SummaryA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Directed By:Akira Kurosawa
Written By:Akira Kurosawa, Ryûzô Kikushima
Yojimbo
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
93
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.2
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
94% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
The filmmaking is marvelously austere, yet in its sudden bursts of action electrifying, in its stern morality sobering, in the blackness of its comedy often quite delicious.
100
One of the great samurai pictures, its darkly brilliant premise--the cynical mercenary/master swordsman or yojimbo (bodyguard) who walks into a town feud and plays both evil sides against each other--has been copied frequently, most notably in the Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood A Fistful of Dollars. But Kurosawa's treatment remains the most savage, thrilling, smart and hideously funny. [26 Jan 2007, p.C2]
User score
Universal Acclaim
90% Positive
60 Ratings
60 Ratings
6% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
4% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Sep 26, 2024
8
Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune collaborate for the eighth time in a long and fruitful cinematic partnership. This act finds Mifune in a classic role: the cynical old samurai who rumbles into a small town, makes an impression and immediately lights the fuse to a long-simmering gang war. Casually manipulating both sides, if only to amuse himself and torment the unjust, he eventually presses his luck too far, gets in hot water and transforms the dalliance into an icy tale of violence and vengeance. As usual, Mifune makes the part his own, stirring a delicious blend of bold irreverence and well-earned arrogance; always the coolest guy in the room, even when he's held captive and taking a beating. There's something about the way he carries himself - the nonchalance with which he strolls through a line of armed men, the raging tempest in his eyes - that tells us this guy is cut from a totally different cloth. As with most lone samurai films, this one is both influenced by, and influential toward, the gun-slinging American western genre. In this case, Sergio Leone borrowed liberally from the plot for 1964's A **** of Dollars, sparking a legal struggle that delayed the spaghetti western's American release for years. Kurosawa often referenced the work of John Ford as a heavy personal influence, and the roots of this film are actually seeded in an American novel from the 1930s, so the lawsuit seems contradictory, but that's how it went down. Either way, Yojimbo is a great one. Easy to watch, appreciate, and get wrapped up inside. I'd recommend it to anyone.
100
Yojimbo does not cause viewers to ponder deep issues in the way Rashomon does, nor does it possess the epic grandness of The Seven Samurai, yet it must still be considered in the top tier of Kurosawa's films. Stylish, compelling, and involving, it became as much a blueprint for future productions as it is an homage to past ones.
90
Toshiro Mifune is electrifying as an unemployed samurai exploiting two embattled factions in an early nineteenth-century Japanese country town. [05 Nov 2000, p.11]
88
The widescreen Tohoscope compositions offer ample opportunities for dramatically staged standoffs, yet Kurosawa also employs them for laughs.
80
Its reflection of the Westerns makes it more accessible to an American audience than some of his other movies and, although his characters have complicated moral shadings typical of Kurosawa films, Yojimbo can be enjoyed on a surface level. The simple plot moves and carries you along. [11 Apr 1991, p.13]
60
As in most Westerns, the dramatic penetration is not deep, and the plot complications are many and hard to follow in Japanese. Kurosawa is here showing more virtuosity than strength. Yojimbo is a long way (in the wrong direction) from his brilliant Rashomon.
Oct 29, 2022
1
L’histoire me disait quelque chose… et à chaque tentative de visionnage de cette vieille connerie, ça me mettait un peu plus la puce à l’oreille… mais oui, c’est bien sûr ! Pour une poignée de yens ! euh… non, je veux dire, Pour une poignée de dollars ! On n’en est que plus admiratif de Sergio Leone qui a su transposer et adapter cette fameuse histoire au western, créant d’ailleurs soit dit en passant un tout nouveau genre de western : le western spaghetti ! Mais autant, le film italien s’avère brillant, autant le film japonais se révèle d’un ennui… imbattable ! non seulement imbattable mais également d’un humour volontiers imbécile, pour ne pas dire bêtement idiot. Certes, l’acteur préféré de Kurosawa, le fort sympathique Mifune est encore là mais comme trop souvent, il en fait des caisses et manque de sérieux, ce qui n’arrange pas les affaires de ce vieux film de merde. Je donne 1 point quand même pour avoir inspiré (à l’insu de son plein gré) l’excellent western, premier volet de la fameuse trilogie du dollar !
Production Company:
- Kurosawa Production Co.
- Sammy
- Toho
Release Date:Sep 13, 1961
Duration:1 h 50 m
Rating:TV-MA
Tagline:Better if all these men were dead. Think about it!
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Venice Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
Blue Ribbon Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
