Sanjuro is a frustratingly conflicting film when compared to its predecessor. It eschews the ambiguity of right and wrong so giddily played up in Yojimbo for a more clear-cut, admirably heroic set of protagonists. It is a much smaller film, visually, than Yojimbo, yet compensates with a much more engrossing and approachable plot. Finally, instead of the grandiose Western sensibilities of Yojimbo, Sanjuro almost seems meant for the stage in the preciseness of its dialogue and sets.

Luckily, the pros negate the cons, and Sanjuro is just as entertaining as the film it succeeds (a rarity for such wildly different sequels). I found the humor much more apparent, especially in the first act, and the swordplay (not noticeably bad when…

Sanjuro is first and foremost a fun film. A comedy of errors about a group of nine naive samurai and their ineffective plans to dismantle corruption in the clan. Mifune is back as the Man with no Name, the rough, eccentric hero with an unsurpassed sense of honour and a strategic mind, who helps the band of fools outwit the enemy. It is fun to see both the enemy and the protagonist planning strategies to outsmart the other side. It reminded me of the drinking of the poison scene in Princess Bride: "a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I…

After seeing Yojimbo, I was extremely excited to sit back and enjoy the hell out of Sanjuro. Of course, it delivered an experience I hoped for, but in a way that differs from the experience offered by its thematic predecessor.

The wandering ronin returns. When nine young samurai gather to discuss the possibility of their chamberlain, Mutsuta, is corrupt, they seek aid against organized crime from the superintendent, who agrees to offer his assistance. However, Sanjuro reveals himself, having listened to their entire conversation, only to correctly hypothesize that the superintendent is the real corrupt official. The aimless samurai decides to help the ragtag group of young warriors cleanse the clan of corruption.

Right off the bat of his appearance,…

First a disclaimer to cover my ass if anything seems disjointed I wrote this as a two parter with Yojimbo so if it seems disjointed there ya go.

This movie is different from Yojimbo despite sharing the same main character. It's really almost just a comedy undercut with a few instances of shocking violence. Aside from the comedy the other big difference with this is that the supporting characters are less filled out. The Ronin has a crew of foolish young samurai but none of them are given a real characterization, the most is that one of them has a girlfriend. Actually they function more as one character with his own arc as opposed to nine individuals. The group grows…

There are five films in the Man Without a Name series. Of course, the first is Yojimbo, a Kurosawa attempt to make a western set in the Samurai era. And we have the famous Clint Eastwood/Sergio Leone trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. In my viewing, Sanjuro is the last of the set and the most different.

It is clear that A Fistful of Dollars is adapted from Yojimbo. For a Few Dollars more takes the character of the Man with No Name in a certain direction-- he has a sense of humor, but is certainly for sale. By the time that trilogy ends, his morality is determined…

After seeing Yojimbo, I was extremely excited to sit back and enjoy the hell out of Sanjuro. Of course, it delivered an experience I hoped for, but in a way that differs from the experience offered by its thematic predecessor.

The wandering ronin returns. When nine young samurai gather to discuss the possibility of their chamberlain, Mutsuta, is corrupt, they seek aid against organized crime from the superintendent, who agrees to offer his assistance. However, Sanjuro reveals himself, having listened to their entire conversation, only to correctly hypothesize that the superintendent is the real corrupt official. The aimless samurai decides to help the ragtag group of young warriors cleanse the clan of corruption.

Right off the bat of his appearance,…

"Aren't you tired of being stupid yet?"

I didn't quite enjoy this as much as Yojimbo, but it's still a very well made movie that combines the right amount of comedic and serious elements to create an entertaining watch.

Sanjuro Tsubaki (Mifune) takes upon the task of helping nine well intentioned but over-enthusiastic and reckless young Samurai rescue a chamberlain from a corrupt official. Mifune really carries the movie with his performance and his portrayal of Sanjuro is just as entertaining as it was in Yojimbo. Once again the display of supreme combat ability combined with intelligence and humour make him the complete package as a character.

The story is solid and moves along at a brisk pace, always keeping…

I don't want to spend this entire review comparing Sanjuro to it's more popular predecessor Yojimbo, so let me get this out of the way right up front: I preferred Sanjuro.

Sanjuro sees the return of Toshiro Mifune's character Sanjuro (of course) from Yojimbo, this time aiding a group of 9 bumbling samurais in rescuing the lord chamberlain from the corrupt superintendent. From the opening scene in which the samurai lay out the premise for the audience, I began to feel just as confused as I was by parts of Yojimbo. Names of characters who I'd yet to see were being thrown around by a large group of characters, none of whom I was familiar with yet (and many of…

First a disclaimer to cover my ass if anything seems disjointed I wrote this as a two parter with Yojimbo so if it seems disjointed there ya go.

This movie is different from Yojimbo despite sharing the same main character. It's really almost just a comedy undercut with a few instances of shocking violence. Aside from the comedy the other big difference with this is that the supporting characters are less filled out. The Ronin has a crew of foolish young samurai but none of them are given a real characterization, the most is that one of them has a girlfriend. Actually they function more as one character with his own arc as opposed to nine individuals. The group grows…