Rating: 
Summary: An excellent, if peculiar, sequel
Review: A lot of people aren't even aware of this follow up to the classic Yojimbo, and it's a shame. Not only does this movie more fully explore the character of Sanjuro, it also has some incredible fight scenes which rival Yojimbo's in many ways. If nothing else, they tend to be much more intense and violent. Where many of the fights in the first movie seemed deliberate and graceful, Sanjuro gives at certain points sudden blood and chaos and at others a kind of slapstick. That's what makes the movie somewhat peculiar. Though Yojimbo had elements of humor, it was not a comedy. Sanjuro, when it comes down to it, is. There are only a handful of comedies made this well, and this one is not to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great.
Review: A solid, if somewhat trifling, entertainment on its own terms - but as a sequel to the great "Yojimbo" it can't come close to satisfying. It's as if Kurosawa were trying to apologize for the amoral thrills and nihilistic humor of that wonderful earlier romp, and his determination to raise the moral tone hang on the picture like a kinder, gentler lead weight. It seems that there were two Kurosawas - the warrior with a camera and the platitudinizing obaasan with a camera.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than Yojimbo
Review: Aftering watching Yojimbo, (which I thought was a little campy), Sanjuro puts in a more serious and deliberate plot. Although I was hoping for more background on the situation that Toshiro Mifune's character is getting into, it helps to understand that events like this were happening all over Japan in that time period. (the usual political intrigue, deception, usurping, etc) That aside, the story is told brilliantly, the troubled samurai of Mifune doing what good he can, all the while being surrounded by incompetents and evil men. His conscience takes the form of an older lady that he helps to rescue, and after receiving bits of wisdom from her (she immediately discerns his true character and gives him a short phrased bit of advice) his every action is dictated by his desire to heed her wisdom. Mifune's samurai then has to impart this lesson onto the bumbling young group of samurai with a horrifying display of martial skill used against the enemy, slaughtering a dozen men himself without a scratch, and later on at the end of the film, a 'quick-draw' with swords, which is so fast that you have to pause the motion to see where the hands of the actors are. The entire film sums up a part of the Bushido code itself that speaks about the level of skills that a trainee, adept and master have, from ignoramus (and therefore a useless person) to one so skilled that it becomes impossible to impart the accumulated knowledge/wisdom even by teaching. Mifune's samurai never seems overly concerned with his own life or the risks he takes to save the town from itself. As for the DVD itself, agreed with others that the lack of extra features is the only reason for 4 stars instead of 5. The picture quality is excellent, the film quality itself is great, and the subtitles are well done. So far my favorite movie by Kurosawa next to Ran and Seven Samurai.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Movie
Review: Before seeing a Toshiro Mifune film I wasn't into Samurai movies....now I'm hooked. Sanjuro tells the story of a masterless Samurai who tries to help some naive and bumbling samurias. The more he tries to get them out of trouble the deeper they get him and themselves into the mess. His character is strong, crude yet witty and sometimes downright hilarious. He does things on his terms which happens to be contrary to the Samurai's code of conduct. This film is extreemly entertaining and Mifune delivers a sterling performance.
Rating:
Summary: Sanguine samurai.
Review: Companion piece to 1961's nihilist comedy *Yojimbo*. Not so much a sequel or prequel but rather a redux sort of thing. *Yojimbo* was a boffo hit in Japan (and drew raves from all over the world), and Kurosawa, whose quest for cinematic art never precluded showmanship, gave the audience more of what it wanted: even more action, more comedy, more Toshiro Mifune than in the previous movie. A legitimate criticism of *Sanjuro* is that it somewhat lacks the originality of *Yojimbo*, in particular the End-Of-The-World rancidity in tone, atmosphere, and characters. The liner notes in Criterion's DVD even go so far as to call this movie "sunny" (what an insult! Mifune's samurai would cut your head off if he heard you call him that). "Sunny" is not the apt adjective to describe the sudden, explosive violence in the film; the body-count is too appallingly high to laugh off. The violence here still hurts, and there's a lot more of it here than in *Yojimbo*. Kurosawa may have become weary of the whole samurai genre: a very nice patrician lady admonishes Sanjuro with "good swords stay in their sheaths"; he remembers this advice following the satirically bloody, over-the-top climax. The slice-and-dice duel between Sanjuro and his enemy is, I think, Kurosawa's way of saying, "You want violent action? I'LL give you violent action!!" Though it's designed to elicit shocked guffaws, the evident disgust with the whole samurai mindset leaves the larger impression. For that matter, the old "code of honor" is represented by 9 good-hearted samurai who also happen to be idiots. Just because there might be something worth fighting for here, unlike in *Yojimbo*, the bloody work required to ensure the victory of Good still leaves a bloody stain on the psyche. (Significantly, there was no "three-peat" in the Sanjuro series.) Considering all that, the amazing thing is how entertaining and funny *Sanjuro* remains. Of particular note is how discommoded Mifune appears whenever a pair of very civilized ladies (i.e., the antithesis of himself) show up. When the 9 good samurai keep waking Mifune up with their excited gibbering is also a classic. *Sanjuro* is a minor masterpiece fully deserving of standing alongside *Yojimbo* on your shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the price.
Review: Get out the popcorn and rejoice in a classic samurai tale told by the master. Some movies are timeless. This is one of them.
Rating:
Summary: toshiro mifune, akira kurosawa are exceptional
Review: good script + good actor + good director = good movie as simple as that. the final fight scene is very ninja scrollish.
Rating:
Summary: The most entertaining Kurosawa film
Review: I am a big Kurosawa and Mifune fan, but sometimes his movies can be too slowly artistic at the expense of my patience. "Sanjuro", however, is very entertaining, faster-tempo film by Kurosawa. It contains great humor, action and truly interesting interactions among characters. I do not mean to say that Kurosawa achieves this high level entertainment at the expense of his art; in the undercurrent of the fun story-telling, one finds controlled irony and inherent tragedy of humanity. Such depth is displayed with playful subtlety and disciplined expression. In short, I found a perfect balance between entertaining story-telling and depth of artistic voice. Toshiro Mifune, as always, is stunning in this film. His chracter is very lovable and charming. Watching Mifune running in that samurai stride, shrugging his shoulders in such masculine yet carefree manner, gives me immense joy everytime I watch this film. His performance in the last battle is simply breathtaking.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty enjoyable watching.
Review: I have never really understood the hype or reverance that surrounds a Kurosawa film. I have enjoyed alot of his films and his samurai films do seem to be the most well known. Sanjuro is better than some I have seen. The action is good and fast and there is a fair amount of humour in this film. The interesting thing about the 9 samurai is that they hav been written almost as if they are one person. They evolve as a whole and not individualy. It is like they are the collective good of the clan and the ronin is always dealing with one person even though they are nine. It is a good fun movie and good to see on DVD. Would be nice to see them a little cheaper and some extra features would have been nice. But the movie is still very watchable and well worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Correction for Albertsson
Review: I love this disc and I need to correct a misapprehension by an earlier reviewer, Mr. Albertsson, who claims that Criterion "butchered" "Seven Samurai" by "cutting it down" to an "unviewable 1.33:1 aspect ration." While it's true this and Yojimbo could have been made from better prints and the transfers could be a smidge wider, 1.33:1 is in fact the original full-frame aspect ratio of "Seven Samurai." If it's "unviewable" as such the problem is all the reviewer's. Kurosawa did not begin to experiment with widescreen formats until "Yojimbo."
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