Chris Rivers

Professor Sheehan

RTVF 272

5/18/13

Yojimbo

Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 offering Yojimbo (The Bodyguard) , is a definite change of pace from his other samurai based epics. It stars Kurosawa staple Toshiro Mifune as Sanjuro, a wandering swordsman for hire who comes upon a small village dominated by two warring factions. Sanjuro is your perfect anti-hero, he does all the right things but in the wrong ways or for the wrong reasons, inspiring many later hero characters. Kurosawa’s love for fellow director John Ford’s films is highly evident in the very American western, John Wayne feel it has, despite its’ rural Japanese setting. The more American musical score also helped to mold the feeling of the film, as it differed from the standard traditional Japanese music used in most of the other films from Japan at the time. Yojimbo is also notable due to its’ English adaptation by Sergio Leone, A Fistful of Dollars which spawned actor Clint Eastwood’s film career his position as the anit-hero, The Man With No Name trilogy and the genre of the Spaghetti Western. Another obvious influence of this film can be seen in Quentin Tarantino with the unique style of dialog, Japanese and western fusion, and sword and bullet wounds that yield huge amounts of spurting blood. The film begins with Sanjuro walking into a desolate town where he is approached by several of the townspeople. He enters a restaurant owned by an elderly gentleman who explains to him the dynamic of the village and how the state of the town came to be. The town has two self-proclaimed mayors, and two rival gangs that control all comings and goings. Sanjuro, despite the old man’s pleadings for him to leave the town, decides to stay and resolve the situation. The next scene is one we saw in class, recreated in A Fistful of Dollars. Sanjuro exits the restaurant and remarks to the undertaker to get coffins ready as he passes. He then approaches the men of Ushitora’s gang who had earlier insulted him as he first entered the village. In a level of cool I had previously only thought Eastwood of conveying Sanjuro remarks on how the men have cute faces and that they are fake warriors bragging about their supposed past misdeeds all the while chewing on a stick that would later become Eastwood’s signature cigar. Upon Sanjuro’s challenge the three men in front make a move to attack him but are instantly cut down by Sanjuro’s blade. The other members of the gang retreat in fear, and Sanjuro leaves to seek payment and employment with Ushitora’s rival, Seibe. Seibe is desperate for Sanjuro’s help and reluctantly agrees to his hefty price. Sanjuro however, overhears Seibe and his wife plotting to kill him to get their money back after they have vanquished Ushitora. Upon the next day’s high noon battle in the street Sanjuro reveals that he knows of their plan and leaves them to fight Ushitora without him. He then climbs and sits on the bell tower so as to watch the forthcoming fight, in what is an amazing low angle shot that captures both gangs on either side ready to engage with Sanjuro smiling in the tower between them. The battle is stopped before it begins however as it is announced that an inspector is on his way. During the inspector’s stay both gangs court Sanjuro for his services and he uses this as a tool to pit them against each other. Sanjuro promises himself to Ushitora’s gang in order to gain access to the woman the captured and are holding. He kills the guards holding her and sets her free to escape with her family, framing the whole thing on Seibe and his gang. The rivals destroy each other’s businesses in retaliation but Sanjuro is soon discovered as the true perpetrator and is held captive and beaten by Ushitora. During his interrogation on the whereabouts of the woman he freed Sanjuro is thrown around the room which breaks a lock, allowing him to escape. After his escape from Ushitora, Sanjuro is smuggled out of the village by the old man to a small hut so that he may heal his wounds. Soon after, the old man is captured whilst trying to bring food and medicine for him. Upon hearing this Sanjuro makes out for the village to rescue the old man in a final showdown. Sanjuro appears at the end of the street in classic old west showdown fashion. In a surprisingly more modern style choreographed fight scene Sanjuro dispatches the entire gang with a series of spinning slashes, stabs and one throwing knife for an unlucky member. In a severely western feel to the end of the film, Sanjuro leaves as the flawed hero of the people, rescuing them from tyranny.