Yojimbo Blu-ray Review & Comments

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Reviewed by Chris McEneany, 25th April 2010.
One of the most influential action-dramas ever made, Yojimbo paved the way for the Spaghetti Western revolution which, in turn, allowed for the American Western to evolve. But Kurosawa’s film remains a classic of see-sawing narrative and acute characterisation, as well as being a showcase of utterly dynamic cinematic flourishes and another great tour de force for the magnificent Toshiro Mifune. Full of black humour, vicious, over-the-top performances and excellently staged set-piece bravado, this film set the ball rolling for the action genre to move out of the clear-cut and into the more stimulating morass of the decidedly amoral. Mifune's Sanjuro is a classic, stand-alone hero who goes through a considered arc of development, the screenplay totally unafraid to show not only his arrogance but his vulnerability as well. Like Ridley Scott did with Russell Crowe in Gladiator, it is possibly just keeping the camera on the intense actor that is Kurosawa's single greatest achievement with Yojimbo – a film that already unveils something striking and inspired with each successive scene.

Criterion put together a fine package for the film’s Blu-ray debut, retaining the extra features from their already outstanding SD edition, but adding them to a fantastic restored hi-def image and a very clean audio track with the almost irresistible option of that aggressive Perspecta mix. I would have liked more special features on the production and on Mifune, in particular, but the commentary and the documentary are definitely worth your time and effort.

All in all, Yojimbo is an absolute classic that no fan of the action genre, the Western, of Japanese films or, indeed, of Cinema, can be without. And seeing it shine in high-definition is a must.

Yojimbo, therefore, is very highly recommended.


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A very good review indeed, well worthy of a great movie. Yojimbo is one of the great widescreen movies and could almost be said to be what your widescreen LCD/Plasma is for, think of how diminished the movie's screen image would be if it were shown in full-screen.

Yojimbo has an odd mixture of genres in what appears on the surface to be a simple story. Great to see it on Blu-Ray !
 

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