Yojimbo – 1961 / Sanjuro 1962 – (Kurosawa)
BFI 4k Blu Ray
The BFI continue their new 4k Kurosawa restorations with two of his most famous samurai films Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Both feature superb performances by Toshiro Mifune as a ronin (a vagrant samurai drifter). Whether that’s part of his shame, at not having committed hara-kiri, on the death of his master, this unnamed warrior stays determinedly unkempt. Yojimbo (a name chosen for others meaning bodyguard) strolls into a village and if there’s trouble brewing he will help out for money or more importantly food and drink: basic needs come first before he can plan out a good combative solution.
The idealism, eventually tainted by bitterness and resignation, of the hired hands in The Seven Samurai is exploded in Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Here we have a scruffy and unwashed samurai who’ll do the job and then casually walk off saying he’ll see you around! If this feels close to the American western then remember Akira Kurosawa’s love of the hero loners of John Ford and that Yojimbo hugely influenced Sergio Leone’s virtual remake, A Fistful of Dollars.
The r?nin enters a tavern in a small town. The owner Gonji tells the r?nin that the two warring bosses, Ushitora and Seibei, are fighting over a successful gambling trade run by Seibei. Ushitora had been Seibei’s second in command man until Seibei decided that his successor would be his son Yoichiro. The town’s mayor, Tazaemon, corrupted by Seibei, has aligned himself with the local sake brewer, Tokuemen proclaiming him the new mayor. Early on in Yojimbo we see a dog carrying, in its mouth, a human hand. This can be interpreted as a metaphoric projection of the identity and role of the wandering bodyguard. Our stray killer might also be the servant of two masters. For he keeps changing sides, weighing up which adversary has the best chance of winning; not betraying him or even paying better. At one point Yojimbo perches himself on top of a large ladder to view the advancing rivals and take stock of the situation. This allows Kurosawa to edit some brilliantly photographed group formations.
Yojimbo is a fine action film that’s funny and exciting. It borders on being an anarchic romp yet is reigned in by the mean energy of its cast. Take for instance Orin (the wife of Seibei). She’s a ruthless controlling force reminding you of a matriarchal gangster boss more than a western mom. As acted by Isuzu Yamada (who played lady Macbeth in Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood) she proves to be chilling. Whilst the presence of Tatsuya Nakadai as Unosuke (a gun toting punk) is the most Western cowboy figure in the conflict: when dying he asks Yojimbo if he might be allowed to hold his companion gun close to his body. Yojimbo is full of menacing and wayward characters employed, with Toshiro Mifune in charge, to parody samurai conventions.
Sanjuro appeared a year after the critical and commercial success of Yojimbo. Nine young samurai suspect their lord chamberlain, Mutsuta, of corruption after tearing up their petition against fraud at court. The superintendent Kikui agrees to intervene. A ronin (Toshiro Mifune, back again!) cautions the samurai against trusting the superintendent. They don’t believe him but he then saves them from an ambush. Sanjuro realises that Mutsuta and his family are in danger and decides to stick around and help.
Mifune’s Sanjuro feels a more fully realised character than his Yojimbo. The script develops this impressively strategic warrior and his emotionally vulnerability. His often wise and astute advice is calibrated into lightning quick responses tempered by a pragmatic caution. However his heroic behaviour is now effectively criticised.
After rescuing Mutsuta’s wife (Takako Irie, a marvellous performance) she asks the r?nin his name. He stares out at the surrounding camellia trees and says it’s Tsubaki Sanj?r? literally “thirty-year-old camellia”. She thanks him for rescuing her but insightfully remarks that Sanjuro is too sharp both in his thinking and use of his sword. “Good swords are kept in their sheaths.” Her remark disturbs Sanjuro and comes back to haunt him at the end of the film. He’s unlikely to change his swordsman (or western gunfighter) ways, all he can do is refuse to have followers and warn the young samurai not to idolise the use of violence.
In Sanjuro Kurosawa films interiors as much as exteriors to great effect. He’ll suddenly cut from an argument in a room to reveal a stunningly composed shot of the bandits or deliberately cut down camellias, floating on a stream, as a sign of what to do next. Such compression, exactitude and attention to detail make Kurosawa a master filmmaker. His precision, economy and intimacy provide Sanjuro with a thoughtful, even chamber piece atmosphere that comfortably cohabits this samurai adventure. Yojimbo is a hugely entertaining film intent on meaningfully playing with the samurai genre. But Sanjuro proves to be a more richly comic and finally more reflective experience.
Sanjuro’s climactic duel with Hanbei (Tasuya Nakadai) is a confrontation with a warrior very like himself: one that has to be reluctantly undertaken. It’s an astonishing scene (all that blood spurting that will later influence Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch) immediately followed by Sanjuro’s painful regret.
“Killing people is a bad habit” Mutsuta’s wife perceives the Achilles heel of Sanjuro and tells him directedly. Kurosawa is non-judgemental of his man without a real name, merely planting, after two film accounts, doubt in the mind of Sanjuro. It’s up to Sanjuro to adjust his behaviour or not, and the filming a third act for this compelling story of an outsider ronin was never conceived.
Alan Price©2025
Yojimbo – 1961 / Sanjuro 1962 – (Kurosawa)
BFI 4k Blu Ray
The BFI continue their new 4k Kurosawa restorations with two of his most famous samurai films Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Both feature superb performances by Toshiro Mifune as a ronin (a vagrant samurai drifter). Whether that’s part of his shame, at not having committed hara-kiri, on the death of his master, this unnamed warrior stays determinedly unkempt. Yojimbo (a name chosen for others meaning bodyguard) strolls into a village and if there’s trouble brewing he will help out for money or more importantly food and drink: basic needs come first before he can plan out a good combative solution.
The idealism, eventually tainted by bitterness and resignation, of the hired hands in The Seven Samurai is exploded in Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Here we have a scruffy and unwashed samurai who’ll do the job and then casually walk off saying he’ll see you around! If this feels close to the American western then remember Akira Kurosawa’s love of the hero loners of John Ford and that Yojimbo hugely influenced Sergio Leone’s virtual remake, A Fistful of Dollars.
The r?nin enters a tavern in a small town. The owner Gonji tells the r?nin that the two warring bosses, Ushitora and Seibei, are fighting over a successful gambling trade run by Seibei. Ushitora had been Seibei’s second in command man until Seibei decided that his successor would be his son Yoichiro. The town’s mayor, Tazaemon, corrupted by Seibei, has aligned himself with the local sake brewer, Tokuemen proclaiming him the new mayor. Early on in Yojimbo we see a dog carrying, in its mouth, a human hand. This can be interpreted as a metaphoric projection of the identity and role of the wandering bodyguard. Our stray killer might also be the servant of two masters. For he keeps changing sides, weighing up which adversary has the best chance of winning; not betraying him or even paying better. At one point Yojimbo perches himself on top of a large ladder to view the advancing rivals and take stock of the situation. This allows Kurosawa to edit some brilliantly photographed group formations.
Yojimbo is a fine action film that’s funny and exciting. It borders on being an anarchic romp yet is reigned in by the mean energy of its cast. Take for instance Orin (the wife of Seibei). She’s a ruthless controlling force reminding you of a matriarchal gangster boss more than a western mom. As acted by Isuzu Yamada (who played lady Macbeth in Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood) she proves to be chilling. Whilst the presence of Tatsuya Nakadai as Unosuke (a gun toting punk) is the most Western cowboy figure in the conflict: when dying he asks Yojimbo if he might be allowed to hold his companion gun close to his body. Yojimbo is full of menacing and wayward characters employed, with Toshiro Mifune in charge, to parody samurai conventions.
Sanjuro appeared a year after the critical and commercial success of Yojimbo. Nine young samurai suspect their lord chamberlain, Mutsuta, of corruption after tearing up their petition against fraud at court. The superintendent Kikui agrees to intervene. A ronin (Toshiro Mifune, back again!) cautions the samurai against trusting the superintendent. They don’t believe him but he then saves them from an ambush. Sanjuro realises that Mutsuta and his family are in danger and decides to stick around and help.
Mifune’s Sanjuro feels a more fully realised character than his Yojimbo. The script develops this impressively strategic warrior and his emotionally vulnerability. His often wise and astute advice is calibrated into lightning quick responses tempered by a pragmatic caution. However his heroic behaviour is now effectively criticised.
After rescuing Mutsuta’s wife (Takako Irie, a marvellous performance) she asks the r?nin his name. He stares out at the surrounding camellia trees and says it’s Tsubaki Sanj?r? literally “thirty-year-old camellia”. She thanks him for rescuing her but insightfully remarks that Sanjuro is too sharp both in his thinking and use of his sword. “Good swords are kept in their sheaths.” Her remark disturbs Sanjuro and comes back to haunt him at the end of the film. He’s unlikely to change his swordsman (or western gunfighter) ways, all he can do is refuse to have followers and warn the young samurai not to idolise the use of violence.
In Sanjuro Kurosawa films interiors as much as exteriors to great effect. He’ll suddenly cut from an argument in a room to reveal a stunningly composed shot of the bandits or deliberately cut down camellias, floating on a stream, as a sign of what to do next. Such compression, exactitude and attention to detail make Kurosawa a master filmmaker. His precision, economy and intimacy provide Sanjuro with a thoughtful, even chamber piece atmosphere that comfortably cohabits this samurai adventure. Yojimbo is a hugely entertaining film intent on meaningfully playing with the samurai genre. But Sanjuro proves to be a more richly comic and finally more reflective experience.
Sanjuro’s climactic duel with Hanbei (Tasuya Nakadai) is a confrontation with a warrior very like himself: one that has to be reluctantly undertaken. It’s an astonishing scene (all that blood spurting that will later influence Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch) immediately followed by Sanjuro’s painful regret.
“Killing people is a bad habit” Mutsuta’s wife perceives the Achilles heel of Sanjuro and tells him directedly. Kurosawa is non-judgemental of his man without a real name, merely planting, after two film accounts, doubt in the mind of Sanjuro. It’s up to Sanjuro to adjust his behaviour or not, and the filming a third act for this compelling story of an outsider ronin was never conceived.
Alan Price©2025
By Alan Price • film, year 2025 • Tags: Alan Price, film