Sanjuro Reviews

Excellent... An incredible pleasure to watch...

An incredible pleasure to watch... The light-hearted nature of the film brings some truly side-splitting moments to the screen. Intriguingly nothing is given away too quickly, it draws you in... nothing, however, quite prepares you for the horror of the final showdown. I recommend ALL of Akira's films, he is the Master!

Pure joy

Fans of samurai films have to see this, as it is one of the best ever made. It's the sequel to 'Yojimbo' but is in many ways far more enjoyable, having more humour and more exciting action. If possible Mifune is even cooler.

It's also got one of the very best showdowns of all time. The two nemesis' face each other in still silence for what seems like a tension filled age, before making their swift movement together, resulting in a shockingly gory explosion of blood. Awesome.

Fans of the modern 'Zatoichi' should see this. It wouldn't have existed without Kurosawa's work.

Funny peculiar

At first glance there doesn't seem to be much going on in this breezy samurai comedy, sequel to the already very funny Yojimbo.

But pay attention to the way Kurusowa delineates the relationships between the film’s characters in each shot with economy and wit; how the use of sliding doors creates frames within frames; and how themes of loyalty, duty and a warrior’s worth are played on with none of the bombast and self-importance of most modern American films covering the same ground (hello, Tom Cruise) and, by the stunningly appropriate ending, you’re left with a deeply satisfying, very enjoyable film.

An excellent western with silk Kimonos and big swords, crazed violence hiding under a veneer of eastern sophistication. Woohoo!

masterclass action cinema

There may be better directors than Kurosawa in individual areas but he is surely top with only Kubrick and Lean coming close in the variety of movies he has done. The mercenary samurai of Yohimbo now shows a more caring side and takes up the cause of a group fighting corruption in their clan. His brusque manner causes as many problems as his swordsmanship solves and his embarrasment on being rebuked by the lady of the house is hilarious. A must see.

Fantastic!

The dark, badass, intelligent Samurai from Yojimbo returns for a slow-paced, but truly compelling film that even surpasses the first one! Akira Kurosawa is just the man!

The Scottish Play becomes The Japanese Film.

I’ve watched this so many times and it still surprises me even though I know what is going to happen next.

This is because I’m carried through the pictures into another world and drawn along with it.

There are parts of this film that I much prefer to Shakespeare’s version. The evil spirit beats the witches and the pincushion effect is much more dramatic than the final sword fight.

I just love this flick!

Gripping... but its not Yojimbo

A mighty start with great potential - I was expecting it even to excel its predecessor Yojimbo (no mean feat). Because of this, by the end I was feeling slightly disappointed and there is only one reason why. It bears all the hallmarks of a Kurosawa masterpiece and that's why it lets itself down, because had it come from another source then I would be saying that it was the top of its tree. Hollywood doesn't have the ability to produce Sanjuro, and neither (so it seems judging by the undeserved praise heaped upon such rubbish as Battle Royale) does japan anymore.

It is often seen in a Kurosawa film that he is less than impressed by human nature. For example, in Raushaumon it is hard to like any of the characters. In Throne of Blood, the Mifune character often uses trickery to pass by inferior mortals. But here in Sanjuro, this is taken to extremes and you are left wondering whether Sanjuro is in fact the only smart person in existence. Even those who he calls 'foxes' are proved to be stupid later on and the flaw with this film is the question: would Sanjuro have succeeded if all the other characters (save the women, note the superior sex!) weren't so daft?

Non-the-less, this is almost a masterpiece and highly recommended.

Mifune and Kurosawa Dream Team

Expertly crafted, character driven, samurai period drama with hints of black comedy and perfectly gauged violence.

[Highly rated reviewer]

More of the same

Not as strong as Yojimbo as our hero deals with rival factions in a Japanese town. Some great action scenes, strong standoffs and good pieces of wisdom thrown in but I couldn't help but think that this wasn't that different from other similar films. Decent but not great and gets an extra point for the kind of standoff that puts QT's Vol II efforts to shame.