Yojimbo (1961)
Samurai epic meets spaghetti western.
Presentation:
Whereas Harakiri is a stylish masterpiece, Yojimbo is more of a commercial epic designed to entertain as well as dazzle. The compositions are occasionally breathtaking though because the focus is on the story the film implements a lot of dialogue motivated cinematography. Because it’s more mainstream, the tone is lighter and characters inevitably become more cartoonish compared to the emotional weight of Harakiri. I just didn’t care as much for the characters in this film, though the plot is better paced with a rhythm that should retain more attention for younger audiences. The action sequences are fluid and more convincing than Harakiri, but I wouldn’t say they are better choreographed.
Conclusion:
Yojimbo is extremely impressive for its time, and you can see some parallels between this and Tarantino’s work. There’s something about the presentation that seems to share the groundwork of classic westerns due to the standoffs, saloons, open town and lively gangsters. But because it’s more mainstream I don’t think it has the same timeless gravitas to prevent it from feeling somewhat outdated compared to action movies today. This is all because it’s good enough to draw parallels to classic action movies to begin with. If you somehow didn’t like Harakiri, this might meet expectations of what you found to be missing from a classic samurai film.
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Recommendations
Hollywood film noir doesn’t seem that high up anymore.