'Yojimbo' was Kurosawa's most commercially successful film in his home country of Japan. Now some critics and viewers tend to justify this commercial success by calling the film an entertaining action film without much substance. But after having watched it for the 3rd time in a matter of a year, I will have to disagree with that opinion. Yes, the film is very entertaining, but the screenplay written by Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima is deceptively deep and meaningful.
The first and foremost thing that has to be understood about 'Yojimbo' is that the film is a dark comedy. Kurosawa actually wants to generate some humour out of potentially gruesome and depressing moments. Thematically, the film is all about Kurosawa's wish fulfillment. The character of Sanjuro is Kurosawa's surrogate. Sanjuro executes the things that Kurosawa himself wants. This is the reason why this character is not completely realistic. He is supposed to be a mythic figure, a wandering spirit. This mysterious, rugged outsider character that becomes entangled in something that he has little vested interest in, has a very iconic place in cinema history. On one hand, this character of Sanjuro itself was inspired by some of the rugged cowboy characters in American Western films that Kurosawa was an admirer of. On the other hand, this character has further inspired some of the most iconic characters that came later like Clint Eastwood's 'Man with no name' character in Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and the character of Mad Max in George Miller's films to name a few.
Story-wise, Kurosawa is using a period setting to mirror the condition of the Japanese economy at the time the film was made. Sanjuro in the film randomly walks into a town that looks desolate, grim and depressing. The town is run by two rival gangster groups who work in close coalition with two rival business merchants. The merchants require the gangsters for the muscle and the gangsters require the merchants and their money for their existence. This greatly mirrors the social scenario in Japan during the economic boom. The businessmen and politicians brought in an age of unrestricted capitalism with extensive and undeniable help from the Yakuza. Kurosawa is clearly going back to the past to throw some light on the present. He is using Sanjuro to express his philosophies and comment against this unchecked spread of rampant consumerism. In a way Kurosawa is rewriting history. In a factual sense, the samurai class disappeared and the era of the merchants and the gangsters started in Japan. But in his fantasy version of history, Kurosawa has Sanjuro the Samurai come back from the cemetery and defeat the gangsters and thematically clean the town.
The cinematography in the film to some extent makes the film for me. The telephoto lens works overtime to give us these gorgeous frames. When it comes to frame composition and expressive blocking of actors, Kurosawa is second to none. The wide angle photography of Kurosawa and cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa is awe-inspiring. The exterior shots in the street are epic in scope. Kurosawa uses wind machines to crank up the epic nature of the outdoor standoff scenes. Kurosawa's style of shooting the action scenes is actually quite simple. He doesn't use fast editing like one sees in a lot of action films. He generally uses two diagonally placed cameras to capture the shots and relies heavily on choreography. Kurosawa's use of Masaru Sato's music is also brilliant. He choreographs the movements of the characters in certain scenes to the beat of the music which adds a poetic touch to the visuals.
Toshirô Mifune pretty much owns the screen in the film. He exudes gravitas and authority. He is charming, witty, suave and when required viciously aggressive. Mifune adds an immensely masculine charisma to the film. It was great watching him manipulate the rival gangs and direct the proceedings. Tatsuya Nakadai is great as the primary nemesis of Mifune. Nakadai's character carries with a long barrel pistol almost like a phallic symbol to represent this power. He too is very charismatic with the twinkle in his eye and threatening demeanour.
'Yojimbo' might not have as much complexity as Kurosawa's other masterpieces like 'Rashomon' or 'Red Beard', but it still has something to say and comment upon. Kurosawa's brilliant filmmaking enhances and elevates the screenplay to the next level and makes this a must watch. This is certainly one of his best films. Highly Recommended.
The first and foremost thing that has to be understood about 'Yojimbo' is that the film is a dark comedy. Kurosawa actually wants to generate some humour out of potentially gruesome and depressing moments. Thematically, the film is all about Kurosawa's wish fulfillment. The character of Sanjuro is Kurosawa's surrogate. Sanjuro executes the things that Kurosawa himself wants. This is the reason why this character is not completely realistic. He is supposed to be a mythic figure, a wandering spirit. This mysterious, rugged outsider character that becomes entangled in something that he has little vested interest in, has a very iconic place in cinema history. On one hand, this character of Sanjuro itself was inspired by some of the rugged cowboy characters in American Western films that Kurosawa was an admirer of. On the other hand, this character has further inspired some of the most iconic characters that came later like Clint Eastwood's 'Man with no name' character in Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and the character of Mad Max in George Miller's films to name a few.
Story-wise, Kurosawa is using a period setting to mirror the condition of the Japanese economy at the time the film was made. Sanjuro in the film randomly walks into a town that looks desolate, grim and depressing. The town is run by two rival gangster groups who work in close coalition with two rival business merchants. The merchants require the gangsters for the muscle and the gangsters require the merchants and their money for their existence. This greatly mirrors the social scenario in Japan during the economic boom. The businessmen and politicians brought in an age of unrestricted capitalism with extensive and undeniable help from the Yakuza. Kurosawa is clearly going back to the past to throw some light on the present. He is using Sanjuro to express his philosophies and comment against this unchecked spread of rampant consumerism. In a way Kurosawa is rewriting history. In a factual sense, the samurai class disappeared and the era of the merchants and the gangsters started in Japan. But in his fantasy version of history, Kurosawa has Sanjuro the Samurai come back from the cemetery and defeat the gangsters and thematically clean the town.
The cinematography in the film to some extent makes the film for me. The telephoto lens works overtime to give us these gorgeous frames. When it comes to frame composition and expressive blocking of actors, Kurosawa is second to none. The wide angle photography of Kurosawa and cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa is awe-inspiring. The exterior shots in the street are epic in scope. Kurosawa uses wind machines to crank up the epic nature of the outdoor standoff scenes. Kurosawa's style of shooting the action scenes is actually quite simple. He doesn't use fast editing like one sees in a lot of action films. He generally uses two diagonally placed cameras to capture the shots and relies heavily on choreography. Kurosawa's use of Masaru Sato's music is also brilliant. He choreographs the movements of the characters in certain scenes to the beat of the music which adds a poetic touch to the visuals.
Toshirô Mifune pretty much owns the screen in the film. He exudes gravitas and authority. He is charming, witty, suave and when required viciously aggressive. Mifune adds an immensely masculine charisma to the film. It was great watching him manipulate the rival gangs and direct the proceedings. Tatsuya Nakadai is great as the primary nemesis of Mifune. Nakadai's character carries with a long barrel pistol almost like a phallic symbol to represent this power. He too is very charismatic with the twinkle in his eye and threatening demeanour.
'Yojimbo' might not have as much complexity as Kurosawa's other masterpieces like 'Rashomon' or 'Red Beard', but it still has something to say and comment upon. Kurosawa's brilliant filmmaking enhances and elevates the screenplay to the next level and makes this a must watch. This is certainly one of his best films. Highly Recommended.