Yojimbo
Guy Rosefelt
>> Basically, it's a spaghetti western with swords. But what a great
>>spaghetti western! Every frame had the look of careful yet unobtrusive
>>construction (if only it'd been letterboxed >sigh< ) and the lines were
>>delivered with delicious irony. Even the subtitles scanned well.
That's why it was remade into a Clint Eastwood western.
Guy
Stephen B
Dollars.
Stephen Brophy
Cambridge, Mass.
Jed MacKay
>Basically, it's a spaghetti western with swords.
As I recall, Yojimbo was in fact the inspiration for_ A Fistful of Dollars_.
Other Kurosawa films to inspire Western directors include The Hidden Fortress
(Star Wars), The Seven Samurai (The Magnificent Seven), and Rashomon (The
Outrage, have a weird feeling William Shatner was in it!) Does anyone know
of any others?
*This message sent from TVOntario's BBS*
Alexander Ellermann
At some time in his long career, Akira Kurosawa must have made a
mediocre movie.
I just have yet to see it.
_Yojimbo_ is a picture about a roaming samurai in 1940, a man with
no name type, who happens upon a little village brought {^er, 1860} to
the edge of extinction by the two warring gangs vieing for its control.
The Samurai, played as usual by Toshiro Mifune (sp?) proceeds to help the
warring factions along in destroying one another with not a little
constrained glee.
Basically, it's a spaghetti western with swords. But what a great
spaghetti western! Every frame had the look of careful yet unobtrusive
construction (if only it'd been letterboxed >sigh< ) and the lines were
delivered with delicious irony. Even the subtitles scanned well.
out of the envelope a couple of times to replay a particularly interesting
scene or catch something I may've missed. Though this isn't Kurosawa's
best work (I'd put _Ran_, _The 7 Seven Samurai_, & _Rashomon_ ahead of it),
this is a terrific ride and significantly better than anything playing down
at the megaplex in these pre summer blockbuster days. I can't wait to rent
the sequel.
Cheers,
Alex
----
ProLine: ellerguy@pro-party
Internet: elle...@pro-party.cts.com
UUCP: crash!pro-party!ellerguy
Alexander Ellermann
Looks like it's time for me to rent _A Fistful of Dollars_ as well
as _The Fortress_. That is, after the sequel to _Yojimbo_, of course.
Ya know, I'm kind of afraid to see _Fistful of Dollars_, though. I
was so disappointed in _The Magnificent Seven_. Alas.
Fun Kurosawa anecdote: At a recent naval ethics seminar, the idea
of the military folks' obligations to society was batted around. I jumped
in by outlining the Hobbesian concept of the government covenant in terms
of _The Seven Samurai_ & how it applies to us. I remember spinning away,
thinking, "this is brilliant." I wound up my little speech triumphantly
and sat down to the stares of all in the room. They thought I was from
Mars.
Cheers,
Alex, but after today's
flight, you can call me
Chuck. :-)
Pete Clinch
: Basically, it's a spaghetti western with swords. But what a great
: spaghetti western!
Just to note that, of course, while 7 Samurai was made into The
Magnificent 7, Yojimbo was remade as A Fistful of Dollars, which just
happens to be a great Spaghetti Western...
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
voice 44 382 60111 x 2050 Department of Medical Physics
fax 44 382 640177 Ninewells Hospital
email pjcl...@dux.dundee.ac.uk Dundee, DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK
Alison McInnes
> was so disappointed in _The Magnificent Seven_. Alas.
Alex,
Were you disappointed in The Magnificent Seven as a western or as a
remake of The Seven Samurai? I have watched A Fistful of Dollars
probably more than any other film, and never get tired of watching
it, but I have never seen Yojimbo as the only excerpts I have ever
seen of it (in a CE documentary about eighteen years ago) seemed to
completely lack the style and humour of AFOD. If you rent AFOD I
would be interested in your comparison of the two films.
Alison
Pete Clinch
: Looks like it's time for me to rent _A Fistful of Dollars_ as well
: as _The Fortress_. That is, after the sequel to _Yojimbo_, of course.
: Ya know, I'm kind of afraid to see _Fistful of Dollars_, though. I
: was so disappointed in _The Magnificent Seven_. Alas.
I'm in the same situation as Alison here, being a *huge* fan of FFo$ but
not having seen Yojimbo, and I too would be interested to hear what you
think.
As well as being IMHO a great film, FFo$ is important for launching Clint
Eastwood and Sergio Leone on the world stage as major players, and for
being one of the first *big* westerns to redefine the genre from
the traditional Good Men In White Hats vs. Indians/Bad Men in Black Hats
to something darker and grittier with a central character not in the
traditional heroic mode.
Worth it purely for the "But the mule, he don't get the joke" showdown in
my book. And if you do like it, you can then move on to the rest of the
trilogy: For a Few Dollars More, and my all time favourite, The Good, The
Bad and the Ugly. One word of caution: the dubbing is awful, but *who
cares*?
Peter Merholz
<elle...@PRO-PARTY.CTS.COM> wrote:
> Jed & Stephen & other helpful pals,
> Looks like it's time for me to rent _A Fistful of Dollars_ as well
> as _The Fortress_. That is, after the sequel to _Yojimbo_, of course.
The sequel to YOJIMBO is a movie named SANJURO. THE *HIDDEN* FORTRESS is a
totally different film altogether (and *quite* a major influence on the
story for the original STAR WARS movie).
> Ya know, I'm kind of afraid to see _Fistful of Dollars_, though. I
> was so disappointed in _The Magnificent Seven_. Alas.
As others pointed out, calling YOJIMBO a spaghetti western was quite silly.
And, actually, YOJIMBO is based on the Dashiell Hammett novel RED HARVEST.
--Peter
Alexander Ellermann
_The Magnificent Seven_ is already fading into the background of my
memory. I suppose I was disappointed in it as compared to _The Seven
Samurai_, but I'm sure that's an unfair comparison. _The Seven Samurai_
was a masterpiece, while _The Magnificent Seven_ was merely a pretty good
movie.
I will, however, rent _A Fistful of Dollars_ in the near future &
take a look just for you, amiga. :-)
Cheers,
Ale3x
Jed MacKay
>And, actually, YOJIMBO is based on the Dashiell Hammett >novel RED HARVEST.
I believe Kurosawa based other films on American novels. I seem to recall him
mentioning Ed McBain as a favorite. He may have adapted more than one McBain
novel, but I think it was King's Ransom which became Heaven and Hell
(improperly translated as High and Low).
Peter Merholz
<Jed_M...@TVO.ORG> wrote:
Yes. HIGH AND LOW is based on a McBain novel. It's also my favorite
Kurosawa film. It's the first one of his that I'd seen that was *modern*.
And Mifune is, of course, BRILLIANT in the film. It also has the best use
of WIDEscreen I've seen.
--Peter
Roger Taylor
One of the problems that I've always had with The Magnificent
Seven was that it relied on stereotypical western heros(?) and
stereotypical situations (not to mention lines). Kurosawa individualized
all of his characters so that they are distinct individuals with
unique characteristics. You thus tend to feel for the samurai whereas
in Magnificent Seven who cares whether one gets killed or not?
Roger Taylor, Jr.
Alexander Ellermann
Funny, somehow all the corrective posts gave me the message that
calling _Yojimbo_ a spaghetti western was right on the money, not silly.
Silly me,
Alex