Criterion Collection: Yojimbo [Blu-ray] [1961] [US Import]

Arguably one of the best films ever made. Every thing about it is superb. Despite being 70 years old the 4k presentation is brilliant. The film has such rich characters and the story is paced so well, even with it's long run time.

Toho/The BFI have gone a great job with this set. The films are classics which have gone on to influence many others and their presentation in 4K is stunning. Essential purchase for Akira Kurosawa fans.

Amazing film from Akira Kurosawa, good action and a tight story line. Well worth watching for all fans of this genre. And its adaptation to the west as a Fist full of dollars. Great film.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune this is a classic Japanese Samurai film. If you don’t like Japanese films, you won’t like this. If on the other hand you’ve seen and enjoyed “Seven Samurai” you’ll enjoy this. You’ll particularly enjoy the references to films which have borrowed from “Yojimbo” primarily “A Fistful of Dollars”; come to think of it, you might benefit from watching the Clint Eastwood film before watching this. Another film which seems to have borrowed from this is “Last Man Standing” with Bruce Willis. If you know those two films then you get the idea of the plot of “Yojimbo”. A lone “gunman”, in this case a ronin, comes into town and decides to take on the two warring factions.This is not a wall-to-wall action film; there is a lot of scene setting and plotting. Some of the scenes are classic Western; the lone hero at one end of the street facing a dozen villains at the other.Sometimes the subtitles leave a lot to be desired; not because of the translations but because they are not always easy to read against the background. The score is interesting and often very subtle.It’s a classic and well worth watching.

In this Japanese film classic the great Mifune portrays a down and out samurai who by chance wanders into a village badly divided into two opposing families. As they compete to enlist his services as a bodyguard who can tip the balance of power, he in turn plays hard to get, plying as much food and sake out of them as he can while weighing where to place his loyalty. The film is full of humor and surprising twists of the plot. Some scenes may strike viewers as overly long. Others may hope for more swordplay but Mifune's blade flashes often enough to satisfy most of us. Brilliant.

Enjoyed this film great story and acting

To say that this is a classic is an understatement. It certainly is one that every student in the film industry should scrutinise, from the storyline to the cinematography. So fortunate to have a copy!

Highly enjoyable, the touchstone for so many action movies (and Clint Eastwood's career), Kurosawa and Mifune craft a timeless classic starring a scruffy herbert who scratches himself between wiping out sweaty mercenaries. Yojimbo is a gem of a film, much more fun than the worthy Seven Samurai, and deserves its place in film history.