YOJIMBO (Released to Theaters Japan 1961)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.0|5.0 Starsìììì Yojimbo—black and white western, Japanese-style—has good camera work and fairly good acting. Yojimbo needs pacing improvement. Director Akira Kurosawa claimed Yojimbo was the basis of Italian Director Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars which made Clint Eastwood famous as a movie star. The resulting suit ended in a judgement against Sergio Leone and Yojimbo received a portion of profits from A Fistful of Dollars. Yojimbo is a suitable watch but A Fistful of Dollars is much better in suspense, pacing, and storyline.  Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images Storyline  A wandering Samurai finds a tavern and learns all he needs to know about the town residents and decides to stay to settle the feud between two groups of gangs over a gambling business.  Additional Thanks  Thank you to Director Akira Kurosawa for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ryuzo Kikushima, and Akira Kurosawa for making the film possible. Cast includes Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Kato, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Atsushi Watanabe. Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. Yojimbo is a one-time-watch that requires subtitles and a Wikipedia plotline read to understand. It does not pass international borders well. Sergio Leone took inspiration from this film to produce A Fistful of Dollars with Clint Eastwood. A Fistful of Dollars crosses international borders well, has better pacing, suspense, and storyline than Yojimbo. But Yojimbo does serve as a good cultural study in film making. Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers