| | | The Criterion Collection.
Features: DVD
The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa's visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo. To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone and Walter Hill, this exhilarating genre-twister remains one of the most influential and entertaining films ever produced. Criterion is proud to present this Kurosawa favorite in a new, anamorphic high-definition transfer.
"Great begining and ending..." Christopher Null, FilmCritic.com
"...it sure was entertaining" Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Editor's Note
In director Akira Kurosawa's comedic YOJIMBO, a masterless samurai, Sanjuro (Toshirô Mifune), wanders into a town divided by two warring clans. After displaying his formidable swordsmanship before both clans in a brawl with street thugs, Sanjuro offers his services to the highest bidder. When one clan conspires against him, the clever warrior switches his allegiance to the other side, with the ultimate goal of tricking the two equally despicable and foolish clans into exterminating each other. Sanjuro's authority is challenged, however, when Unosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai), a brother of one of the leaders, comes to town wielding a modern contraption: a gun. In the classic final showdown, the old world samurai is pitted against new world progress, and must use both his wits and physical prowess to survive. Perhaps Kurosawa's most overtly comic film, YOJIMBO easily ranks with the director's finest work. In this reconception of the Western, Mifune plays Sanjuro, the tough mercenary of few words, to perfection, often allowing his subtle movements and swift actions speak for him. Throughout the entire film, Sanjuro is vigilant yet stoic, conceding that he finds the scenario entertaining and absurd, and essentially has nothing to lose. Mifune's outstanding performance, combined with Kurosawa's expert direction and Kazuo Miyagawa's beautifully balanced photography, makes for one of the finest, and funniest, films in Japanese cinema.
Plot Summary
Director Akira Kurosawa's influential 1961 effort, an action-packed, sometimes humorous reconception of the individualistic loner from the American Western, stars Mifune, the director's leading man of choice, as a samurai-for-hire who becomes involved in a dispute between two warring factions in a small village.
| Features | 45 Minute Documentary On The Making Of Yojimbo | | Audio Commentary By Film Historian Stephen Price | | Audio: Japanese Dolby Digital 3.0 Stereo | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Stills Gallery Of Behind-The-Scenes Photos | | Subtitles: English | | Theatrical Trailer & Teaser |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Image |
| Release Date: 1/23/2007 |
| Running Time: 110 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1961 | | Catalog ID: 1658 | | UPC: 00715515020824 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Japanese | | Available Audio Tracks: Japanese | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Isuzu Yamada | | Takashi Shimura | | Tatsuya Nakadai | | Toshiro Mifune | | Akira Kurosawa - Director | | Akira Kurosawa - Based On Story By | | Akira Kurosawa - Screenplay | | Akira Kurosawa - Editor | | Akira Kurosawa - Producer | | Kazuo Miyagawa - Cinematographer | | Masaru Sato - Original Music By | | Ryuzo Kikushima - Executive Producer | | Ryuzo Kikushima - Screenplay | | Tomoyuki Tanaka - Executive Producer |
| Awards |
Nominee (1962) | | | Oscar, Yoshiro Muraki, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White | |
Winner (1961) | | | Venice Film Festival, Toshiro Mifune, Volpi Cup - Best Actor | |
Nominee (1961) | | | Venice Film Festival, Akira Kurosawa, Golden Lion Award |
| Memorable Quotes| "When you're angry you look even nicer."----Sanjuro (Toshirô Mifune) to a street thug | | "You just try and kill me!"----A street thug to Sanjuro |"It'll hurt a little."----Sanjuro |
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| | Professional Reviews | Total Film
"...Probably the most influential action movie made....[The film] cemented Akira Kurosawa's rep as one of cinema's all-time greats..." 01/01/2001 p.107ReelViews 10 of 10
Yojimbo was made at the end of Kurosawa's most fruitful period of movie-making. Over the span of eleven years, he crafted more than a half-dozen memorable motion pictures, beginning with Rashomon and including such classics as The Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress...There's a sense of symmetry surrounding the development of Yojimbo. The movie was conceived and designed as an homage to that most American of films - the Western. From the empty, windswept street stretching the length of town to the arrival of the stoic stranger, images familiar to viewers of '40s and '50s Westerns abound...It is fair to say that, without Yojimbo, certain key aspects of Western cinema would not be the same today. - James Berardinelli
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