Yojimbo (Criterion Collection Spine #52)
by Akira Kurosawa
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eijir? T?no, Isuzu Yamada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Toshir? Mifune, Y?ko TsukasaDirector: Akira Kurosawa
Cinematographer: Kazuo Miyagawa
Editor: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Akira Kurosawa
Writer: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Ryuzo Kikushima
Writer: Ryuzo Kikushima
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Letterbox, 2.35:1
Running Time: 75 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-09-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of Yojimbo (Criterion Collection Spine #52)
Movie Review: The Real story in Yojimbo
Summary: 5 Stars
Kurosawa made a powerful movie filled with memorable scenes. Much has been made of those elsewhere. But underneath, and to my surprise, most people have missed out on this, he draws a plot of a society that is falling apart, just like the life of the village is torn asunder; the movie is as much about the destructive forces let loose by 19th century capitalism. It is this destroying of Japanese Society that is the real plot. One of the early scenes from the movie draws attention to the character forming forces that this destruction lets loose, the son is chided by his mother for not knowing how to be a good enough cheat when he protests her plot to kill Sanjuro after he has performed his duty so she can regain the gold paid to him. Kurosawa is letting us in on a major theme of Japanese society; (like American society portrayed in the Clint Eastwood copy) ruthless money grubbing set against the starkly simple persona of the Samurai; Confucian Ideals of piety, truthfulness in interpersonal dealings to maintain integrity.
For me this movie has a particularly timely motif of gambling and the oddsmaker background (which we see as Sanjuro enters the town) as the gambling casino known as Wall Street has likewise transformed American Society into a land of false piety. American society has perhaps always had a streak of lawlessness about two miles wide but recently certainly the gambling that goes on with billions of other people's money and the ensuing destruction of the culture, our cities and our land, has its counterpart in a smaller way in the village Kurosawa has portrayed . Japanese society, Kurosawa tells us, went on to become a mighty force of destruction, in part, because the roots of classical piety, integrity, decency, honor and valiant heroes had been killed off by the cultural and societal forces of industrialism. The woman moving the loom shuttle back and forth speaks in dreadfully calm and pained tones as she announces this theme in the first major scene of the movie. Some readers may not like this take on the movie, but inside of the juicy, fun filled, action packed frames is a deeper, meaning filled story about Japanese culture and how it was transformed as societal values were debased by the search for gold and money. So with American society as well. Which is perhaps why we like this movie so much.
The Criterion version I saw was very fine and contained many extras including a wonderful documentary about the making of the film.
Summary of Yojimbo (Criterion Collection Spine #52)
This semi-comic 1961 film by legendary director Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon, Ran) was inspired by the American Western genre. Kurosawa mainstay Toshir? Mifune (The Seven Samurai) plays a drifting samurai for hire who plays both ends against the middle with two warring factions, surviving on his wits and his ability to outrun his own bad luck. Eventually the samurai seeks to eliminate both sides for his own gain and to define his own sense of honor. Yojimbo is striking for its unorthodox treatment of violence and morality, reserving judgment on the actions of its main character and instead presenting an entertaining tale with humor and much visual excitement. One of the inspirations for the "spaghetti Westerns" of director Sergio Leone and later surfacing as a remake as Last Man Standing with Bruce Willis, this film offers insight into a director who influenced American films even as he was influenced by them. --Robert LaneAction & Adventure DVD Video
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