Yojimbo
June 24th 2007 23:47
Yojimbo is a classic and you can feel the strength of the movie from the opening scenes... Kurosawa lets the camera and his fantastic leading man, Toshiro Mifune, do the storytelling with silence and hard stares.
Mifune plays a samurai who arrives in an ill town, with two crime lords fighting for power. Mifune appears to be soulless, asking both sides to pay him money, escalating the costs, but we see a tender artichoke center of gold under the gruff exterior. It's a brilliant role, one that Mifune nails perfectly, inspiring years of action movies to come. How many Hollywood action heroes, wading into battle single-handedly, drew inspiration from Yojimbo?
The entire style of the Japanese samurai movie is unbelievable... Kurosawa was inspired by American Westerns, and there's a definite parallel between the Wild West and the warlord-ruled clans of dusty, frigid Japan. It's a hard land and hard life, which is why every sacrifice is that much more impressive.
Yojimbo is strangely comical, and it plays out well... though the story is fierce and hard-hitting, the comedy pulls the audience deeper into the film; at some points, it's hard to tell if you're watching slapstick buffoonery or tense thriller. It's this masterful dance between genres that made Kurosawa the legend that he is.
Of course, George Lucas was obsessed with Kurosawa, using his films as material for the original Star Wars Trilogy... Yojimbo's samurai is a clear reflection of Han Solo, the scruffy rogue... he can't be trusted, because he's only in it for the money, but when it comes down toit, he comes through for the good guys. Who's scruffy looking?
It was remade twice - once by Sergio Leone in Fistful of Dollars, and once with Bruce Willis in Last Man Standing... if you watch Yojimbo, you'll feel like you've seen it all before. This is the original!
Yojimbo is a treat to watch in the cinema, appreciating the old school effect, the great sets and lighting, fabulous camera movements... on the big screen it has an epic feel that is hard to replicate these days without CGI. Kurosawa is a testament to the ability of a filmmaker to make an addictive world.. by the end of Yojimbo, you might be thirsty for more.
I say: A definite classic, and one that is often overlooked in the face of The Seven Samurai and Ran.
See it for: Some of the Falstaff-type characters are really funny looking. With unibrows!
* this image is taken from the Criterion Collection page on Yojimbo
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Comment by Mr Nice Guy
Pop Culturist
If you're that way inclined - see if you can't catch a glimpse of some of Kurosawa's earlier work such as Stray Dog.
Cheers
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
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Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Winston, yeah, great stuff... if you like Yojimbo, you can further gorge on Sanjuro, the sequel... not as strikingly filmed, but still entertaining as hell....
Comment by Stanley
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Such a cool movie.
It oozes Western gunslinger flick and in inspired western gunslinger flicks.
Fist full of dollars was excellent but Last Man Standing just not so good.
Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
Why wasn't I notified??!?!
What about Rashomon? How many modern films have ripped that idea off?
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
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Fat Cult
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Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Love most all of his work, Ran and Kagemusha are amazing later works without the super sturdy Mifune.
Stray Dog is a must see too, you already own it. So watch it already.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
On the chauvel tip, I usually put up a post each time a new schedule comes out.
The most recent can be found HERE.
Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog