Yojimbo (1961)

Kurosawa often paints old Japan in very stark terms. His movies are almost always about desperate people forced to desperate acts in order to get clear of mortal danger. This film is no different, depicting a wandering ronin (masterless samurai) using his wit and superior skills with a sword to quell a gang war, and maybe make a few bucks in the process. If it sounds a bit like the Clint Eastwood classic A Fist Full of Dollars, or the 1996 Bruce Willis film Last Man Standing, that's because both are remakes of this film. However, despite is indisputable influence of Yojimbo, age and expectation have taken a lot from this film. The plot comes out fine for the most part, but the pacing and distance between its more memorable moments is hard to bear. Regardless, the cinematography, and the action make the movie great fun to watch, with some superb composition and suspense in the lead-up to the many sword fights. And lead actor Toshirô Mifune grumpy samurai is reckless and cocky in all the right ways. As a whole, the film is an imperfect piece of the cinema cannon but there's no denying that the high points are genuinely great. The years may not have been entirely kind to this movie, but if you can look past the dirt it's easy to see why it's held in such high regard.

7 out of 10.