Yojimbo (1961)

So on April 1 (Tomorrow), it will Toshirô Mifune's 100TH birthday and if you do not know who Toshirô Mifune then you are not a fan of samurai films at all. At this point, I had seen Mifune in Seven Samurai which was a highly regarded film and in Rashomon, but there was always one left to see and that was 1961's Yojimbo which literally translates to mean Bodyguard. The film was written and directed by the great Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai) and it stars Mifune as Sanjuro Kuwabatake, a smart and crafty ronin who happens to come up on a town that is just full of trouble. You see the town is in the middle of a war between two rival gangs that never seems like it's going to end. So, Sanjuro decides that he is going to get involved in the matter to save the town as each gang fights for his services as a Yojimbo. The film also stars Tatsuya Nakadai (Kagemusha) as Unosuke - Gunfighter, Seizaburô Kawazu (Attack Squadron!) as Seibê - Brothel Operator, Kyû Sazanka (The Bad Sleep Well) as Ushitora, Daisuke Katô (Seven Samurai) as Inokichi - Ushitora's Rotund Brother,  Takashi Shimura (Stray Dog) as Tokuemon - Sake Brewer, Yôko Tsukasa (Moment Of Terror) as Nui, and Eijirô Tôno (Tora! Tora! Tora!) as  Gonji - Tavern Keeper.

I know we are a day early, but I have something planned for Monday Night so we are celebrating his birthday a day early and what a film to celebrate it with. Toshirô Mifune was masterful in this film as he commanded the screen with his toughness and charisma. The writing from Kurosawa definitely helped him a lot as well because Kurosawa made his character savvy and sneaky, but Mifune's acting talent definitely took the role to a whole new level as well. Mifune may very well be the greatest in the world to ever do it and that is why they still celebrate him to this day and rightfully so. One fun fact that I heard from a fellow film connoisseur was that the shoulder ticks and what not was Kurosawa telling him that he wanted Sanjuro to be like a mangy, ferile, stray dog and Mifune just nailed it to perfection giving us the idea of this man being a complete stranger to this people. Some of the characters in the film were a little over the top as far as looks and personality like Inokichi or even the giant, but I think that was the fun of the film was that these guys were meant to look like a joke compared to Mifune's character. The cinematography was amazing in the film and I loved the idea of them introducing the gun to the picture because it added an element of danger to our main hero so well done on that. Overall, I was very pleased with a lot of the characters in the film like the restaurant owner and the coffin maker as they added to the story with their commitments to their characters. There is not enough I can say about this film, but this should definitely be at the top of your list because this may be one of the best of Kurosawas films. I am going to give the film an A+ for a final grade. Celebrate Mifune's birthday tomorrow by watching this or any of his other films.