Ronin samurai Sanjûrô Tsubaki takes command of a group of noble, idealistic young men determined to rid their town of political corruption, and they set off to free Sanjûrô’s uncle from the clutches of a shady superintendent.
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This trip to feudal Japan has some amazing photography gems. Most definitely japanese eye candy with wasabi spice: it begins slowly then it burns because Kurosawa knows how to prolong its climax: he passes slowly by these sets. With oriental pace, Sanjuro is a very immersive black and white ticket to samurai cinema study.
I suppose I am alone in actually preferring this over Yojimbo. I view this in the same way as I view Hitchcock's North by Northwest. Neither films are either directors most complex, but they are made with such modest mastery and with perfect blend of action and comedy that I can't help but thoroughly enjoy them. Unlike Yojimbo, it also doesn't falter near the last act, and instead ends in a oddly melancholic way.
Disappointing. It lacks the narrative power and little touches that made Yojimbo such a great film. Kurosawa just drops us in the middle of a half-baked plotline. The visuals are naturally amazing, and Mifune is super once more as Sanjuro. But it's probably the weakest Kurosawa film I've seen so far.
Aside from it being an extremely well crafted film (as all of Kurosawa's films are), this one didn't do it for me as much as other have; primarily because it slightly pales in comparison to its predecessor: Yojimbo. Still a great and entertaining movie that has an extremely memorable ending.
A sequel of the great Yojimbo. Sanjuro has some improvements from the previous one. This movie has a lot of action sequences, thrilling moments, and epic final battle. Still, I feel that Yojimbo's plot is much better than this movie. It doesn't mean Sanjuro's plot is bad. It just - not too "whoa" for me. But it's still a good movie from Mr. Akira Kurosawa...
"The best sword is kept in its sheath"
I'm slowly making my way through Akira Kurosawa's filmography. I have of course heard of him, but I've only scene a handful of his films. That being said I loved Sanjuro! This is a worthy successor to Yojimbo in almost every aspect. It was great seeing Toshiro Mifune back in this iconic role. The final duel is amazing! I'm having a hard time describing how much I loved Sanjuro