Yojimbo
By January 22, 2007
If we adapt the language of horse breeders to the genealogy of films, one might write Yojimbo, by Shane out of Scarface. But while this odd coupling does suggest the most obvious hereditary Read more »
- Japan
- 1961
- 110 minutes
- 2.35:1
- Japanese
- Spine #52
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.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Sanjuro | Toshiro Mifune |
| Unosuke | Tatsuya Nakadai |
| Nui | Yoko Tsukasa |
| Orin | Isuzu Yamada |
| Inokichi | Daisuke Kato |
| Seibei | Seizaburo Kawazu |
| Tokuemon | Takashi Shimura |
| Yoichiro | Hiroshi Tachikawa |
| Kohei's son | Yosuke Natsuki |
| Gonji | Eijiro Tono |
Credits
| Director | Akira Kurosawa |
| Screenplay | Ryuzo Kikushima and Akira Kurosawa |
| Producer | Tomoyuki Tanaka and Ryuzo Kikushima |
| Cinematography | Kazuo Miyagawa |
| Production design | Yoshiro Muraki |
| Music | Masaru Sato |
Disc Features
- Restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- Optional Dolby Digital 3.0 soundtrack, preserving the original Perspecta simulated-stereo effects (DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition)
- Audio commentary by film historian and Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince
- A 45-minute documentary on the making of Yojimbo, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create, featuring Kurosawa, actor Tatsuya Nakadai, production designer Yoshiro Muraki, and longtime Kurosawa collaborator Teruyo Nogami
- Theatrical teaser and trailer
- Stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Alexander Sesonske and comments from Kurosawa and his cast and crew
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
Clippings
Sight & Sound and Kurosawa
June 24, 2010
In its July issue, Sight & Sound tosses its helmet into the Kurosawa ring with its own centenary tribute to the immortal Japanese filmmaker. In an eleven-page section Read more »
