YOJIMBO

JAPAN | 1961 | B&W | DCP | 110’ | JAPANESE

At the end of the Samurai era, a Ronin (a masterless Samurai) arrives in a town divided and fallen due to a bloody feud between two families. He decides to exploit the situation, even if it requires the equally bloody demise of both sides. One of the greatest commercial and artistic successes of an astonishing career, "Yojimbo" draws from Western, film-noir and Wyler's work and ends up informing not only the entire subsequent American cinema, but also giving birth to a story that inspired a multitude of remakes (famously Sergio Leone's "For a Fistful of Dollars") and imitations. Diabolical tone, epic sarcasm, supreme action choreography and monumental set-pieces, constitute to this day a cinematic syntax of sardonically polysemous cinema. 

photo credit ©1961 TOHO CO., LTD.

DIRECTOR: Akira Kurosawa
SCREENWRITERS: Ryūzō Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni
DoP: Kazuo Miyagawa
MUSIC: Masaru Sato
EDITOR: Akira Kurosawa
PRINCIPAL CAST: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, Atsushi Watanabe

AKIRA KUROSAWA
Japanese filmmaker, legend of world cinema. He was recognized more than any of his Asian counterparts and had an overall and profound influence on Western film culture. 30 films, a multi-award winning body of work (Oscar, Golden Lion, Golden Palm, among others), a legendary 16-film collaboration with Toshiro Mifune, a life and work that marked globally the artistry of the 20th century.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTED)
1990 Dreams 
1985 Ran 
1970 Dodes’ka-den 
1965 Red Beard 
1963 High and Low 
1961 Yojimbo 
1960 The Bad Sleep Well 
1958 The Hidden Fortress 
1957 Throne of Blood 
1954 Seven Samurai 
1952 Ikiru 
1951 The Idiot 
1950 Rashomon