SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

classicsoncall I watched "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro" back to back and couldn't help feeling I liked the follow up sequel just a bit better, even though the earlier film is the one that's much higher regarded and better known. Toshiro Mifune reprises the title character, but we learn in this story that he never really lets anyone know his real name or identity. In "Yojimbo", he called himself 'Kuwabatake', the mulberry, whereas here, contemplating a camellia bush, he refers to himself as Sanjuro Tsubaki, the camellia. In each picture he made a joke about being 'Sanjuro', sanju the word for 'thirty', acknowledging that his age was 'closer to forty'.Though I found this picture entertaining enough, it's hard to take any of the things going on very seriously. It's almost as if the story is a caricature of samurai life. It's pretty ridiculous actually, that a hundred guys with swords couldn't have put an end to Sanjuro the first time Superintendent Kikui's clan came calling on chamberlain Mutsuta's followers. Sanjuro takes out a handful and there's no repercussion for killing them! In what reality does something like that happen?Similarly, I got a kick out of the scene in the latter part of the story when Mutsuta's clan was waiting for that signal from Sanjuro when he went over to the Kikui place. For starters, when the guards from Kikui's hideout looked through the hedge, the Mutsuta location was there - right next door! And then, attempting to have the guards inadvertently send the warning signal to attack, Sanjuro stated that if the white camellias show up in the stream, the opposing clan was supposed to attack, but if they received no signal at all, they would take it as a sign that Sanjuro was in trouble, and they should attack as well! Fortunately, no one bothered with the red canellias.But I'll tell you what, that final showdown between Sanjuro and Muroto (Tatsuya Nakadai) was one for the ages. I actually had to run that segment of Mifune retrieving his sword in slow motion to see how he did it because it occurs so fast in real time that it looks fake. And if one doubts that a comic element supersedes in this picture, one need only contemplate the fire hydrant gushing of blood that emitted from Muroto. I think I might have matched the nine members of the Mutsuta clan in wide eyed astonishment.

SnoopyStyle This is the sequel to 'Yojimbo'. Toshirô Mifune returns as the wandering ronin Sanjûrô Tsubaki. He encounters nine naive samurai who wants to confront corruption. One of the samurai had confronted his uncle the lord with the accusations. The response was dissatisfying so he tells the superintendent. The superintendent tells the nephew to gather his men. The ronin immediately smells a trap, and the corrupt superintendent launches a raid on the group. Only the ronin's smarts saves the group. Now the uncle and his family are taken prisoner and the ronin endeavors to rescue them with the help of the nine naive samurai. Only the clueless nine are sometimes more problematic with their distrust of the often napping ronin.This is a funnier movie than Yojimbo. Sanjuro does battle more with his brains than with his sword. The best swords are kept in their sheaths. However there is that great scene of drawing of the swords at the end. The guy imprisoned in the closet has a good funny scene. It's a very good sequel to Yojimbo with a funnier tone.

Kong Ho Meng Sanjuro, which is also in a way a sequel to Yojimbo, is quite different from his usual films because not only it packs exciting comedy but it has more intelligence than what you would expect from a classic B&W film. This is because Sanjuro is basically a cat-and-mouse mindgame.Unlike Yojimbo where only the main character controls the chessboard and the rest just followed like robots to the sequence of events, Sanjuro allows the main players (friend or foe) space to control the game and outwit each other. The funny moments were golden, especially the Lady, the confused guard who was locked and the scene with the flowers. Best of all, the greatest gem is the battle sequence between 2 master samurai right at the end. I actually came to like this more than Yojimbo because it seems to be an enhanced version in certain respects.

morrison-dylan-fan At around the start of 2011,I did a small list of the top 3 directors whose films I wanted to take a good look at during the year.And whilst I got round to seeing some of the fantastic work from two of the directors (Alfred Hitchcock and Dario Argento),the third member of the group,Akira Kurosawa sadly got left behind at the "directors bar",due to me spending most of the year on a "Giallo treasure hunt".As 2011 started to fade from view,I decided that my New Years Revalution would be to finally pick up Akiria from the wilderness,and at last begin to look at the directors work.To my complete surprise,one of the four DVDs that I kindly received as X-Mas gifts was the Kurosawa film Sanjuro,and with the movie being one of Akira's shortest films,I felt that this would probably be the best intro for me to take my first glimpse at Kurosawa's dreams...The plot:Shortly after drinking a little too much sake,a young group of samurai's begin to discuss a growing fear that they have all been having ,over the uncle of the gangs leader (Iori Izaka) possibly betraying them all and going over to a gang filled with an "older" generation of Samurai,which this young group has recently splintered from,due to each of them feeling that the older group of samurai's were starting to become deeply corrupt.Talking to the rest of them,leader Izaka announces that since having spoken to the by-partisan superintend Kikui ,he has reached the conclusion that since his uncle has shown no signs of disapproval against the other group,he strongly feels that his uncle has turned against them,and that he may be acting as a spy for the other gang. As all of the group prepare to meet the superintend for advice over what they should do about the "betraying" uncle,a world-wary samurai suddenly appears from out of the shadows.Disgusted by his cheap looking clothes and the aggressive manner that the mysterious samurai shows towards them.the group initially treat the stranger as untrustworthy,until he begins telling them that they should maybe not treat Kikui as someone who has the gang (and their uncles) best interest at heart…View on the film:The first thing about this wonderful film,which I feel deserves a huge amount of praise is the performance of Toshiro Mifune as Sanjuro Tasubaki.Almost from the first moment that Mifune enters the film,director Akira Kurosawa makes him the main image that keeps the audience completely transfixed,as Toshiro brilliantly shows Sanjuro Tasubaki to be a rugged man who has lived through many battles,yet still has the sly fox-like wit and intelligence's that helps him to leave gangs of more "respected" samurai's completely dumbfounded.Whilst Mifune does take centre stage in the film,the performances from the rest of the cast are defiantly ones that should not be over looked,with the under rated Yuzo Kayama giving a very good performance as the young samurai's leader Lori Izaka,who mixes the character's pompous,pedestal- dreaming leadership side,with a terrific dry (unknowing) comedy side, that makes the films unexpected comedic moments a true joy to watch.With having been given the impression from articles that I have read in the past about Kurosawa films being very stern and serious, I was shocked to find that for the screenplay to this film (co-written,with Ryuzo Kikushima and Hideo Oguni) which is based on the novel Peaceful Days by Yamamoto Shugoro,Akira allows himself to show a very endearing fun side,by having the screenplay's "message" of not judging people on their age and appearance being delivered,not with a sledgehammer,but with a thoughtful,measured touch,that really makes the films story resonate with the viewer long after the end credits.Whilst the film's screenplay is not the most complex ever written,Kurosawa's brilliant,cleverly constructed directing makes the film an extremely entrancing watch.In the first half of the film,Akira uses the frame to show a separation that the young samurai group have with this "outsider" over his appearance,by using the widescreen format in the best way possible with a "separation" shown between Sanjuro and the group,with Sanjuro being kept at the front of the frame,and the young gang being kept in the foreground as one solid group.Along with showing the relationship between the different generations,Kurosawa also executes the films wonderful visual comedy moments with a unexpected comedy pro touch.Looking at one of the most eye-catching moments in the film,Kurosawa smartly uses the image of a centipede to show a comedy side of everyone sticking together and not having what a clue to do,whilst also using it for the films more serious side,by using the image to show the young samurai's gradually leaving their prejudices against Sanjuro behind,as he becomes the front of the centipede and the only thing which is keeping this bickering "centipede" together.