Yojimbo
Movie
1961
1h 50m
NR
Japanese
Drama, Thriller
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Yojimbo
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.
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8.4
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CRITIC SCORE
95
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Cast
Sanjuro Kuwabatake / The Samurai
Unosuke, gunfighter
Nui
Orin
Inokichi
Seibê - brothel operator
Tokuemon, sake brewer
Yoichiro
Kohei's Son
Gonji, Tavern Keeper
Tazaemon
Hansuke
The Cooper (Coffin-Maker)
Homma, Instructor Who Skips Town
Ushitora
Kuma
Ronin Kobuhachi
First Samurai
First Foot Soldier
Kame
Kannuki the Giant
Kohei
Magotaro
Roku - Samurai Whose Arm is Cut
Matsukichi
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa
Written By: Akira Kurosawa (Screenplay), Ryūzō Kikushima (Screenplay)
Featured Comments/Tips
Featured User Reviews
AndrewBloom
/10 9 years ago
I generally like watching old movies. There's a natural selection at play in which anything that's survived long enough for me to hear about in the present day suggests that the film is good, or at least interesting. But there's always a certain amount of mental translation and adjustmen More
drqshadow
/10 4 years ago
Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune collaborate again for the eighth chapter in a long and fruitful cinematic partnership. This act finds Mifune in a classic role: the cynical old samurai who rumbles into a small town, makes an impression and immediately lights the fuse to a long-simmering gang war. C More
CRCulver
6 years ago
Akira Kurosawa's 1961 film YOJIMBO is a Japanese period drama where wily strategy is worth just as much as prowess with a sword. In the late Edo era (some decades before its end in 1868) a community is plagued by two opposing gangs who have built up a criminal empire of prostitution and gambling. Ev More
CinemaSerf
9 months ago
I was surprised when I saw this, how late it was set - 19th Century - as I'd always imagined it to be of a more historical nature. That doesn't remotely detract from the story though - as again Kurosawa casts Yoshirô Mifune ("Sanjûrô") in the leading role. Here he is a wandering samurai who arriv More
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