Yojimbo (BFI)

Wonderful movie, yet another Kurosawa great. I can understand why Hollywood would rip off such great films, but they're not a touch on the Japanese orignal movies they're copying.
Very atmospheric and moody tale of a masterclass samuri playing two gangs off against each other.

Kurosawa dealt a master blow with Yojimbo, not only a wonderful storyline but such a complex main character. The idea of an anti-hero wasn't really a hit with western audiences untill much later. The DVD is no thrills but that really doesnt matter, just watch and at the end you like me will agree Mifune really is the main with no name!

when the first thing that greets you in a new town is a dog with a severed human hand in its mouth, you know its going to be a strange place. so it proves for toshiro mifune's wandering samurai, sanjuro. only the undertaker is happy in a town that is just not big enough for its two warring gangs. sanjuro duplicitously offers his services to both, in a systematic attempt to wipe them all out. his motives and emotions remain inscrutable, when a couple he selflessly rescues thank him, he snaps back i hate pathetic people, the double crossing plot is pretty dense to, but it is worth the effort. expect a few more disembodied limbs to join the fray before the film's conclusion. although the subject matter is gory, the beautiful photography more than compensates.

Kurosawa's Yojimbo is an Eastern film rooted deeply in the conventions of the Western genre. And since its creation it has continued to spawn numerous remakes and knock-offs which is testament to the sheer creative brilliance on display here.

Convincing with equal parts charm and intensity Toshiro Mifune scratches and swaggers his way through a desolate ghost town, sparsely populated by eccentric locals and grotesque gang members; playing everyone against each other and reaping the rewards for himself. The tone swaps frequently from moody and atmospheric to slyly subversive and darkly comedic to even outright slapstick. It is an experience akin in spirit to many of the Spaghetti Westerns it would progenerate so if you're a fan of that genre you owe it to yourself to check out Yojimbo.

The film itself is worthy of purchase alone, without question, which is fortunate as aside from a solitary commentary track extras are sparse. For those of you with the capability of watching Region 1 DVDs I cannot more highly recommend tracking down the Criterion edition which, though more costly, is of superior quality in every respect. That said, if you're simply taken with the notion of checking this out for cheap on a fanciful whim then by all means do so, this disc has everything you'll need be that the case.

Five star film, one star package... which apparently averages out to four stars. I say so, anyway.