Yojimbo

I\'d like to thank your previous reviewer for providing a spirited and youthful take on Akira Kurosawa\'s Yojimbo, althought they did miss all the main points. Althoug... more >

I\'d like to thank your previous reviewer for providing a spirited and youthful take on Akira Kurosawa\'s Yojimbo, althought they did miss all the main points. Although later remade as a \'A fist full of dollars\' by Serigo Leone in 1964 and again as \'Last man Standing\' with Bruce Willis in 1996 this remains one of Kurosawa\'s minor works. Set in a period of change in Japanese society which has left many lordless samurai seeking service where they can. Our anti-hero enters a no-horse town split by two rival factions of thugs and plays each side against the other - ostensibly for gain but in reality as an attempt to remove the cancer thatis destroying the town and also to
> regain his own kudos and self respect. The dialogue is wonderfully sparse the action simple
> yet stunning and poetic. Best viewed with a bottle warm sake.
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One of my favourite movies. Not sure why it has this status.
The movie is very stylish. Script and plot are witty. It is action-packed. On the other hand, it is a... more >

One of my favourite movies. Not sure why it has this status.
The movie is very stylish. Script and plot are witty. It is action-packed. On the other hand, it is also quite meaningless since all the action is contrived, detached from reality. The movie is a floating piece of nonsense that has no relevence to anything beyond itself. Typically Japanese? All surface dressing, all style and no substance?
If I had to compare Yojimbo to anything it would be the USA movie WestWorld where androids go through the motions of saloon fights in repetitive cycles for no reason except that they are programmed that way. And they are programmed that way because this satisfies the neurotic fantasies of the inadequates who take their holidays at WestWorld. Westworld eventually implodes when the androids rebel - they are sick of the neurotic fantasies of the customers even if the customers are not. Robots are more human than the humans in WestWorld.
The closed, neurotic world of Yojimbo never implodes. Because of this it is a movie that never affirms 'humanity'. It is a deeply nihilistic movie. Since I am not a nihilist I do not understand why I still enjoy watching it.
Sometimes we just want to watch mindlessly - the Friday feeling when we want to unwind from work and basically anything would do. I usually watch Yojimbo late on Friday night. Maybe it is the thinking man/woman's mindless movie? Recommendation - watch on Friday night with/after a few drinks. Don't watch on Saturday/Sunday night by which time you will have recharged your brain and be looking for something more substantial (and life affirming if you have to get the energy together to go back to work on Monday!) Points out of ten? Eight-and-a-half. < less

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DVD Extras

• Full-length commentary by Philip Kemp plus on-screen biographies of Kurosawa and Mifune.

Film Details

Cast

Toshiro Mifune

Technical Details