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Movies / On DVD / Yojimbo
Yojimbo

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Yojimbo (1961)

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97 %
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Reviews Counted: 31

Fresh: 30

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 8.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: In director Akira Kurosawa's comedic YOJIMBO, a masterless samurai, Sanjuro (Toshirô Mifune), wanders into a town divided by two warring clans. After displaying his formidable swordsmanship before... In director Akira Kurosawa's comedic YOJIMBO, a masterless samurai, Sanjuro (Toshirô Mifune), wanders into a town divided by two warring clans. After displaying his formidable swordsmanship before both clans in a brawl with street thugs, Sanjuro offers his services to the highest bidder. When one clan conspires against him, the clever warrior switches his allegiance to the other side, with the ultimate goal of tricking the two equally despicable and foolish clans into exterminating each other. Sanjuro's authority is challenged, however, when Unosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai), a brother of one of the leaders, comes to town wielding a modern contraption: a gun. In the classic final showdown, the old world samurai is pitted against new world progress, and must use both his wits and physical prowess to survive. Perhaps Kurosawa's most overtly comic film, YOJIMBO easily ranks with the director's finest work. In this reconception of the Western, Mifune plays Sanjuro, the tough mercenary of few words, to perfection, often allowing his subtle movements and swift actions speak for him. Throughout the entire film, Sanjuro is vigilant yet stoic, conceding that he finds the scenario entertaining and absurd, and essentially has nothing to lose. Mifune's outstanding performance, combined with Kurosawa's expert direction and Kazuo Miyagawa's beautifully balanced photography, makes for one of the finest, and funniest, films in Japanese cinema. [More]

Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tono, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura

Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tono, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Tatsuya Nakadai, Seizaburô Kawazu

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Kurosawa
Composer: Masaru Sato

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jan 9, 2007

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Yojimbo

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune team up for one of their most basic and enjoyable samurai films.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

comment Comment
11/04/07
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Action-packed, highly comic 1961 translation of Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/09/07
Don Druker
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

engages viewers with its larger than life protagonist and easy to follow narrative

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
02/04/07
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
01/01/07
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies

Not much on plot or leaving one much to think about, but it sure was entertaining.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/17/06
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

If the plot sounds familiar, it's probably because Leone stole it for A Fistful of Dollars.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Even Eastwood's Man With No Name is inspired, perhaps, by the samurai in Yojimbo.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/20/06
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/03/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/04/05
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

No review available.

comment Comment
01/23/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
11/15/03
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

The explosive outbursts of violence in Yojimbo are superbly choreographed, with Kurosawa's customary use of a telephoto lens creating a hallucinatory feeling.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/30/03
Michael Scheinfeld
TV Guide's Movie Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
07/25/03
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Despite the sometime appearance of the whole thing as a forthright travesty, it does have stretches of excitement and cinematic power.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 1 Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
05/08/03
Brandon Judell
PopcornQ

Japan's definitive leading man, Toshiro Mifune, wields wits that are even deadlier than his Katana. Funny, clever, and never a dull moment.

comment Comment
03/21/03
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

It's timeless drama.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

No review available.

comment Comment
01/27/03
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

No review available.

comment Comment
12/30/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
 
 
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