Review of Yojimbo (1961) by Henrik O — 09 Mar 2010

This is a movie that gets better with each time I watch it. The cast is great, the scenery is equally great and the atmosphere is even better. The plot is brilliant in its simplicity: one town, two rival gangs and one lone stranger who outwit them all.

S. Leone used the story in Eastwoodâ??s â??A Fist full of dollarsâ??, but even though Eastwood is cool as the lone stranger he doesnâ??t even come close to the cool, dynamic, funny and deadly character portrayed by Toshiro Mifune.

Akira Kurosawa has done many great film classics and this is one of them. As with Kurosawaâ??s other classic films Yojimbo isnâ??t simply an action movie about a ronin samurai. It is a movie with many levels, with depth and intelligence.

Itâ??s in other words a movie that canâ??t be narrowed down to one category except perhaps a classic.