Toshiro Mifune stars in this Kurosawa-directed classic set in late-Edo era Japan. Mifune's performance as a wandering ronin who commits...
Toshiro Mifune stars in this Kurosawa-directed classic set in late-Edo era Japan. Mifune's performance as a wandering ronin who commits to ridding a terror-stricken town of corruption garnered him two Best Actor awards at the 1961 Venice Film Festival.
A nameless samurai with no master (Mifune) enters a small village where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon (Kamatari Fujiwara) and sake merchant Tokuemon (Takashi Shimura) to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Remade twice, by Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars) and Walter Hill (Last Man Standing).
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96 %46 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
96 %42,561 reviewsAudience score rating
"Rousing, good story, told with vigor and visual excitement by Akira Kurosawa, and splendidly acted by Toshiro Mifune, this has ideal remake material for a Yank company."
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Variety
Variety"If the plot sounds familiar, it's probably because Leone stole it for A Fistful of Dollars."
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Time Out
Time Out"A movie that is both a wow of a show and a masterpiece of misanthropy."
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Time Magazine
Time Magazine"Despite the sometime appearance of the whole thing as a forthright travesty, it does have stretches of excitement and cinematic power."
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The New York Times
The New York Times"Even Eastwood's Man With No Name is inspired, perhaps, by the samurai in Yojimbo."
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Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert"Less visceral than the battle scene in Seven Samurai, this is more of a free-for-all, with brute force leaving no room for skill."
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Empire Magazine
Empire MagazineYojimbo | Details
Award winner- Winner of both the New Cinema Award and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor (Mifune), Venice Film Festival 1961.
- Rating
- M, Violence
- Runtime
- 110
- Genre
- Drama
- Country of origin
- Japan
