Yojimbo
Back to browse
81% Critic Match

Yojimbo

Kill one or a hundred... you only hang once

8.1 / 10 1961 1h 50mNR Japanese
DramaThriller

Storyline

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

Cast & Crew

Toshirō Mifune

Toshirō Mifune

Sanjuro Kuwabatake / The Samurai

Lead
Tatsuya Nakadai

Tatsuya Nakadai

Unosuke, gunfighter

Yōko Tsukasa

Yōko Tsukasa

Nui

Isuzu Yamada

Isuzu Yamada

Orin

Daisuke Katō

Daisuke Katō

Inokichi

Seizaburō Kawazu

Seizaburō Kawazu

Seibê - brothel operator

Takashi Shimura

Takashi Shimura

Tokuemon, sake brewer

Hiroshi Tachikawa

Hiroshi Tachikawa

Yoichiro

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Akira Kurosawa's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
4.0
Every frame feels alive. Yojimbo is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker