Yojimbo (1961)

There are films that earn their reputation through decades of critical reassessment, and then there are films that simply arrive, fully formed, and change things. Yojimbo, released by Toho in 1961, sits firmly in the second category. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, it tells the story of a nameless ronin, a masterless samurai, who wanders into a small feudal-era village caught between two rival factions fighting over control of the local gambling trade. Rather than picking a side, he gives himself the working name Sanjuro Kuwabatake and proceeds to play both gangs off against each other with cool, almost casual precision. The premise is as lean and efficient as the man himself.

By 1961, Kurosawa was already one of the most respected directors working anywhere in the world. Films like Throne of Blood (1957), his adaptation of Macbeth transposed into feudal Japan, and Ikiru (1952), his quiet and affecting drama about a dying bureaucrat, had demonstrated a director with an extraordinary range. Yojimbo showed a different gear entirely: faster, dryer, laced with a dark comic wit that sits just beneath the surface of every scene. The film's influence on cinema would prove enormous. Sergio Leone remade the basic story as A Fistful of Dollars in 1964, and the DNA of the lone, morally ambiguous stranger playing rivals against each other has resurfaced in Westerns, thrillers and action films ever since. Kurosawa revisited the character the very following year, in Sanjuro (1962), a direct sequel again starring Mifune in the same role.

At the centre of it all is Toshirō Mifune, giving a performance that is physically magnetic from the first frame. The slouch, the scratch, the occasional animal-quick burst of violence: Mifune makes Sanjuro one of cinema's great screen presences without ever appearing to try too hard. Opposite him, Tatsuya Nakadai plays the pistol-carrying enforcer Unosuke with a coiled, slightly unhinged energy that provides a genuine contrast in menace. Isuzu Yamada and Yōko Tsukasa round out a cast that, on the whole, is doing something very precise. The film has the shape of a thriller but the soul of a fable, and Kurosawa, shooting in a polished but grounded black and white, keeps the 110-minute runtime moving with a confidence that never tips into rush. The supporting characters who populate the warring camps are broad, sometimes deliberately cartoonish, which is worth bearing in mind before you go in. Kurosawa is clearly having fun with them, but whether that lands for every viewer is another matter entirely, and a question this site is well placed to address.

So good that countless movies have remade the same story. Toshiro Mifune is quite literally fantastic in every movie. Kurosawa is arguably the best director of all time. You just know, going into this film, that it's going to deliver. Don't get me wrong... it's goofy as heck in places, and a couple of the comedy actors are just caricatures, but that's pretty much the only drawback.

For me, that balance between the film's genuine craft and its broader, goofier moments is exactly what makes it such an interesting watch rather than just a reverent classic to be admired from a distance. It never lets you fully settle into one mode. Kurosawa was doing something quite playful here, and if you come to it after High and Low (1963) or Stray Dog (1949), you might even be surprised by just how light on its feet it is prepared to be. The caricatures are the price of admission, and honestly, for what you get in return, it's a fair deal.

Rating: ★★★★½  | Year: 1961  | Watched: 2025-04-13

View on Letterboxd →

Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Yojimbo (1961) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: BFI Player · BFI Player Amazon Channel · BFI Player Apple TV Channel
Rent: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video
Buy: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · YouTube TV · Criterion Channel · HBO Max
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Fandango At Home
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Fandango At Home
Physical: Amazon US

Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.

Related on Movies With Macca

More from Akira Kurosawa: High and Low (1963) · Stray Dog (1949) · Throne of Blood (1957) · Ikiru (1952)
More with Toshirō Mifune: High and Low (1963) · Stray Dog (1949) · Throne of Blood (1957) · Sanjuro (1962)
More from Japan: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · Blue (1993) · The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959)
More from the 1960s: Viy (1967) · Persona (1966) · Carnival of Souls (1962) · Daisies (1966)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
More thriller: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Angst (1983) · The Long Walk (2025) · Punishment Park (1971)