Yojimbo: Cinema's Greatest Protagonist
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2020
- This video is about, Akira Kurosawa's famous movie, Yojimbo and how it created a protagonist, that would go on to appear in many more films throughout history.
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Music: From the Motion Picture
Titles (Yojimbo)
• Titles (Yojimbo)
Unpleasant Reception
• Unpleasant Reception
Sanjuro Heads for Trouble
• Sanjuro Heads for Trouble
Big Trouble
• Big Trouble
Sources:
www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/...
www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/...
www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/...
www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/...
www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/...
www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/...
www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/...
www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/...
Yojimbo Criterion Collection Commentary on Blu Ray.
• Yojimbo - Renegade Cut
• Yojimbo -- What Makes ... - Krátké a kreslené filmy
Great great movie. Toshiro Mifune defined modern masculinity in that film, strutting, cunning, empathetic, multi layered
4:13 Do you really think a director as precise and controlling as Akira Kurosawa is going to _wait_ for the weather to change to what he wants?
No. The wind blows because Kurosawa wants it to blow, and it rained when Kurosawa wanted it to rain. It's all controlled and made exactly how Akira Kurosawa wanted it.
he once had a river made to flow the other way simply because it looked better
Me and my dad used to have movie thursdays where he would play various movies, mostly historical. At less than 10 years old, I saw that dog with a cut off hand, and felt genuinely shook. My dad may not have been a good father at the end of the day, but I gotta thank him for showing me some damn good movies.
Yojimbo is one of those films i can watch whenever.
I like when someone truly appreciates true art and great cinema.
I believe the inspiration for _Yojimbo_ was Dashiell Hammett's novel, _Red Harvest._
I had the great pleasure of meeting Toshiro Mifune once, when he gave a talk at Stanford.
Great Video!
Thank you, sir!!
Weebs won't appreciate this kind of art
It's a shame.
I love yoooooojimbo! 🤣
They need to put stuff like this on Netflix replace the garbage B Grade propaganda crap!
@@StikiFing4z haha than Netflix would actually be worth getting.
I do. I wouldn't call myself a weeb, but I do love specific anime. Sanjurō is one of my favorite characters in fiction.
Toshiro Mifune
What a legend
One of the greatest actors of all time & One of my all time favorite Japanese actors
The amount of complexity given to a very simple character like Sanjuro is honestly insane. To see where his morality goes throughout the film was the easy highlight of the film for me. As well as seeing the great Toshiro Mifune wield a sword. It’s ultimately one of those glimpses at morality that’s so simple yet so complex in its execution. A very simple yet complex film.
3:25 - Carries a gun, showing cowardice-- Unosuke is one of the few characters in Yojimbo that I think wasn't a coward at all. During the final confrontation, despite being just about the first to be cut down, he's shown to be the only one who doesn't flinch or run from the samurai's sword.
In terms of weapon choices (aside from the coolness of "what if we give our main antagonist a cool exotic weapon that the protagonist has to face") I think Yojimbo's sword symbolizes raw strength and honest power. In that setting just about everyone has a sword, duels and fights are common place..but Yojimbo is clearly just better at fighting on an even playing field. His techniques are tried and true, and he's put effort into doing something well with a traditional weapon.
Unosuke, to me, is almost like the next generation of the Yojimbo character: he's not afraid to kill, he's barely afraid of being killed himself, he's cold and calculating and rarely lets emotions get the better of him, and because of that he's the one who nearly gets Yojimbo killed. His main pitfall isn't that he's a coward, but more that he picked up a cool weapon that he's not fully trained with while he was away in foreign lands..and when put up against someone who's confident and competent like Yojimbo having a "cool exotic weapon" just isn't enough to win.
It's clear that as soon as Unosuke shows up in the movie the balance of power immediately shifts. Despite Yojimbo's attempts to keep chaos thriving, a clear-headed straight shooter like Unosuke ends the entire war in a matter of days and immediately seizes the opportunity to get rid of the rival gang's entire family.
The gun: This isn't the only Kurosawa movie that has an out-of-place weapon. I mean "what's a western revolver doing in a samurai movie?". IDK, maybe cowardice was part of the reason the gun is in there, but my impression was that it indicated that this guy was worldly, or trying to look it. Guns were extremely rare in those days, and they're extremely rare in samurai movies, too lol. That guy was a rich punk, in over his head, carrying a gun to look big.
@@shaggybreeks Alternately, it shows his break with tradition. He embraces the new.
I love Toshiro Mifune!
Toshiro mifune..legend actor
My favorite actor of all time.
Very enjoyable essay, I can't say I agree with every single thing you said but I like the way you say it. I'm a recent subscriber to your Channel, please keep up the great work! Cheers
Thanks for watching!
Ironically, all the “badass characters” shown in this vid were all just trying to imitate Toshiro Mifune :)
Great vid man!
I'm starting to REALLY love this channel more and more! I just discovered it a couple of days ago, and haven't seen but a couple of videos from it, but I think I'm about to binge watch the hell out of this channel! 😂👍
Thank you! That means alot! Let me know which videos of mine you'd like to see more of.
@@bushidoblues9302 Yes sir!, I'll definitely do that... Thanks for the great content too man! It's really entertaining to me, to learn all about the different "eastern westerns" of that golden era, and learning about how they actually affected cinema all the way into Italy and America too (i.e. "The Magnificent Seven", "A Fist Full Of Dollars" etc...). Just to think, that some of the spaghetti westerns that I grew up on, were influenced by a whole nother culture, thousands of miles away! It truly IS a testament to the value and the authenticity of the art that Kurosawa (and Mifune) were capable of. They were really what I'D call, "the genuine article". 👍
Your voice is so good, calming, manly, woohoo
Haha thank you!
Thanks, the artist..
Dude why the fuck is your production quality so great this early in your channel??? holy shit nice job. remember me when your at 50k-100k subs.
Thanks my friend, that means a lot. I plan to keep improving the quality of my vids. I'll no doubt give you a shout out if it ever becomes that big haha.
There's one line you said that really stood out to me at about the 3 minute mark about the energetic or reckless youth vs a mature male.
It reminds me of the song Subdivisions by Rush.
Theres a lyric in it that's similar to what you said here. "But the suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth." I might be paraphrasing there as for whatever reason I'm blanking a bit on the lyric and dont have the lyrics handy as I write this.
But theres a Tension, an Internal Conflict at hand in that song that just popped into my head hearing that line...and the music started in my imagination.
Well here's a Dumb idea I'd thought I'd share here as you might find it fun and give you a smile.
A tribute video to your favorite characters set to Subdivisions.
So Just for Poops and Giggles, grab your headphones, key up the song in one window and a in another a video with random clips of your fav films and scenes, and just watch that while listening to the song.
Each clip tonally matches the beat and pace of the song which slowly builds up to a crescendo, earning those Solos and the amazing drums and lyrics....then Just for fun imagine your own tribute video set to that song.
Action for the choruses, character vingenettes and shots borrowed to go along with the music.
Of Course the Lyrics as a whole don't apply at all to the genre...but they Apply in the same Functional way as Yojimbo here deals with his own internal conflicts. After that it's the Music that kinda helps shape how you'd structure the clips, leaving the biggest best fight for the final chorus after the breakdown and Solos.
An Excellent example of what I'm getting at here, which is one you may have seen, but just in case you haven't, it's the Teaser Trailer for the first season of the Netflix PUNISHER series. That trailer was set to ONE by METALLICA. It's not the full song of course because One is a long song, like 5.5 to 6 minutes long, too long for a trailer.
But take the same guy with access to all those episodes and I'm certain he could easily make an Amazing video to run the full length of it.
Subdivisions wouldn't work in the same fashion for a trailer...but it Totally Does for a full length tribute video.
It does because the Music itself cant be clipped out with Losing something as it Needs the Start Middle and Finish for the Full experience of it. The Sound Tells the Visual Clip Story you'd be telling, which is a Showcase of your favorite Rolemodels of the genre, each chorus upping the ante and skill demonstrated, saving the combat skills for the choruses and the skills and Character inspection for the rest of the building lyrics.
You already do this quite well in the handful of your videos I've just recently come across.
Using the appropriate clips to show exactly what you're talking about, really this would be a bit of a no brainer for you as you're already quite good at it.
I'd do it myself but I know Nothing about editing. Well yet anyways and having no experience I'd defeat myself taking on that job.
But you are experienced and skilled at it....so if anything the Idea might be worth consider as suggested, cue up the song, headphones and give it a closed eyes trip down imagination lane and see what pops into your head with this in mind.
I guarantee you that you will Grin and enjoy the song at the very least.
Cheers bub.
Now back to your video!
This is my favorite film. It also was one of the inspirations for my favorite comic, Usagi Yojimbo. I really wish the Seven Samurai had also been filmed in widesceen, this film has aged so well. Excellent video essay!
Thank you! I'll have to check out that comic!
@@bushidoblues9302 I can't recommend it enough, it's really something special. Stan Sakai is a samurai himself, he's been writing and drawing it for decades! Thanks again
I love the way Sanjuro always looks unkept. His hair is flying everywhere and he needs a shave. Signifying that he’s uncontrollable.
I've been binge watching your videos. These are a great find. I'm glad I did. I've never watched a movie this way before, how do you do it?
Get used to what? An old black and white movie in subtitles? You get used to it. The subtitles and old feeling make you feel more immersed and you forget your watching something.
@@bushidoblues9302 I don't mind b/w movies instead like love it. I'm just curious.
My mum was eight months pregnant and my dad took her to see this at the movies .
My father did kendo .
I love this movie ,this man is the ultimate emperor I would have 😉
Mifune was in reality a sensitive guy. His confrontation with Kurosawa at the Moscow Film Festival years later (after they were no longer talking) says volumes. Mifune, trying to break the ice, made a comment about the snow that was falling outside; but Kurosawa - still angry - said "of course it's snowing". Mifune, to his credit, didn't react. He seemed to be the more emotionally intelligent of the two. Mifune understood as an actor, and as a human being, what was required for each situation. His portrayals of male characters in Kurosawa movies was the perfect expression of the male ID, as well as the ideal of that expression. He was a great actor, regardless of the criticisms of him being a one-note actor. He was always honest. With that said, when you watch Mifune swing a sword in Yojimbo - as at 04:37 - it's hard not to be freaked out by that level of physicality. In Sanjuro, he flips a spearman who is attacking him and then cuts him before he hits the ground. Mifune played the ultimate alpha predator in these films.
toshiro mifuni rip🙏
Kurosawa is just amazing. This movie was stunning with so many incredible shots.
I'm always a sucker for those Ozu style tatami shots. The shot with the old guy hanging is also great.
Another thing that reminds me of Ozu, is the shot around 32:00 in the movie, where Kurosawa creates so much space by playing with the focus.
I'll have to pay attention to that scene more next time I rewatch it!
Great take, can see where Tarantino gets a lot of inspiration from
Definitely!
If only we have a Third Sequel, it would be Great if it's Title "Kojin-teki" That spells Personal. So the Final film is a Personal Story for Sanjuro.
I can't imagine that Sanjuro doesn't think much about ethical at least in the Yojimbo because as a Ronin, he's gotta make his living how he can and he might be a bit disillusioned with the system. pitting two gangs against each other was just money for him but you could tell he was also enjoying it
Yet he gave all the money to a family he saved.
@@kordelas2514 proving that he’s not 100% out for himself and you really gotta appreciate that empathy though he himself didn’t want to admit it
He shows his ethical and compassionate side in a scene where he strongly reacts with disgust to seeing a child being taken from his mother as a hostage. "Makes me sick!". He then makes it his mission to reunite the child with his mother.
@@shaggybreeks right. He shows that ethical side and he thinks he’s doing the town a favor by getting the gang factions to go away but he is very much ethical as much as a anti-hero can be cuz this is a guy who has to be street smart as a ronin and so to see the young family thanking profusely when they need to run for their lives can be frustrating
Even when he’s offered a proper job with a wealthy family, he doesn’t take it and I have to wonder why cuz he’s a free spirit to be sure but I don’t wanna think he was happy in his nomadic lifestyle as a wondering Ronin.
Agreed
Lone wolf protagonist existed long before Yojimbo, so he definitely isn't the blueprint.
I consider the turning point in the movie to be when Sanjuro witnesses a child being taken as a hostage by one of the gangs. We see him react with disgust and say "makes me sick". At that point, he turns from a cynical swordsman to a knight who's been given a holy quest. Such a great movie, such great chemistry between actor and director. Red Beard is another Mifune+Kurosawa gem.
Yojimbo reminds me of the noir classic Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. I wonder if Kurosawa read it.
You're 100% correct, he did read Dashiell Hammett's works and based yojimbo off of that and The Glass Key.
@@bushidoblues9302 Thank you. Have you read Red Harvest?
@@leoscheibelhut940 unfortunately not yet. I was wondering if it was good. I do like detective stories.
@@bushidoblues9302 I recommend it.
@@leoscheibelhut940 is it very close to the film?
You did not appreciated the part that compassion plays in the drama. He did not have to compromise his stand by helping others less fortunated... But he does... That is not been badass, is being human, with simple human feelings... empathy... This is a buddhist movie, one of the best!
The helping others less fortunate part is also badass lol
Better future for everyone? But in town no one last, only 3 men. Yojimbo is not a typical hero - his cynical but good and because of his good deed the agression in the town os bigger and bigger. He is angry about it, thats why he does not want to read letter with thanks. He knows that because he helped that family more people will die in the town. This movie is great because it shows that even with his skills he can't make it better for everyone.
Love this film. Kurosawa is a fantastic director, but this film is great in particular, because of Mifune. He's so magnetic in this. You can't take your eyes off him. His gait, attitude, & confidence are so cool. It reminds me of 'Goodfellas' "Paulie didn't move fast. That's because Paulie didn't have to move for anybody." As far as 'A Fistful of Dollars' it's decent, but I never really cared for spaghetti westerns. Now, 'Last Man Standing' on the other hand... Is it a bad film? Yes, it is. However, is it incredibly entertaining? Also yes. Many films owe a lot to Kurosawa. Thanks for the video.
The story "Last Man Standing" was written by Elmore Leonard and, along with another story, was the plot basis for all such films, INCLUDING Yojimbo. Kurasawa also did Yojimbo as sort of a homage to American westerns
So you had a Japanese movie, based on American westerns, turned into a western made by Italians, and filmed in Spain
Man since I was a little kid, I have always been fascinated by Japanese culture and Samurai in particular. I ve always wanted to be Samurai, in the end I was not able to achieve my dreams and I know I will never be a Samurai and this will be my curse for the rest of my life.
Haha I go through the same thing!
@@bushidoblues9302 tell me about it :(((
I have re-watched your assessment of Yojimbo and the remakes, and I agree with you essentially in everything except one. The last man standing is decent remake and it follows closely in the path of Yojimbo and it is not bad at all. It even has some of the humour. I agree that Bruce Willies is occasionanly not playing of his strength in films, but he is doing fine here, and the rest of the cast too. So, would you tell me why you felt it was so bad?
I am glad that you go deeper than skip deep. People usually go and scratch the surface when watching a film, but you recognised all the improtant elements of Yojimbo except one.
Yojimbo is not a winner he is a loser. People seem to notice his sword work, his prowess and his bravery, cunning and humour. But they simply slip by the fact the he is actually a tramp. He has nothing. He is at the brink of the society because the Shogun stopped the daimyos figthing, so most samurai became homeless and jobless. This is why, being masterless, they roam the country as ronin, that is, masterless samurai. They are vagabonds, fellas nobody needs. The peasant derides and mocks him and sends him away instead of inviting him for meal in, and showing hospitality and kindness to man like that. He judges him without knowing him, and denies common humanity, some food. He even perhaps regrets giving him some water to drink!Think of that! And he knows. He quietly walks away knowing he is considered a nobody. A masterless samurai had no honour. Of course, western people may not know this, and they are so easily misled by appearances. He fights well, he has a good heart he saves that family and he administers justice by the edge of his sword and he is even funny and cool, and disciplined, in doing so. So, he is a badass, but he is also a loser. A sad man. A man wihtout family, without home without a place to lay his head. The shrug of his shoulders emphasize his lonely carelessness. Noody cares for him. Whether he lives or dies, he is on his own. He knows he can earn his bread selling his matchless skills as long as he is strong enough to do so, but once he is old, he will die at the side of the road as a dog thrown out of a house. This is something people dare not or care not look into. In fact, no one does. Kurosawa told us that as well. And he wanted to. It was another criticism of his country's policies making peole homeless wanderers. He wanted to and portrayed their loneliness as well. That was that shrug representing.
Well, here you go, my taking your observations a tiny bit further. But I thank you for this video, because you may make some people think. They may start watching this film and get the sense of it, and start to appreciate what it is all about. What you said was quite a lot and food for thought for all. I knew these things but most people do not think nowadays.
You definitely made me think and view the film differently and I thank you for that. Also thanks for taking the time to watch my vid twice.
I'll have to rewatch last man standing as it's been awhile. I just remember it having good action scenes, but being too similar to the yojimbo/fistful storyline and was predictable and didn't offer anything new. I also like Bruce Willis as an actor.
I try to always think differently about the films I review and share a different perspective that someone might not see at first glance.
I loved your analysis though and would like to know what other films you like.
@@bushidoblues9302 Thank you and I am glad if I could make you see some further points about this film. It is very deep. Well, I adore Mifuen Toshiro so I keep watching all of jhis films anytime you make a video on any of them I will be here immediately and watch it and discss it with you if you want it. I am not so much interested in anything else lately. Yes, the Last man standing is perfectly copying Yojimbo, but so is Fistful..nearly line by line..but if we just take them as such and accept that they do and view them not as novelties but as attempts to transalte Yojimbo into westerns and make them even closer to western loving Us aduiences and that of the Europeans of the same taste and they make it easier to then turn to the real stuff that is Yojimbo then why not. I have seen Fistful and its sequels much earlier than Yojimbo but that did nto diminish my delight in the real stuff, in Yojimbo.
Thank you for pointing out that Yojimbo is a homeless loser. As for the peasant deriding and mocking him, on one level I agree with you but there is another aspect. During the Sengokujidai[Age of the Country at War], peasants suffered the most, the warring samurai armies would steal their food, leaving them nothing, trample their crops, rape them, kidnap them for use as cargo bearers or further rape, or conscripting the young men as ashigari[non-samurai foot soldiers]. So when the peasant mocks him, it shows that law, order and peace have firmly returned. Unattached samurai[ronin] can no longer kill peasants without consequence.
@@leoscheibelhut940 I agree with most of what you say. There is only one point I would like to make. It is all true what you say, but the peasant fell into the trap of steretyping people.
The ronin was quiet and unassuming non-threatening and respectful. He did not mean harm. He simply asked for some water. Just because other ronin did hienous things, does not mean that all ronin are the same. This is the mistake people keep making today as well.
Also, abusing a a person just because, he now, is in a bad situation, i.e. homeless, a wanderer and is between jobs; shows his pettiness as a human being. He also supposed that the ronin expected them to give him food and was to demand it, which obviously was not the case.
He was also reckless and stupid, because ronin or not, a samurai still could have cut him down go further and not necessarily be caught, so his insolance could have meant his own death brought upon himself by his own stupidity.
@@leoscheibelhut940 Mind you. For me, he was not a loser. Homeless yes, and many people may view him as a loser too, but I said that more for others to see that the badass character was actually a part of him but he also had other things.
Anyone ever wonder what this guy ended up doing after the sequel? I like to think he found a job
"May I have your name, sir?"
"My name? My name... uhh... Pea... Tear... Griffin. Peter Griffin! Dammit."
Lol!
I like the sequel even more, the opening scene alone makes it a classic.
Yeah that opening scene is great!
i saw this movie last night !!! and i was shocked and mad about 99% shit movies released nowadays
Haha
The blueprint for the Ultimate Singular Male Badass is imprinted within every man.
Toshiro Mifune is one of the greatest actors of all time.
Kurosawa said specifically that he was great because he could switch from one emotion to another totally different one faster than any actor he knew of. Really well shown in "The Samurai Trilogy" not a Kurosawa movie, but with Mifune playing a renegade samurai, when he sees rope burns on the hand of a girl who got them in the process of setting him free. He goes from this snarling, defiant prisoner on instant, then tears well up in his eyes... What a turnaround scene!
My gf recently asked me "who's this Toshrio Mifune you Google all the time" 😂 this relationship is about to get very interesting 😅
I like last man standing much more than the weak ideological Django.
I wouldn’t really call him a badass, I’d say he is a trickster. He can do badass things, but I don’t think badass fits him as a character
THE MAIN CHARACTER'S NAE IS NOT SANJURO. GET IT RIGHT,
I totally disagree with your premise bro i'm sorry. Comparing him with all the modern action heroes specifically.
What I love about this character is He doesn't always come out on top. He has plans and schemes of his own but sometimes they backfire And he has to come back from a deficit of his own making.
That being said. I appreciate your video. I appreciate your hard work and your views
SAN...Jur...Ro... NOT Sanjuro