Rating: 
Summary: Akira Kurosawa spoofs the samurai genre he made famous
Review: It is not often that a master film director spoof the genre that made his reputation, but that is really what we have with Akira Kurosawa's "Sanjûrô." If you see only one samurai film then it would have to be "Shichinin no samurai" ("Seven Samurai"), which has always been on the first hand I use when I start listing the greatest movies ever made. But this is also the director who introduced Japanese cinema to the world with "Rashômon," and made the classic films "Kumonosu jô" ("Throne of Blood"), "Kakushi toride no san akunin" ("The Hidden Fortress"), and "Ran."
Once again Toshirô Mifune returns as the same arrogant hero he played in "Yojimbo" (which means "Bodyguard"). The name he gives, when forced to do so, is Sanjûrô Tsubaki. It was Sanjûrô Kuwabatake in the first film, which told the story of a crafty and cynical wandering ronin who comes to town being fought over by rival gangs and exploits one against the other to make some money and free the town. "Yojimbo" was based on Dashiell Hammett's novel "Red Harvest," although it is uncredited in Kurosawa's film. "Yojimbo" was remade in the West several times, most notably by Sergio Leone in "Per un pugno di dollari" ("A Fistful of Dollars") and most recently in the Bruce Willis film "Last Man Standing."
There were certainly moments of grim humor in "Yojimbo" (such as when Mifune kills two samurai and cuts the arm off of a third and tells the Cooper "Two coffins...No, maybe three"). But in "Sanjûrô" Kurosawa has fun with just about everyone and everything from the start. Mifune's samurai is highly skilled but relentleslly crude, even when he is forced to deal with genteel ladies. His sleep at a shrine is interrupted by nine young samurai who are trying to rescue the uncle of their leader, who has been taken by a corrupt official. These young samurai are hopelessly idealistic and totally naive (they mistakenly think they know who the corrupt official is because he is the one who is not good looking). Sanjûrô decides to help them, not just because their cause is right, but because these kids are going to get slaughtered if he lets them run off to save the day.
Sanjûrô keeps heaping scorn and contempt on the young samurai who show a collective inability to do the right thing and usually to make things worse. It does not help that Sanjûrô rarely explains his plans to his young allies, which makes it easier for these kids to interfere with his plan. Meanwhile, our hero makes an impression on Muroto (Tasuya Nakadai, in a role similar to what he played in "Yojimbo"), the chief samurai of the corrupt officials, which allows him to do a little inside work to help move things along in the desired direction. You would think that Muroto would catch on that the young samurai are not good enough to keep defeating our hero and tying him up, but that just serves to reinforce the idea that Kurosawa is playing this one for laughs.
That being said, in the end "Sanjûrô" is memorable because of the final scene, which offs a shocking and bloody contrast with the rest of the film with one of the most unforgettable duels in all of samurai films. Talk about putting an exclamation point at the end of a film. Kurosawa might have been having fun with his characters and the genre, but in the end he certainly reminds us he is a master.
There are those who argue that it does not matter which in which order you see these two films and since I first came across them in the wrong order I can honestly say that I sort of prefer seeing them backwards simply on the basis of the way Mifune's character arcs from one film to the next. But in terms of going from the known to the unknown, watching this classic 1962 film after "Yojimbo" would be the way to go. Seeing both of them, along with Kurosawa's other masterworks, is what is ultimately important.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Kurosawa
Review: Kurosawa and Mifume make a memorable film on what could have been just standard material. Mifume is the samurai in the middle of a political struggle who uses his cunning and honor to defeat the treachery of the power hungry wannabees. I'm impressed with how good Mifume is each time I see him. Here he commands the screen through his silence as well as his actions. And boy how his actions make this movie rock. For all the action there is still plenty of fools for comic effect. And there is a great standoff between Mifume and his main adversary at the end. This is a must see for any Kurosawa fan.
Rating:
Summary: A simpler, lighter view of a very complex samurai character.
Review: Kurosawa beautifully mixes humor, drama, and violence into a story where not just the viewer, but the main character learns something about life. The direction, acting, and cinematography are classic as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Return of the super samurai
Review: Kurosawa only made two sequels in his lifetime, "Sanshiro Sugata II," and "Sanjuro." "Sanshiro Sugata II" was a government-suggested sequel and basically a war-time propaganda film made early in his career. "Sanjuro" was made in response to the success of it's precursor "Yojimbo." Largely a sequel in name only, "Sanjuro" is decidedly different in both tone and theme from "Yojimbo" and stands as an equally excellent film in it's own right. Both feature the super-samurai, Sanjuro (30 years old, going on 40), but aside from his martial skills he is a different character in both films. "Sanjuro" has comedy, drama and action in full measure, but can not lay claim to any one genre. It is funny, and I laugh at several scenes. It is dramatic, dealing with difficult themes like loyalty and knowing when you are fighting for the right cause, and it is full of samurai sword-slashing action. There is wisdom here, and quiet interludes, such as the two girls reflection on lying back in the hay. A sweet moment. This was made early enough in the Criterion DVD offerings, that they just didn't quite know have it right yet. The black and white is crisp, and the picture is much more clear than earlier prints. However, the aspect ration is not accurate, and there are no extras to speak of. The unexceptional DVD accounts for the 4 star rating of a 5 star movie. While not as important of a film as "Seven Samurai," "Roshomon" or "Ran," "Sanjuro" is an excellent film and one worth owning. I find it every bit the equal of "Yojimbo," and it is good fun to watch the same character behave so differently, as if he recreated himself with each group he meets.
Rating: 
Summary: Antithesis of Yojimbo
Review: Kurosawa Productions, Inc. released "Sanjuro" [aka Tsubaki Sanjuro] in response to the popular reaction to the excellent "Yojimbo." And what a falling off was there. What was once both cinematically deft and funny became merely funny. The swordplay in "Sanjuro" is adroit, but it serves no other purpose than itself. The comedic element is reduced to a juvenile subtext involving the salvation of a group of worthless (but, oh so cute) young samurai. Mifune wasted his time. So did Kurosawa. And so did us all.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Movie
Review: Kurosawa's sequel to his classic Yojimbo doesn't pack the same punch that its predecessor did. That's not to say Sanjuro isn't worth the time; far from it. Mifune, as before, growls and scratches to brilliant effect in this considerably lighter, more tongue-in-cheek film. As the masterless Sanjuro, Mifune ends up coaching nine foolhardy samurai in their quest to rescue the leader of their clan. This time Kurosawa emphasises comedy over the bleakness of Yojimbo. It's an interesting shift in tone and the movie moves quickly enough, though there's a few too many scenes of the samurai getting ready to run off into more trouble before Sanjuro cooly suggests otherwise. The moments of action are blindingly fast and as stunning as they were presented in Yojimbo, perhaps even more so. Mifune slices through thirty-odd baddies in literally moments. As always, whenever he's on the screen he's a mesmerising presence. However the supporting cast equip themselves well, particularly Tatsuya Nakadai as Muroto. The scenes between Nakadai and Mifune are electrifying - a tense atmosphere prevalent throughout - leading to an unforgettable finale that is an all-time classic scene. The Criterion DVD isn't as good as some of their other Kurosawa releases - notably Yojimbo and Seven Samurai - and the picture is far from perfect, but it's not like we have a choice of releases here. The DVD aside, as a companion piece to Yojimbo, Sanjuro is an entertaining watch and another feather in the cap for Kurosawa, one of the greatest directors who ever lived.
Rating:
Summary: No Yojimbo, but...
Review: Kurosawa's sequel to his classic Yojimbo doesn't pack the same punch that its predecessor did. That's not to say Sanjuro isn't worth the time; far from it. Mifune, as before, growls and scratches to brilliant effect in this considerably lighter, more tongue-in-cheek film. As the masterless Sanjuro, Mifune ends up coaching nine foolhardy samurai in their quest to rescue the leader of their clan. This time Kurosawa emphasises comedy over the bleakness of Yojimbo. It's an interesting shift in tone and the movie moves quickly enough, though there's a few too many scenes of the samurai getting ready to run off into more trouble before Sanjuro cooly suggests otherwise. The moments of action are blindingly fast and as stunning as they were presented in Yojimbo, perhaps even more so. Mifune slices through thirty-odd baddies in literally moments. As always, whenever he's on the screen he's a mesmerising presence. However the supporting cast equip themselves well, particularly Tatsuya Nakadai as Muroto. The scenes between Nakadai and Mifune are electrifying - a tense atmosphere prevalent throughout - leading to an unforgettable finale that is an all-time classic scene. The Criterion DVD isn't as good as some of their other Kurosawa releases - notably Yojimbo and Seven Samurai - and the picture is far from perfect, but it's not like we have a choice of releases here. The DVD aside, as a companion piece to Yojimbo, Sanjuro is an entertaining watch and another feather in the cap for Kurosawa, one of the greatest directors who ever lived.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT SEQUEL
Review: Many times, sequels do far worse than the originals. But Sanjuro is one of those sequels that is as good or better than the first (Yojimbo). Toshiro Mifune is perfectly cast as Sanjuro, an eccentric samurai who has a habit of sticking his arms in his shirt and shrugging his shoulders, among other things (chin scratching, calling people stupid, etc.) I don't remember too much about the plot, except that some people need to be saved and Sanjuro has no real commitments to any one person, so he sides with whoever is convenient at the moment--resulting in some very funny scenes. One of my favorite parts is where two women are arguing over what color camelias should be cast into the river as a signal for the attack: red ones or white ones? Frustrated with the women, Sanjuro retorts with: "I'll throw a whole BUNCH in!" In particular, watch for the scene where Sanjuro kills 3 men and tells his master what has happened; the expression on the master's face is PRICELESS. The ending is as good as the one in Yojimbo, further icing this already delicious cake of a movie. Haven't seen Yojimbo? I saw this one first and understood just about all of it. Even if you did see Yojimbo first I got 30 camelias here that say you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: need i say anything at all!
Review: Need I say anything about akira kurosawa's or Toshiros Mifunes films their all classics each and every one, and this one was one of my favourites along the likes of the Classic Seven Samurai. Toshiro plays his usual ragged samurai with that bold powerful acting we've all to come to love. Am not going to bore you with telling you the story 'I don't want to spoil it to much' but the end sword fight deserves buying the dvd version alone''you can watch it in slow mo'' its that fast and fantastic. for fan of this mighty duo this is a must, I own the video versions as well, the translation to english is much better on the dvd with different text ect, the picture quality is also better than the video version.. in a word BUY IT YOU WANT BE SORRY.. ANDYSAN
Rating:
Summary: Well worth it
Review: Not as ambiguosly thought provoking as Yojimbo... but still well worth seeing and buying.
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