marauding thieves and hire seven unemployed "ronin" (masterless samurai), including a boastful swordsman (Toshiro Mifune), who is actually a farmer's son desperately seeking glory and acceptance. The climactic battle remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed and one of Kurosawa's crowning cinematic achievements.

In another of the many Kurosawa-Mifune collaborations, The Hidden Fortress (1958) tells the story of a warrior and a princess trying against all odds to return to their homeland with their fortune. Along the way, they are simultaneously assisted and thwarted by two itinerant and not-too-bright farmers with their own designs on the treasure. Frequently cited for its thematic influences on Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress combines an epic tale of struggle and honor with modern comic sensibilities.

The partly comic Yojimbo (1961) was inspired by the American Western genre. Mifune plays a drifting samurai for hire who plays both ends against the middle with two warring factions, surviving on his wits and his ability to outrun his own bad luck. Yojimbo is striking for its unorthodox treatment of violence and morality, reserving judgment on the actions of its main character and instead presenting an entertaining tale with humor and much visual excitement. One of the inspirations for the spaghetti Westerns of director Sergio Leone and the 1996 Bruce Willis vehicle Last Man Standing, this film offers insight into a director who influenced American films even as he was influenced by them. The 1963 sequel, Sanjuro, is more lighthearted and less cynical, a rousing adventure with Mifune becoming an unlikely big brother to a troupe of nine naive samurai. It isn't the subtlest of Kurosawa's films, but it's one of his most entertaining.

Customer Reviews:

4 Classics in a box set? Priceless!.......2006-11-06

I was thinking about purchasing all four of these movies, but to have them together in a box set is a beautiful thing.
I will not bore you with the reviews of these movies, those who love Akira Kurosawa movies sees the stories closely matching those of Shakespeare, a Clint Eastwood Western, and Star Wars.
For the price and what you get, it's a steal.

To the Criterion Collector............2006-09-14

Buy now as this set is going out of print.... Don't say I didn't tell you so.

Awesome movies, but way too expensive........2006-03-13

Awesome movies, but way too expensive for the product itself.

First, I bought it at a reduced priced, since it was left sitting on a shelve collecting dust for a few years in the store. They dropped the price from a initial $200 Can (around $150 U.S.), to $149 Can (around $110 U.S.), and that was the cheapest price I could find it in my city and by far. A few of the stores told me that their cost was around $149 Can, so it was able to buy it at around cost. Considering that, it was a bargain, so I got lucky to start with.

Now the movies, they are awesome, and after watching them all in two days, I felt sad, sad at Hollywood and the current level of movie making, after tasting a piece of history, with movies that are deep, funny, either deals with issues (Seven Samurai and Hidden Fortress) or don't (Yojimbo and Sanjuro), they are all movie gems. But we can also be realistic here, seven Samurai in my opinion is the real champion in this set, it has everything, it's epic, yet personal, it's deep, yet sometime funny, but always powerful and superb.

Now to the quality of the disk, that where it's hard to tell, these are old movies. But something struck me as odd, Seven Samurai (7S), was done around 10 yrs before Yojimbo and Sanjuro but looks and sound better, obviously, they cleaned it out a little before putting it to DVD, but then, if Yojimbo and Sanjuro where made 10 yrs later, someone should expect at least a equal quality, if not better then the 7S, but it's not the case, especially Yojimbo is painful to watch, the sound track has a loud background hiss for at least half of the movie, scratches as big as a straw that last a full min multiple times, the contrast and brightness is out of wack in half the scenes, it's a painful experience, you tell yourself how great the movie is, but is it ever ugly to watch.

So far I would give it 4 stars, why then I give it 2?

It's down to price vs quality and extras. No extras what so ever beside the theater trailer of each movie, and a commentary track for 7S, then nothing. So Criterion in my mind had two choice, drop the price to 1/3 to 1/2 of what it is now, or pick a better original copy to bring on DVD, clean it, and add extras, selling it to the same price it is now, but they did neither. They used for Yojimbo, a terribly copy, add nothing, and charge full Criterion price, BAD !!! So in the end, one fell like being robbed by Ronins. In my case, I wanted to see those movies, and own 7S and this box set was the only way to go about doing this, and in the end, I praise the movie, the acting, the story, the camera work, everything, except Criterion DVD who brought those movies it North America, they dropped the ball on this one.

So 0 stars for Criterion and there DVD product (in this case) and 4 stars for the movie themselves so my end review is 2 stars.

Kurosawa Movies.......2006-01-31

Every one who likes Cenema, should see/have this collection by the great One Akira Kurosawa.

Don't pass it up.......2006-01-26

Kurosawa is not just considered a great japanese director - he's considered one of the best the world has known.
Samurai are a passion for me anyway - however, kurosawa brings them to life like no other.
I sometimes wish he were working today with the technology available, but it's not a degradation of what he did at all.

Details he pays attention to are easily missed the first time around and frequent watchings of these films with bring more to your eyes.

Yojimbo's first encounter with the blackgards and braggarts - the wanted men in the town, is ingenius and thrilling. Mifune plays the part so comfortably you can be lead to imagine he lived in his kimono.
His demeanor is so casual and calm that you could fear him just through his confidence.
It's something to take to heart. No real warrior needs to brag, nor does he threaten.
Right out of the Tao te ching.

Awright enough of that!

With the hidden fortress you can really see Luca's inspiration for Star Wars. And also, the female lead for every anime ever created afterward.

but my favorite is the seven samurai later to be remade as the magnificient seven in the west (what is it with the west and their inability to accept foreign films?).

the old samurai who in the opening sequence plays a monk to rescue a trapped woman gives you the personality of a man who puts all at risk for the right. And teaches a motley band of characters to do the same.

Every good fortress needs a weakness. :p

ENJOY

Average customer rating:

Yojimbo
Great Film
Sword out at the O.K. Corral
Funnest Mifune and/or Kurasawa Movie
I am in love with Toshiro Mifune....great film, too, by the way.....

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ASIN: 0780022513
Release Date: 1999-09-28

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Customer Reviews:

Yojimbo.......2007-07-02

Great Film.......2007-06-22

Sword out at the O.K. Corral.......2007-06-03

Funnest Mifune and/or Kurasawa Movie.......2007-06-01

Easily "Yojimbo" is the most accessible and one of the most enjoyable Kurasawa films out there. Watch this and it will take about 5 minutes before you're hooked in.

I am in love with Toshiro Mifune....great film, too, by the way............2007-04-10

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