Yojimbo (1961)

A Samurai (Toshiro Mifune) wanders into a village with a problem. Two warlords are in conflict for control of the village and the only person profiting is the casket maker. He decides to stay and play both sides off each other for profit. Yojimbo means bodyguard.

Director Akira Kurosawa wanted to reinvent the western for Japanese audiences. Taking inspiration from John Ford, he crafted a new kind of western in the form of a Samurai film. He even included a gunfighter, the very western looking Tatsuya Nakadai.

Kurosawa just seen his Seven Samurai remade into a Hollywood western and Yohimbo would follow suit. The story would be taken in whole cloth by Sergio Leone for A Fistful of Dollars, sparking a lawsuit.

Set in a humble village and filmed in black and white, Yojimbo looks fantastic. Even in rain the visual popped. The gang’s henchmen move like a comedic dance troupe, acting brave but clearly craven. It’s a serious film that uses levity to its advantage. It is visually stunning in many ways.

Maybe I didn’t enjoy the film as much because I already knew the story because I saw Fistful … holy crap, eleven years ago! Still, I remembered it well. People may find Fistful more accessible because it was filmed in “English” but Yojimbo is clearly the better film. AMRU 4.