Samurai films like these were actually a big influence on George Lucas. I have to admit that samurai movies were never my thing. They were also a big inspiration on Westerns, which I also wasn't a big fan of. It can be hard to follow a movie with just subtitles, especially one whose plot I don't know getting into. I'd probably still say "Rashomon" is my favorite Akira Kurosawa movie. This is still a great movie in itself.Actually, I think I was actually introduced to the plot of this movie by an episode of "Pokémon"! It was "Showdown At Dark City" which featured these two gangs in a city trying to get help from Ash. You have to give the anime credit for referencing something so highbrow. Anyway, the basic plot is that this guy named Sanjuro (not Yojimbo) goes to this corrupt village where two rival gangs both want him to work for him. As you might have guessed, he ends up playing both of them. There are few sympathetic characters at first.We do see some nice villagers who just want everybody to stop fighting. Sanjuro is shown to have no allies in this film prior to the story. It's a great way of seeing how a single character can play off of everyone else. There's even some really nice social and technological commentary. One guy has a gun which is an odd place for a samurai film. I also felt that the length of this film was just perfect. ****

A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town. Yojimbo is one of the many overrated titles that you're going to find on this list with the Top 250 since i found it pretty much terrible on all occassions from the acting stand point, to script, dialogue and most of all pacing which was terrible. Some people will definitely enjoy it and have fun but for casual viewers like me this is an easy pass and nothing that other better movies that were released way later didn't touch upon better. (0/10)

'Yojimbo' was Kurosawa's most commercially successful film in his home country of Japan. Now some critics and viewers tend to justify this commercial success by calling the film an entertaining action film without much substance. But after having watched it for the 3rd time in a matter of a year, I will have to disagree with that opinion. Yes, the film is very entertaining, but the screenplay written by Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima is deceptively deep and meaningful.The first and foremost thing that has to be understood about 'Yojimbo' is that the film is a dark comedy. Kurosawa actually wants to generate some humour out of potentially gruesome and depressing moments. Thematically, the film is all about Kurosawa's wish fulfillment. The character of Sanjuro is Kurosawa's surrogate. Sanjuro executes the things that Kurosawa himself wants. This is the reason why this character is not completely realistic. He is supposed to be a mythic figure, a wandering spirit. This mysterious, rugged outsider character that becomes entangled in something that he has little vested interest in, has a very iconic place in cinema history. On one hand, this character of Sanjuro itself was inspired by some of the rugged cowboy characters in American Western films that Kurosawa was an admirer of. On the other hand, this character has further inspired some of the most iconic characters that came later like Clint Eastwood's 'Man with no name' character in Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and the character of Mad Max in George Miller's films to name a few.Story-wise, Kurosawa is using a period setting to mirror the condition of the Japanese economy at the time the film was made. Sanjuro in the film randomly walks into a town that looks desolate, grim and depressing. The town is run by two rival gangster groups who work in close coalition with two rival business merchants. The merchants require the gangsters for the muscle and the gangsters require the merchants and their money for their existence. This greatly mirrors the social scenario in Japan during the economic boom. The businessmen and politicians brought in an age of unrestricted capitalism with extensive and undeniable help from the Yakuza. Kurosawa is clearly going back to the past to throw some light on the present. He is using Sanjuro to express his philosophies and comment against this unchecked spread of rampant consumerism. In a way Kurosawa is rewriting history. In a factual sense, the samurai class disappeared and the era of the merchants and the gangsters started in Japan. But in his fantasy version of history, Kurosawa has Sanjuro the Samurai come back from the cemetery and defeat the gangsters and thematically clean the town.The cinematography in the film to some extent makes the film for me. The telephoto lens works overtime to give us these gorgeous frames. When it comes to frame composition and expressive blocking of actors, Kurosawa is second to none. The wide angle photography of Kurosawa and cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa is awe-inspiring. The exterior shots in the street are epic in scope. Kurosawa uses wind machines to crank up the epic nature of the outdoor standoff scenes. Kurosawa's style of shooting the action scenes is actually quite simple. He doesn't use fast editing like one sees in a lot of action films. He generally uses two diagonally placed cameras to capture the shots and relies heavily on choreography. Kurosawa's use of Masaru Sato's music is also brilliant. He choreographs the movements of the characters in certain scenes to the beat of the music which adds a poetic touch to the visuals. Toshirô Mifune pretty much owns the screen in the film. He exudes gravitas and authority. He is charming, witty, suave and when required viciously aggressive. Mifune adds an immensely masculine charisma to the film. It was great watching him manipulate the rival gangs and direct the proceedings. Tatsuya Nakadai is great as the primary nemesis of Mifune. Nakadai's character carries with a long barrel pistol almost like a phallic symbol to represent this power. He too is very charismatic with the twinkle in his eye and threatening demeanour.'Yojimbo' might not have as much complexity as Kurosawa's other masterpieces like 'Rashomon' or 'Red Beard', but it still has something to say and comment upon. Kurosawa's brilliant filmmaking enhances and elevates the screenplay to the next level and makes this a must watch. This is certainly one of his best films. Highly Recommended.

(73%) Watching this it's pretty clear to anyone that A fist full of dollars owes almost its entire existence to this Japanese classic. Almost from the very beginning, right down to the performances, direction, and script, this has the feel of a classic Leone western as the guy clearly helped himself to bits and pieces. And he must have figured that he'd largely get away with it because so few western people at the time would have ever actually had the chance to even know about this far-east hit. For anyone interested in classic Asian films, or just classic films in general, this is a must- watch that's well worth tracking down. There's a fair share of action, fun, and sheer entertainment value to be had from this quality, and still watchable first rate winner.