Review of Yojimbo (1961) by Jeremy S — 21 May 2010
Sanjuro: You're all tough, then?
Gambler: What? Kill me if you can!
Sanjuro: It'll hurt.
Akira Kurosawa puts his favorite actor, Toshiro Mifune, into complete badass mode, as a wandering samurai playing a town with rival gangs against each other.
Sanjuro: Cooper. Two coffins... No, maybe three.
Based on the crime novel Red Harvest, which has been made into a film several times, including Leone's remake (basically) of this film, A Fistful of Dollars, and the Bruce Willis starer Last Man Standing; this is a pretty simple story that really only requires someone very cool to play two sides against each other, while using his own skill when need be. This film accomplishes that and its a lot of fun.
True to Kurosawa form, the film is very good looking, with a number of great sequences and cool shots. Mifune is particularly good, playing a character different from some of the others he's portrayed in the past.
Very good all around.
Sanjuro: I'll get paid for killing, and this town is full of people who deserve to die.
This review of Yojimbo (1961) was written by Jeremy S on 21 May 2010.
Yojimbo has generally received very positive reviews.
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