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Yojimbo (1961)

Yojimbo (1961)
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Toshiro Mifune portrays a Samurai who finds himself in the middle of a feud-torn Japanese village. Neither side is particularly honorable, but Mifune is hungry and impoverished, so he agrees to work as bodyguard (or Yojimbo) for a silk merchant (Kamatari Fujiwara) against a sake merchant (Takashi Shimura). He then pretends to go to work for the other, the better to let the enemies tear each other apart. Imprisoned for his "treachery," he escapes just in time to watch the two warring sides wipe each other out. This was his plan all along, and now that peace has been restored, he leaves the village for further exploits. Yes, Yojimbo was the prototype for the Clint Eastwood "Man with No Name" picture A Fistful of Dollars (1964). The difference is that Fistful relies on Eastwood for its success, whereas Yojimbo scores on every creative level, from director Akira Kurosawa to cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa to Mifune's classic lead performance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Toshiro Mifune, Eijiro Tono, (more)
Director(s):
Akira Kurosawa
Format(s):
DVD  |  Blu-ray
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Synopsis of Yojimbo

Toshiro Mifune portrays a Samurai who finds himself in the middle of a feud-torn Japanese village. Neither side is particularly honorable, but Mifune is hungry and impoverished, so he agrees to work as bodyguard (or Yojimbo) for a silk merchant (Kamatari Fujiwara) against a sake merchant (Takashi Shimura). He then pretends to go to work for the other, the better to let the enemies tear each other apart. Imprisoned for his "treachery," he escapes just in time to watch the two warring sides wipe each other out. This was his plan all along, and now that peace has been restored, he leaves the village for further exploits. Yes, Yojimbo was the prototype for the Clint Eastwood "Man with No Name" picture A Fistful of Dollars (1964). The difference is that Fistful relies on Eastwood for its success, whereas Yojimbo scores on every creative level, from director Akira Kurosawa to cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa to Mifune's classic lead performance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
110 mins

Complete Cast of Yojimbo


Director(s):
Akira Kurosawa
Writer(s):
Hideo Oguni, Akira Kurosawa, Ryuzo Kikushima
Producer(s):
Ryuzo Kikushima, Tomoyuki Tanaka
Categories:
Action / Adventure
Yojimbo Awards:
  • 1961 - Venice International Film Festival - Volpi Cup for Best Actor
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    Matthew L.

    If you've seen the Clint Eastwood/Leone "A Fistful of Dollars", then you've seen this movie. Many scenes in the Eastwood movie are direct clones of scenes in this movie. I'm not privvy to whether or not Leone gave credit to "Yojimbo" in his movie, but if he didn't he should've. If you liked a "Fistful of Dollars", or the Bruce Willis "Last Man Standing", you owe it to yourself to see "Yojimbo". "Yojimbo" is the original, and after seeing it, in my opinion the best.

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    J'ADORE LE CINEMA O.

    Often imitated, never duplicated, Akira K. created a film legend that affected films for decades. TM is a RONIN, living by his wits and renting out his sword for a just cause. Is he an angel or the devil himself when he descends into this little village and sets the competing factions at each other. There is a scene where he really looks like the devil, "worse when he smiles." Copied as "Fistful" and "Last man st" but parts also appeared in Star Wars, Indiana Jones and too many other films to count. One of the greatest Samurai movies ever made, and as usual with the best of the gendre, a morality play. For more background rent Hari Kiri, and watch the interview that puts these into historical perspective.

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    Shawn S.

    You'de almost think this was a Japanese Sergio Leone film- Turns out Leone practiclly mimiced Kurosawa's style. And thats a good thing. Toshiro Mifune portrays the Samurai perfectly as he wanders into a dusty village where local bosses struggle for control. In true Samurai style he decides to put things right...and maybe put some coin in his pocket while he's at it. The story is well played out, as Mifune manipulates the opposing factions, with only a few scenes leaving you to imagine how it happened. My only gripe is with the subtitles; there a bit on the small side. Overall a great movie, just don't get all upset if you know a decent amount about Samurai and the historical accuracy factor; just ignore the inaccuracies- it is a movie after all.

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