1961 · action · drama
Yojimbo
Directed by Akira Kurosawa1h 50m1961
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Our read: Yojimbo (1961) reads as a neutral, kinetic, grounded action · drama entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.
Neutral, kinetic, measured action / drama, grounded in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured.
- intense
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Availability in the UK · via JustWatch
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“You want a cool lone samurai manipulating rival gangs with wit, steel, and dry humor.”
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