Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

DonAlberto Yojimbo is one of those weird films you don't know what genre you should put them in. It's a drama, I suppose, but I feel tempted to define it as as dark comedy crammed with dark humour. I know it might be a bit out of the ordinary to open a review by expressing one's doubts but after watching the film, and even as I was watching it, I struggled to identify the genre the movie belonged to.That, as important as it may seem to me, it's not and obstacle to keep me from enjoying the film. It tells the simple story of a ronin, a kind of drifting samurai that wanders from town to town in medieval Japan, often selling his sword to the highest bid. To start off, the fact that the action revolves around such popular a character in Japanise culture is both risky and appealing. The former because it implies the films will have to deal with a warrior whose portrait is so embedded in Jajapanese culture that even the the slightest attempt to derail that image that cultures project onto society, one that unconsciously we individually tempt to assume. The latter, because by making a film that shatters the samurai's path to wisdom, by the time you have watched it you'll have learnt one thing or two non only about warriors but about human condition.And the film works very well as a research project on the human condition. Violence, terror, loneliness are sharp and precisely dealt with in this Kurosawa's film. Not only that, Yojimbo juggles all these ingredients masterfully and quite often you fin yourself not knowing if you should laugh, cry or both at the same time. What the story is about isn't quite important, really. Let's just say that this cunning samurai tricks two rival gangs into fighting each other. In short, a must have for every cinema fan out there.

Takethispunch In 1860, during the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate,a rōnin (masterless samurai) wanders through a desolate Japanese countryside. While stopping at a farmhouse, he overhears an elderly couple lamenting that their only son has given up farm labouring in order to run off and join the rogues who have descended on a nearby town that has become divided by a gang war. The stranger heads to the town where he meets the owner of a small Izakaya who advises him to leave. He tells the rōnin that the two warring clans are led by Ushitora and Seibei. The silk merchant and mayor back Seibei while the sake brewer is allied with Ushitora. But after sizing up the situation, the stranger says he intends to stay as the town would be better off with both sides dead.

Anthony Iessi You've just sat down to watch a film by Akira Kurosawa. Make sure you're not squeamish by the sight of decapitated limbs and swords smashing into samurais. Kurosawa is the original master of the violent Japanese samurai flick. I wouldn't be surprised if Quentin Tarantino gets down on his knees and prays to him by his bedside at night. This genre of film that he created is based upon the period of "Jidaigeki", which has its origins in Kabuki theater. It's the music of the swords. It's the story of brave samurais fighting in honor of their families and towns. It might sound foreign to you, but it's really not. "Jidaigeki" genre movies supplied many concepts and ideas that inspired what we all know as the Spaghetti Western. Well, you should know, it was a little too inspired, but that's a story to get into another day. Kurosawa's films have an amazing shelf life to cinephiles across the globe, and none more important than "Rashoman". But I have just watched, what I feel to be the best example of Kurosawa's influence on the western genre, and what I feel to be an especially compelling and entertaining piece of work, "Yujimbo". "Yojimbo" has a story, not that complicated, and told so many times, you'd think you've sat down to watch some clichéd schlock. As I've stated before, it's about the lone hero, or in this case, the lone samurai, who somewhere along his travels comes upon a village that has been split between two rival gangs. In the town are the struggling families and business owners that are victimized day in and day out by the constant robberies and assaults from the gangs, as well the insufferable and corrupt police officer that gleefully capitulates to the two rival gangs. They ravage throughout the town, and out of sympathy for the townspeople, or perhaps just for the hell of it, the lone samurai decides to pit the two against each other in order for them to fight to death. It is out of his virtue to save the town from the hands of crime, and he's well aware of it very early on in the film, as he notices a dog carrying a severed human hand around the town. This is the Wild West, or shall we say, the wild east. In this little town, the lone samurai helps cause chaos and showdowns abound as the rival gangs fight for territory. It's almost comedic how much manipulation he has over them. I loved how it didn't always work out. For instance, the lone samurai is seen overhearing a conversation of the hotel owners planning to kill him in order to not pay for his stay. It seems like he's been causing a lot of trouble, much to the chagrin of the town's people. I really enjoyed the balance between action, story and humor. Unlike "Rashoman" that captivates with a rigid, dramatic story with a lot of unsightly, gruesome characters trying to eat each other alive, this is a fun little western. It's a classic in the genre as it gets. The lone samurai even bears a strange resemblance his American counterpart, Clint Eastwood, complete with his squinty eyes and scowl. The man in question is Toshiro Mifune, and he has a spectacular track record with Akira Kurosawa. Every time he collaborates with him, you're going to get an unbelievable performance. In "Rashoman" he was the insane, giggling bandit, and here, he's the silent, master of the sword, who could cut your arm off with a single blow. He's the original badass movie star. Even when he goes down, he goes down hard. When the lone samurai gets captured towards the end of the film, he is seen slowly and painfully making his mistake. This probably was my favorite scene, for it demonstrates Mifune's range as an actor, and his willingness to discomfort himself for the benefit of the story. The picture also has a really unique soundtrack. I overheard someone in the audience chuckling about it, for it sounded a little similar to "Big Band". The music fits the attitude of the picture splendidly. It's a big, loud soundtrack to a big story. The cinematography was also very ambitious for it's time, and Kurosawa's main cinematographer, Kazuo Miyagawa, noticeably builds upon his great talent of the image since Rashoman. The battle sequences are sweeping and detailed with all the blood and guts intact. The spectacular scene in which the lone samurai is escaping is staged and shot beautifully. Miyagawa holds an exceptional gift of bringing the Edo Japanese era vibrantly to life. "Yojimbo" is a violent epic, and one of Kurosawa's most startlingly good achievements. It's entertaining, thrilling and a credit to the history of Japanese cinema.

poe-48833 "This town is full of men who are better off dead," muses ronin Mifune when he saunters into town: "This place would be better off without them." (A clear indication that something's not quite right comes when he sees a dog trot past with a human hand clamped in its jaws...) He approaches one of the two factions vying for control of the town and, when they brag about how dangerous they are, he asks, "So you won't mind if I kill all of you?" "WHAT?" one of the startled bandits cries: "Kill me if you can!" "It'll hurt," Mifune advises him. He cuts down two men and literally disarms a third before walking away. Seeing a coffin maker, he says, "Two coffins." He then pauses, glances back at the mortally wounded third man (who's on his knees, screaming in agony), and offers: "Maybe THREE..." Needless to say, both sides begin bargaining for his services. It's been said that "the Italians are known for their pizza (or is it spaghetti?), which they got from the Chinese." It doesn't take a genius to figure out where Leone got the idea(s) for the FISTFUL OF DOLLARS trilogy.