#52: KUROSAWA, Akira: Yojimbo (1961)

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KUROSAWA, Akira (Japan)
Yojimbo [1961]
Spine #52
DVD (1999/2006)/Blu-ray (2010)



1999 synopsis

The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo (The Bodyguard). In order to rid a village of corruption, masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade both as A Fistful of Dollars and, more recently, Last Man Standing, this exhilarating gangster-Western remains one of the most influential and entertaining genre-twisters ever produced. Criterion is proud to present Yojimbo in a luminous Tohoscope transfer.

2006 synopsis

The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo (The Bodyguard). To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, the wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars) and Walter Hill (Last Man Standing), this exhilarating genre-twister remains one of the most influential and entertaining films ever produced. Criterion is proud to present this Kurosawa favorite in a new high-definition transfer.

2010 synopsis

The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo. To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone and Walter Hill, this exhilarating genre-twister remains one of the most influential and entertaining films of all time.

110 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
2:35:1 aspect ratio
in Japanese
Criterion Release 1999/2006/2010

Director/Writers


Screenplay by Ryûzô Kikushima and Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa was 51 when he directed Yojimbo.

Eclipse Series 7: One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
#413: Drunken Angel (1948)
Eclipse Series 7: Scandal (1950)
Eclipse Series 7: The Idiot (1951)
#221: Ikiru (1952)
#2: Seven Samurai (1954)
Eclipse Series 7: I Live In Fear (1955)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

1999: Six-page wraparound featuring an essay by Alexander Sesonske.
2006/2010: Twenty-page booklet featuring Kurosawa on Yojimbo; the Sesonske essay; and Kurosawa’s Collaborators in Their Own Words.

Commentary

2006/2010: By film historian and Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince.

Documentary

2006/2010: 45-minute doc on the making of Yojimbo, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create, featuring Kurosawa, actor Nakadai, production designer Yoshirô Muraki, and longtime Kurosawa collaborator Teruyo Nogami.
Theatrical teaser and trailer

Stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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