Sanjuro - Criterion Collection Rating: Release Date: 28 September, 1999 Retail Price: $29.95 OUR Price: $26.99 You SAVE: $2.96! Cast: Yuzo Kayama Akira Kobayashi Toshiro Mifune Takashi Shimura Complete Cast (6 total)

Sanjuro - Criterion Collection Reviews

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TOSHIRO MIFUNE SHINES IN ANOTHER KUROSAWA CLASSIC.
The late, great Toshiro Mifune shines in this off-beat and comical sequel to Yojimbo. I have seen this classic many times, yet never tire of the non-verbal wit of Mifune as a completely different kind of samurai. Mifune's continual warnings to the young group of samurai warriors on what direction they should proceed with in order to help rescue their uncle always falls on deaf ears, and it is up to him to continually rescue them.

As usual, Criterion did an excellent job with the DVD transfer. This is a highly recommended film. I really like Yojimbo, but I give a slight edge to Sanjuro, because it was one of the first Japanese movies I ever saw, and there are many great memories for me when I view this wonderful classic. I first saw Sanjuro in 1966. [The first memory I have of any Japanese film was "Attack of the Mushroom People" on Creature Features. Wow, left an impression on me at so young an age.]

This movie is not to be missed. Enjoy the widescreen, and place it in your collection. Well worth the watch.

slow beginning, but nice build up with a satisfying conclusion
I have been enjoying classic Japanese samurai films from childhood, and I have come to appreciate them more as I grow older.

This film is a must for those of you who appreciate a wry sense of humor and non verbal expression of wit. Toshiro Mifune (Sanjuro) plays the part of a jaded, cynical, but paradoxically honorable samurai to the hilt. The nine younger samurai reminded me of lion cubs who bound and growl with bravado while not realizing that they haven't the skills to bring down a sick sheep. Toshiro Mifune is the king of the pride, who gruffly smacks them back in line with his biting sarcasm.

My favorite character, however, is the wife of the kidnapped chamberlain whom the ten are trying to rescue. Her exaggerated but believable nobility and gentle femininity cow even the deadly and hardened Mifune, making him act like a school boy who is caught picking his nose.

All in all, the brief but stunning climax at the end of the film, with it's casual anticlimax, left me chuckling and applauding Kurasawa yet again.

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