Yojimbo DVD

Like Seven Samurai, Yojimbo was Kurosawa's tribute to the widescreen action Westerns of John Ford, and was itself remade as a Western - stolen lock, stock and barrel by Sergio Leone for A Fistful Of Dollars. The enigmatic samurai in Yojimbo is played by the great Toshiro Mifune (much admired by Clint Eastwood, who cites the film as a personal favourite) as a scruffy, scratching, itinerant warrior who wanders into a strange town and right into the middle of two warring clans. Showing his skills with the samurai sword within minutes of his arrival, he soon has the town's rival factions competing for his services.Kurosawa's genius for storytelling combines with thrilling swordplay, a healthy dose of black humour, a soundtrack every bit as atmospheric and amusing as Ennio Morricone's, and a towering performance from Mifune, to make Yojimbo an irresistible widescreen action movie. Digitally mastered from a new print, this DVD release features a full-length commentary option by film historian Philip Kemp, plus on-screen biographies of Kurosawa and Mifune.

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