Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo Review
[Proper Japanese pronunciation is Yojinbo (Yo jeen bo). Translators originally chose m over n, so it is phonetically incorrect everywhere in print and in the title screen of English releases. I use the inaccurate romaji spelling because that is what the movie has come to be known as, what it is still marketed as, and what people are likely to search for.]
This is the first of four yojimbo (bodyguard) movies featuring famous Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune. Yojimbo is one of the first Kurosawa movies I watched years ago and maybe the first Kurosawa “fun” movie I ever saw. It is a great starting point for Japanese cinema, especially if you are not up to going back in time as far as Rashomon or even further.
Only the first two yojimbo films included the involvement of Akira Kurosawa. The second film was named Sanjuro (review).
Yojimbo is a Samurai story with many non-explicit sword fighting and killing scenes, but it is also lighthearted in many places. During my latest viewing of the film, I found myself laughing out loud at much of the humor.
The story in Yojimbo begins with an explanation of the plight of the Samurai who end up roaming the country looking for a means of survival at the end of the Tokugawa era. In truth, I believe many Samurai simply settled down and became farmers, merchants, and such. However, the romanticized notion of the ronin is still strong in the Japanese and worldwide imaginations, and it serves the story in Yojimbo well.
The title Yojimbo which can be translated as bodyguard, refers to lead character Sanjuro’s pursuit of employment as a bodyguard to both of the two battling factions in a small disintegrating Japanese town.
This film and its story is well known for being copied by the Sergio Leone western A Fistful of Dollars with Clint Eastwood. It was later reworked again as the gangster era film Last Man Standing with Bruce Willis.
Yojimbo is very effective entertainment and after viewing you will see why some wanted to recycle the story and use it in different environments and cultures.
This movie has a stark and lean feel to it. You are occupied in one city block during most of the film and you will likely feel very familiar with this small town by the movie's conclusion. Kurosawa effectively reveals the majority of the story with a small single main street set and a few interiors.
The soundtrack is loud and glaring at times, but also funny and seems to fit with the humor of Mifune’s Yojimbo character.
This is pretty much a must-see movie if you are interested in Kurosawa, enjoy Samurai movies, or just like generally fun movies with good energy.
Yojimbo was made about 50 years ago, yet it is more entertaining than the majority of films you will encounter in theaters today. The acting is enjoyable and the composition of shots is outstanding.
Savage Japan Misc. Tidbit
Whatever you do, don't watch the preview trailer on the Criterion Collection DVD before watching the movie. The original preview is pretty awful and could corrupt and lower your expectations so much that you might not even want to watch the movie. It is amazing how sophisticated movie trailers have become in comparison to the way they were assembled decades ago. Maybe a less modern time and less sophisticated audience also demanded a different method of promotion. Check it out, but I strongly advise doing so only after viewing the film.
For Japanese Language Students
The sound is reasonably good and good enough for enjoying the film, but the combined slight fuzziness of this very ancient audio track along with the fast paced guttural pronunciations of the characters in many scenes, makes this not an ideal film for Japanese language listening comprehension practice.
It is so fun to watch though, that I will give it a Fair instead of Poor rating for listening comprehension practice purposes.
Final Note
Toshiro Mifune is an amazing presence here. If you have not seen this movie, you really need to. And then you will likely want to go out and get its sequel Sanjuro. Criterion offers both films in a special set that I provide an Amazon link to above on the left. I don't recommend too many films as absolute keepers for all Japanese film enthusiasts, but these two definitely are.
Dan Savage
Dan@SavageSnow.com
(not rated by MPAA)
