Yojinbo + Sanjuro

[yuuago]

Two very good films I watched recently: Akira Kurosawa's Yojinbo and its sequel Sanjuro. Both of them are about a wandering ronin who helps people out of some very sticky situations.

I've heard of these two films here and there, but until this point the only Kurosawa film I've seen was Rashomon. Really glad that I did watch these - they left me with that feeling where you watch something really well-crafted and you're like "Ah, now I understand where people are coming from".

Really enjoyed Toshiro Mifune's performance as the ronin Sanjuro in both of these. Definitely going to have to look up other things he's been in - he has a certain something that really appeals to me.

Though one is a sequel, the films are unrelated, and can be enjoyed on their own. Yojinbo, though it has its light moments, is the more serious and arty of the two. Sanjuro is downright hilarious in some parts, and is more what I'd think of as tropey fun.

Definitely going to have to look up more of Kurosawa's work! I'm especially interested in The Seven Samurai (I've heard it's really good) and Throne of Blood (Macbeth, but set in feudal Japan? Sign me up!) Might be a while since I get around to the latter, since the library doesn't have it, alas....

Comments

[inkstone]

Toshiro Mifune is also in Seven Samurai! It's basically Magnificent 7 but with samurai instead of cowboys.

[yuuago]

Oh awesome, now I'm looking forward to that one even more. :D NGL I've been pretty curious about it ever since I heard that Magnificent Seven was a remake of it.

[inkstone]

Toshiro Mifune is in lots of Kurosawa films. They had a long-running partnership/collaboration until they had some sort of falling out.

[kanadka]

Man, I've been hearing so much about Mifune lately - this is the third time this past fortnight alone that someone has mentioned Yojimbo. You always have excellent taste, so if you thought they were good they must be good for sure. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled!

[yuuago]

Ha! :D What's the name of that effect where you hear about a thing and then suddenly it's everywhere... Anyway. NGL, the reason I decided to watch this was because of a post that crossed my dash about how a lot of today's shounen anime tropes originated in Kurosawa's films; it was mainly talking about practical effects in Sanjuro IIRC.

Anyway, yes, do watch if you have the time, 's good stuff. If you like the genre, anyway.