Review of Yojimbo (1961) by Justin M — 22 Jul 2009
Brilliant acting by Mifune and veiled anti-capitalist themes make this a masterpiece of the action movie genre. There are so many tensions: corruption vs morality, greed vs self-sacrifice, samurai order vs gangster chaos, even the sword vs the gun. It's hardly a surprise when the streets are eventually filled with dead bodies.
The directing by Kurosawa is geared towards building up the tension that often explodes into violent action sequences. There are several dark humor moments, which help to portray the cynical attitude of the main character, but also remind the viewer that he is above all, a decent man. The action scenes themselves have been duplicated endlessly by action directors ever since - especially the iconic arterial blood spray.
I would recommend this classic for anyone, as it is one of the more accessible foreign films around, and has a remarkably modern anti-hero as it's catalyst. The new BluRay release is yet another excuse to watch this endlessly entertaining samurai masterpiece as soon as possible!
This review of Yojimbo (1961) was written by Justin M on 22 Jul 2009.
Yojimbo has generally received very positive reviews.
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