It turns out that he was sleeping in the back room of the temple and overheard their discussion. Muroto sets up a trap which the young samurai are eager to rush into, but which Sanjuro keeps them out of. Visit. Kurosawa had wanted to make a film based on Shuguro Yamamoto’s story “Peaceful Days” before he made Yojimbo. to violence, he just knew that he had made an awesome effect, and he was right. As seen in the film, the slaps both surprised the actors and knocked them backwards. We regard the Chamberlain’s wife as soft and foolish, while her judgments and pronouncements prove to be spot on and right, again and again. Someone that could have been his friend and ally in different circumstances. In the original film, a rōnin arrives in a small town trapped between competing crime lords. After trying and failing to convince the younger man to change his mind, the Samurai … Or almost pure, as Sanjuro decides to take some responsibility for these young fools who might get themselves killed out of their own idealism. Kurusawa stages the entire sequence as one long shot, with The Samurai is just a bit faster, of course, and he slashes However, there’s no shame going out on a film as good and enjoyable as Sanjuro. I found this part of the plot to be tricky to follow, and I was definitely referring back to the wiki plot explanation often to make sure I was keeping up with what was going on. through trickery and deception rather than skill with a blade. And Muroto offers Sanjuro a place by his side. their entire careers around creating gorier and gorier effects. Sanjuro just happens to overhear them talking about the situation, and decides to help them out. Toshiro Mifune is playing the role Clint Eastwood played. Muroto recognizes a man of Sanjuro’s skill and can relate to him on a level that the idealistic samurai cannot. And, for once, Sanjuro has no response. It’s easy to imagine the continuing adventures of Toshiro Mifune in the role, but it would turn out to be the last pairing of Kurosawa and Mifune in a samurai adventure film. Muroto welcomes Sanjuro with open arms. In the final scene of the film, the young henchman Muroto Yojimbo (1961) vs Sanjuro (1962): Film Review Posted on June 3, 2011 by carolineguerin The cinematic impact of Akira Kurosawa ‘s Yojimbo can be seen most clearly in westerns such as Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy, where a nameless lone fighter comes to a lawless town and sets warring factions against each other. Sanjuro is generally a romp, and more often than not the Chamberlain’s wife is an object of humor, but unlike Yojimbo, there is a good side to this conflict and Kurosawa allows that side to express its ideals and even temper Sanjuro’s cynicism. Subsequent directors around the world based The famous final scene of his duel with Hanbei, the henchman of the corrupt superintendent, is poignant. Sanjuro. An ironic end to a film that often that celebrates Sanjuro’s skill with the sword. Topic on Reddit. 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. Kurosawa had used one version of the “wise fool” in Seven Samurai and here he presents another version. They want to thank Sanjuro, but he doesn’t want their thanks, rather a few coins so that he can feed himself. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Kurosawa isn’t really known for his broad humor, but here he goes all in with Mifune playing the part to the hilt. The ruse is, of course, discovered after the guards leave, but trickery rules the day as Sanjuro convinces the Superintendent and Kurofuji to dump a bunch of camellia flowers of a certain color into the stream as the signal to call off the raid. It doesn’t take long but the Superintendent’s men arrive and find a grumpy ronin, upset that his sleep has been disturbed, instead of a bunch of rebellious samurai. card classic compact. Harryhousen’s. 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. Like with Yojimbo my basis for comparison is again with Criterion’s original non-anamorphic DVD from 1999. 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. 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. the gaggle of young samurai watching in the background framed between the two To an extent, anyways. with the violence and killing he is forced to engage in purely due to the good thing. In the end the Samurai defeats the young henchman 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. fake blood spraying 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). Throughout the film he repeatedly spars with his opposite number, a in every action or horror film with nowhere near the same effect. directors in Italy, due in no small part to the ending of this shot. Even against his better judgment, he lets the prisoner they captured live at her insistence. across Muroto’s chest, creating a shocking fountain of blood as the young man The two men stare at each other for a long moment, appearing Samurai movies show a distinct Western influence. But, in the character of the Chamberlain’s wife, he allows the samurai ideals of honor tempered with mercy have their day. 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. Except for the fact that they both spot the young samurai spying on them. Kurosawa was never particularly enamored with Japan’s feudal past and he doesn’t hesitate at all to make fun of the young samurai and their dreams of glory. Ten samurai is clearly an unwieldy number. 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. Western that is no accident, Kurosawa was a big John Ford fan, and all of his Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Before departing for the road again, Sanjuro acknowledges that indeed the best swords remain sheathed and instructs the young samurai to remember that. He is constantly depicted as separate from the group, dirty and constantly scratching, as contrasted to carefully coiffed and clean samurai. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Tatsuya Nakadai was Mifune’s chief nemesis in Yojimbo, and obviously Kurosawa wanted to repeat that success. Continuing a playful mood, Kurosawa has the samurai hole up right next to the superintendent’s chief ally Kurofuji (Takashi Shimura), with the belief that the last place that their enemies will look is right under their own nose. The duel brings no joy to Sanjuro who acknowledges that he cut down someone just like himself. A foolish view, which is quickly pointed out as Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune) intrudes on the scene. reflection of the Samurai. The blood is shocking first of all because it’s there at A duel that Sanjuro thinks is foolish and unnecessary, but which Muroto insists on since Sanjuro abused his trust. The pairing of Kurosawa and Mifune was still strong as Kurosawa was preparing his next film. 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. Ironically, Kurosawa’s Sanjuro may not be a masterpiece, but it’s only really because Yojimbo got there first. relaxed except for the intensity in their eyes, until suddenly they both draw classics like, Nowhere were these dueling goals, crowd pleasing and failing to convince the younger man to change his mind, the Samurai agrees and In 1962, Akira Kurosawa was at the top of his game. Rather than the prolonged sword battle typical of the genre, the final duel plays out like a Western gun fight (in the style popularised by Sergio Leone later in the decade): a long, staring, near-motionless build, then a moment of cathartic violence, then a pause to allow what just happened to sink in. At this point, chance plays a role as Chidori and the Chamberlain’s wife discover a note in the stream which reveals that the Chamberlain is being held next door. Kurosawa Realizing that the Superintendent will act swiftly, they’re all immediately off to spirit the Chamberlain away. Muroto’s first act, after sending his troops elsewhere, is to offer Sanjuro a job. Chat with us here: https://discord.gg/ZSbP4ZC. The shared nature between the two men is obvious, and Muroto even reveals his own ambitions to manage the Superintendent so that he is the power behind the official and running to clan as he sees fit. Moruto is no sadist, but a pragmatic leader in his own right who recognizes a kindred spirit in Sanjuro. It’s a connection that Sanjuro might take advantage of in a different time. Sanjuro being the name of the character (obviously a pseudonym), he is a ronin that gets sucked in to a local coup. Yojimbo is the original "A Fist Full of Dollars". And when the time comes for the final duel with the bad guys’ head swordsman, Hanbei, it’s just one move-one cut, again like Kyuzo’s duel in “Seven Samurai”. Not taking no for an answer, Iiro reports that he turned to the Superintendent Kikui (Masao Shimizu) for help and after being surprised by the uncle’s reaction the Superintendent agreed to cooperate. The opening cine has you hooked, as Sanjuro single-handedly beats up about 15 men with his sword’s sheath. The film opens, somewhat surprisingly, without Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune) wandering into town. Which draws the attention of the leader in the field Hanbei Muroto (Tatsuya Nakadai),  Sanjuro’s opposite number and chief opponent in a battle of wits. Up to this point, That blood fountain became iconic almost immediately, and What follows are a series of feints and where Sanjuro starts to run out of fresh ideas. 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. The Chamberlain cuts them a little slack by telling a joke about his looks, but the lesson is communicated. What can go wrong with that plan? 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. It seems like a perfect plan, except that the description of the temple is off which puts Sanjuro in jeopardy as soon as he steps through the gates. Comment by John Hocking - December 30, 2020 7:18 pm. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. And, this time, Kurosawa comes up with a really great visual for selling Sanjuro’s story by leaving him to be discovered in a genuinely embarrassing condition. The final duel sums up Kurosawa’s visual style and strategy succinctly. 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. First, Kurosawa checks in with the Chamberlain who is revealed for the first time as he lightly lectures the young samurai for not trusting him and causing a lot of unnecessary death, including the ritual suicide of the Superintendent. Which isn’t to say that Sanjuro is a tragedy. Did you every watch the duel at the end of Sanjuro in slow motion? 90.5k members. Again it’s a contrast between the idealized world of these young samurai and Sanjuro’s pure pragmatism. 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. A lot can go wrong actually. Already the film establishes a “how are they going to get out of this one” sense of adventure. 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). He was exactly like me. confronts the Samurai at a dusty crossroads as he is trying to leave town. After trying and Their adventure opens with immediate comedic results. Katanas instead of guns, but basically the same. straight line from this shot to such diverse modern masterworks as He’s clearly the leader and the story is going to revolve around him. and disgraced, Muroto challenges the Samurai to a duel. The Criterion Collection is a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films on home video. Sanjuro may never get cut down out of foolish pride, but he’s clearly going to continue to wander in the wilderness. 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. In what may be the greatest samurai duel ever put to film, Kurosawa is able to have his cake and eat it, too. So, instead of trusting, Iiro and the hotheaded samurai decide to follow and spy on Sanjuro. the two square off for a fight to the death. Masterless Picture 8/10. 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. Quotes ... Sanjûrô Tsubaki : [before their final duel] Must we fight? Much of it is a long take with a carefully composed composition as we … To an audience in 1962 that blood fountain was shocking and novel The uncle took their evidence and told them to go home and mind their own business, essentially. bloodlessness), but today you have blood filled squibs popping off everywhere 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. The final duel sums up Kurosawa’s visual style and strategy succinctly. Not bad for essentially a lark in between major productions. Kurosawa frames the scene with Iiro in the center of the frame. But, if the plot isn’t rushing forward, Kurosawa makes sure to stress that Sanjuro is very much an outsider. The samurai race off and find Sanjuro and Hanbei about to duel. 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. The transfer is presented in 1080p/24hz. If it is, it’s the most enjoyable tragedy ever filmed. Product Identifiers Sanjuro’s plan, essentially a reprise of Yojimbo, spurs a fierce argument among the samurai. Product Identifiers The other young samurai aren’t really given much characterization other than the hothead of the group. This Criterion Collection contains Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film, “Yojimbo,” & its 1962 sequel, “Sanjuro,” both of which star Toshiro Mifune in the lead role as Kuwabatake Sanjuro. falls. Sanjuro is an amazing piece of cinematography. Sanjuro (1962) Toshirô Mifune: Sanjûrô Tsubaki, The Samurai. Most particularly, she sees right through Sanjuro’s character judging him to be like an exposed sword that cuts everything in his way (even when it isn’t necessary), while the best swords remain in their sheathes. With a few words, Sanjuro gets to the truth of the matter. r/loltyler1. But, rather, it’s a film that acknowledges that there’s really no place in society for someone like our favorite ronin. 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). Instead, we’re introduced to a gathering of young samurai in a temple. 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. In a bit of a repeat of Yojimbo, Sanjuro has hidden the young samurai under the floor boards of the temple. Audiences agreed as Sanjuro was yet another hit. The idea of flowers floating down a stream being a climax is a particularly Eastern and beautiful image which leads to a rousing, and surprisingly bloodless, ending of the Superintendent’s plot. r/criterion. card. Sanjuro is the sequel. 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 … Sanjuro´s interactions with the young naive samurai are hilarious and I also enjoy how sound effects are used for comedic effect. A friend, while in college, went to a showing of Yojimbo. It’s at this point that Sanjuro meets his moral opposite in the Chamberlain’s wife. In an irony, that’s the very same place that the superintendent is holding the chamberlain, with a wall, a little stream, and flowering camellia trees separating and connecting the two sides. 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. Muroto is so trusting that he’s ready to reveal all to Sanjuro. Samurai movies would go on to inspire a generation of Spaghetti Western Why wouldn’t Sanjuro turn them all in to save his own hide and probably get a reward? And it’s left to Sanjuro to take charge, which will define the remainder of the movie as he uses his head to get out of the tight spot. stupidity and thoughtlessness of others. 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 final scene of the film, the young henchman Muroto confronts the Samurai at a dusty crossroads as he is trying to leave town. He is so convincing that Hanbei (Tatsuya Nakadai) swallows his line and becomes the unwitting accomplice of … Hanbei Muroto is one step ahead of Sanjuro and the young samurai and they can’t even run a public relations campaign. His constant coming out of and retreating into the little closet the group has him “imprisoned” in is one of the great comic relief gags of Kurosawa’s career. With no real choice, the two expert swordsmen capture the two young samurai and throw them among guards. couldn’t have known that he was sending us down a road that ended in mass desensitization Showing all 28 items Jump to: Photos (10) Quotes (18) Photos . their swords. thoughtful art, more in harmony than in 1962’s. If this whole setup looks like a high noon scene from a Kurosawa, ultimately took over the job of directing the film, which he never intended during development of the script, while preproduction work was underway on High and Low. (and it still works, especially after viewing the entire film in all its You can draw a 97.2k members. 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. Posted on Jun 10, 2013 by Robert Reineke | 0 comments. Kurosawa almost always had a contemporary film lined up among his period films and he and Mifune would return to a crime thriller like their earliest outings. after that it wasn’t possible to release a Samurai movie without fountains of These events are necessary and fun, but they don’t really move the plot forward. A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent. all. It helps that Nakadai is playing a completely different character in looks and attitude. At least that’s the impression based on the setup. With Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô. 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 lead samurai, Iiro Izaka (Yozo Kayama), breathlessly reports on how his goal of reporting corruption in the clan was apparently hushed up by his uncle Mutsuta (Yunosuke Ito), the Chamberlain of the clan. Posts about Sanjuro. men, who are standing conspiratorially close as they discuss the duel. When Sanjûrô has to kill about a dozen of Kikui's men and then smacks three of the young samurai for forcing him to kill so many, Toshirô Mifune slapped the three young actors for real. Along the way the Samurai becomes more and more disillusioned Hanbei draws his sword, but the faster Sanjuro kills him. There is a good point to be made here about too much of a Communities. 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. A naked sword. Sanjuro compares all of them creeping around to a centipede. And the ronin wastes no time in letting his displeasure be known even as the most cursory of searches is performed. brilliant young henchman of the Superintendent who is in many ways a dark The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人, Kakushi toride no san akunin, literally, "The Three Villains of the Hidden Fortress") is a 1958 jidaigeki adventure film directed by Akira Kurosawa.It narrates the story of two peasants who agree to escort a man and a woman across enemy lines in return for gold without knowing that he is a general and the woman is a princess. 78 of 78 found this interesting Much of it is a long take with a carefully composed composition as we wait for the two samurai to spring into action. With When Sanjuro, walking into town, announces, “I want 3 coffins”, my friend immediately realized he was watching the Japanese version of A Fistful of Dollars. All that death is caused by a lack of trust. 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. A thanks was planned for Sanjuro as well, but he’s nowhere to be seen, which is something of a relief to the Chamberlain even as the young samurai rush out to find Sanjuro. A duel that Sanjuro thinks is foolish and unnecessary, but which Muroto insists on since Sanjuro abused his trust. The Superintendent even goes so far as to suggest Iiro should gather all his followers immediately, which brings us to present time and efficiently dispenses with most of the necessary exposition. Even their prisoner, in a great bit of comic relief, almost becomes part of their group under the influence of the Chamberlain’s wife. But, Sanjuro has already picked sides. 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. Masterless and disgraced, Muroto challenges the Samurai to a duel. Join. 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. Again it’s a reprise of Yojimbo, but a thrilling reprise nonetheless, as Sanjuro slaughters the guards in a tour de force action sequence. By all accounts the shoot was one of Kurosawa’s shortest and most fun. 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. Its story is one of adventure, and cunning smarts, as the old samurai Sanjuro leads 9 young heroes on a mission of saving a town from a dictator. Posts. Throughout the story, Sanjuro poses as a bad ronin who is after making a quick score. Which forces Sanjuro to act, against his efforts not to kill people wantonly, to free the two samurai when Muroto leaves to get additional guards due to the importance of their two prisoners. He didn't stay in his sheath. 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. The young samurai misjudge Sanjuro based on his appearance and mannerisms, and Kurosawa subverts the audience’s own judgment in the same way.