Review of Yojimbo (1961) by Matt L — 04 Mar 2008

Having seen both Americanized adaptations of this film prior, I didn't expect this movie to be so funny, but it's hilarious in parts. Mifune is awesome as the film's sorta-eponymous bodyguard who plays rival crime families against each other, apparently for the hell of it. What moral center the character does have is slowly revealed as his plans backfire and he's forced to improvise. Kurosawa's direction is masterful, practically every shot is frameable. The score is quite good as well (though at the showing I attended, it was a bit loud). Another aspect I liked was that, beyond the fact that this was a Japanese movie filmed in Japan, the film was quite un-Hollywood. Nobody looks glamorous. Everybody looks like they've been through Hell, which is appropriate for nineteenth-century Japan.

Highly recommended.