Kurosawa had used one version of the “wise fool” in Seven Samurai and here he presents another version. Samurai movies show a distinct Western influence. If Sanjuro was merely a fun romp, Kurosawa could have ended the movie right there, but even the lightest Kurosawa movies have some message attached. But, in the character of the Chamberlain’s wife, he allows the samurai ideals of honor tempered with mercy have their day. Sanjuro is reluctant to fight and tries to dissuade Hanbei, but Hanbei is furious at his loss of dignity and declares he can only find ease by killing Sanjuro. With Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô. A naked sword. men, who are standing conspiratorially close as they discuss the duel. The duel brings no joy to Sanjuro who acknowledges that he cut down someone just like himself. 90.5k members. failing to convince the younger man to change his mind, the Samurai agrees and Posts about Sanjuro. good thing. Instead, we’re introduced to a gathering of young samurai in a temple. Posts. all. Sanjuro is an amazing piece of cinematography. Kurusawa stages the entire sequence as one long shot, with Harryhousen’s. With the massive success of Yojimbo, the screenplay adaptation of “Peaceful Days” was reworked to be Sanjuro, the continuing adventures of Toshiro Mifune’s wandering ronin. Masterless The Samurai is just a bit faster, of course, and he slashes It’s a connection that Sanjuro might take advantage of in a different time. Sanjuro just happens to overhear them talking about the situation, and decides to help them out. Much of it is a long take with a carefully composed composition as we … In this film, almost all the samurai apart from Sanjuro himself and Muroto are either bureaucrats or warriors in name only; in the scene where Sanjuro kills the guards to free his four captured comrades, almost none of them put up a decent fight, with the guards being … card. If it is, it’s the most enjoyable tragedy ever filmed. Communities. All that death is caused by a lack of trust. falls. confronts the Samurai at a dusty crossroads as he is trying to leave town. With a few words, Sanjuro gets to the truth of the matter. (and it still works, especially after viewing the entire film in all its He didn't stay in his sheath. with the violence and killing he is forced to engage in purely due to the Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Kurosawa, In Order #29 – Rhapsody in August, All Hallow’s Lee: To the Devil a Daughter, Still Watching the Skies: Episode 56 “The Andromeda Strain”. The action is sudden, and violent with an impressive gush of blood as Muroto is dispatched, with a quick montage of reaction shots from all the spectators. As they poke their heads out, it’s an image that George Lucas would re-appropriate for Star Wars and the smugglers compartments of the Millennium Falcon. Ironically, Kurosawa’s They want to thank Sanjuro, but he doesn’t want their thanks, rather a few coins so that he can feed himself. That embarrassment saves Sanjuro’s cover, but a failure that spectacular can’t be ignored as Sanjuro’s plan to infiltrate the Superintendent’s group comes to a premature and futile end which accomplished nothing but the unnecessary deaths of some guards. But, it’s clear that they’re all a bunch of idealists that believe wholeheartedly in making a difference and have a romantic view of the samurai life. Sanjuro´s interactions with the young naive samurai are hilarious and I also enjoy how sound effects are used for comedic effect. Audiences agreed as Sanjuro was yet another hit. Quotes ... Sanjûrô Tsubaki : [before their final duel] Must we fight? Feel free to insert your own Human Centipede joke here, who knows, Sanjuro might actually have been an inspiration considering there’s a Japanese part in Tom Six’s film. Except for the fact that they both spot the young samurai spying on them. brilliant young henchman of the Superintendent who is in many ways a dark Sanjuro’s plan, essentially a reprise of Yojimbo, spurs a fierce argument among the samurai. Muroto is so trusting that he’s ready to reveal all to Sanjuro. Featuring an excellent supporting cast and typically brilliant photography, the film is engaging from the bold opening scene to the tense, bloody final duel between Muroto and Sanjuro. Chat with us here: https://discord.gg/ZSbP4ZC. Before departing for the road again, Sanjuro acknowledges that indeed the best swords remain sheathed and instructs the young samurai to remember that. Product Identifiers Which isn’t to say that Sanjuro is a tragedy. Even their prisoner, in a great bit of comic relief, almost becomes part of their group under the influence of the Chamberlain’s wife. Sanjuro compares all of them creeping around to a centipede. The film opens, somewhat surprisingly, without Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune) wandering into town. Yojimbo is the original "A Fist Full of Dollars". Moruto is no sadist, but a pragmatic leader in his own right who recognizes a kindred spirit in Sanjuro. Sanjuro being the name of the character (obviously a pseudonym), he is a ronin that gets sucked in to a local coup. the gaggle of young samurai watching in the background framed between the two In the end the Samurai defeats the young henchman Western that is no accident, Kurosawa was a big John Ford fan, and all of his Kurosawa isn’t really known for his broad humor, but here he goes all in with Mifune playing the part to the hilt. relaxed except for the intensity in their eyes, until suddenly they both draw Featuring an excellent supporting cast and typically brilliant photography, the film is engaging from the bold opening scene to the tense, bloody final duel between Muroto and Sanjuro. their entire careers around creating gorier and gorier effects. bloodlessness), but today you have blood filled squibs popping off everywhere I’ll have to warn the potential viewers about the bloody final duel which occurs between Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai, who just like in Yojimbo reprises the role of the main villain (this time much less flamboyant and without a firearm). However, there’s no shame going out on a film as good and enjoyable as Sanjuro. Like with Yojimbo my basis for comparison is again with Criterion’s original non-anamorphic DVD from 1999. It would turn out to be another triumph, featuring one of Mifune’s best performances, and turn out to be one of Kurosawa’s most accessible films. In the original film, a rōnin arrives in a small town trapped between competing crime lords. By all accounts the shoot was one of Kurosawa’s shortest and most fun. Since they have no way of knowing where the Chamberlain is, Sanjuro takes charge sending many of the samurai off to spy on the houses of the Superintendent and his confederates while he plots the rescue of the Chamberlain’s wife (Takakao Irie) and Iiro’s love interest, Chidori (Reiko Dan). What can go wrong with that plan? The opening cine has you hooked, as Sanjuro single-handedly beats up about 15 men with his sword’s sheath. With no real choice, the two expert swordsmen capture the two young samurai and throw them among guards. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Sanjuro is both attracted to the idea of being part of society again and repelled by it, although he does try to follow the Chamberlain’s wife edict that he should restrict his killing. Kurosawa doesn’t let the ideas bog down the story, as there’s still an escape to be made with the two ladies, with Sanjuro offering himself as a footstool for the older lady. Some brainstorming and the group concocts a plan where Sanjuro will report that he discovered the young samurai at a temple out of town, and when the guards leave to investigate, they’ll swoop in and rescue the Chamberlain after getting the signal of a bunch of camellia flowers dumped in the stream. For this reason, Sanjuro is a more straightforward action-adventure than its cunning predecessor, yet this accessible sequel is equally entertaining every step of the way. Why wouldn’t Sanjuro turn them all in to save his own hide and probably get a reward? through trickery and deception rather than skill with a blade. That conflict all comes boiling to the surface when Sanjuro announces to the group that he’s going to “accept” Hanbei Muroto’s job offer and spy on what the Superintendent is up to. Sanjuro. Not bad for essentially a lark in between major productions. in every action or horror film with nowhere near the same effect. Muroto welcomes Sanjuro with open arms. And, in a burst of action, Sanjuro kills two of the guards, while the remaining samurai capture one for questioning, and have spirited the women to the local barn. straight line from this shot to such diverse modern masterworks as Picture 8/10. Hanbei draws his sword, but the faster Sanjuro kills him. Along with their release of Yojimbo Criterion presents Akira Kurosawa’s sequel Sanjuro in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this dual-layer Blu-ray disc. Ten samurai is clearly an unwieldy number. With Did you every watch the duel at the end of Sanjuro in slow motion? Toshiro Mifune is playing the role Clint Eastwood played. Already the film establishes a “how are they going to get out of this one” sense of adventure. The Criterion Collection is a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films on home video. The two men stare at each other for a long moment, appearing Sanjuro is quick, but the Superintendent is wasting no time either and a glance out the window concludes that all escape routes have been blocked. Even against his better judgment, he lets the prisoner they captured live at her insistence. Topic on Reddit. The pairing of Kurosawa and Mifune was still strong as Kurosawa was preparing his next film. And it doesn’t take long for the samurai to find Sanjuro on the road out of town as he and Muroto prepare to square off in a duel. Featuring an excellent supporting cast and typically brilliant photography, the film is engaging from the bold opening scene to the tense, bloody final duel between Muroto and Sanjuro. And the exaggerated final duel (that blood fountain) is a great satire on the unrealistic portrayal of duels in samurai films, while also being incredibly cool in its own right (samurai films are popular for a reason). Muroto recognizes a man of Sanjuro’s skill and can relate to him on a level that the idealistic samurai cannot. You can draw a He asks if the uncle is ugly and when told the response is yes, quickly surmises that the young samurai have been lured into a trap and the Superintendent is the corrupt force. Along the way the Samurai becomes more and more disillusioned What’s even better is that while Sanjuro isn’t likely to be called one of Kurosawa’s major works, it’s still an accomplished, highly entertaining film with a clear message. card classic compact. Comment by John Hocking - December 30, 2020 7:18 pm. Again, the Superintendent and Hanbei Muroto are ahead of them as they arrive at the Chamberlain’s house in time to discover that the Superintendent’s troops are already there. Their adventure opens with immediate comedic results. In the final scene of the film, the young henchman Muroto The Chamberlain cuts them a little slack by telling a joke about his looks, but the lesson is communicated. thoughtful art, more in harmony than in 1962’s. The final duel sums up Kurosawa’s visual style and strategy succinctly. Throughout the story, Sanjuro poses as a bad ronin who is after making a quick score. Although she’s played for comedy, she’s just as naïve as the young samurai and totally unused to any physical exertion, she also embodies feudal nobility and ideals in a very real way. Take with a blade impression based on Shuguro Yamamoto ’ s in college, went to a of... ) Toshirô Mifune: Sanjûrô Tsubaki: [ before their final duel up. 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