#78 Yojimbo - how to get rid of two gangs by selling yourself to both sides...

1961. Dir. Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai. Japanese with subtitles.

Seen it before? No.

Toshiro Mifune plays Sanjuro - a warrior who comes to a town where two gangs are duking it out so that one gang can rule and terrorize the town. What he does is interesting. Instead of leaving, which would have made the story end that much sooner, he sells his fighting skills to one gang and then the other in an attempt to eradicate both gangs and in essence free the town of gang activity.

The sword fights were underwhelming, cheesy and fake. It was like watching old Jackie Chan movies where he karate chops a guy (barely touching him) and the sheer force of the wind knocks him down.

Parts of the story irritated me...one part in particular was when the guy bet his wife in a game, lost her, and then wouldn't take her back because she was damaged...ARGH! Men suck!

See it again? That's ok
Own it? That's ok too.

#78 Yojimbo: Kill one or a hundred; only hang once.

1961. Dir. Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai. Japanese with subtitles.

Seen it before? No.

Yojimbo is apparently the Japanese word for shit stirrer...

OK, actually it means "bodyguard" but Sanjuro (Kurosawa regular Toshiro Mifune) doesn't really do that. He is a ronin who comes upon a town that is beset by two warring gangs. He decides to exploit the situation by inciting the two factions against each other and selling his bad-ass samurai skills to both sides.

I didn't like Rashomon very much, and I wasn't crazy about this one either. I think it's a cultural difference. I've read that the performances in Kurosawa's films are heavily influenced by Kabuki, something I don't really understand.

(also the swordplay in this looks really fake. Sanjuro taps people with the sword and they fall down. yeah yeah it was made in 1961 and I shouldn't expect better, but still.)

Position on the list: 142
Remade as: A Fistful Of Dollars