Sanjuro Is Both A Sequel To Yojimbo And Yet Another Excellent Akira Kurosawa Movie

Sanjuro marks my sixth foray in the filmography of Akira Kurosawa and each time I view a movie by this guy, it really is an awesome experience. Kurosawa just shows so much skill as a filmmaker, with such great command of his craft, it's just a joy to spend a few hours immersed in something he created. Sanjuro is yet another great example of the kind of high-quality cinema Kurosawa so frequently dabbled in. This feature serves as a sequel to an earlier Kurosawa work Yojimbo, with Sanjuro, like its predecessor, featuring Toshiruo Mifune in a lead role as a heavily experienced samurai. Those expecting simply a retread of Yojimbo, though, will be elated to know there's plenty going on here in Sanjuro to give it its own identity.

Yojimbo Review (Classic Write-Up)

Where has this movie been all my life?

Honest to God, Yojimbo is such a clever, inventive, engaging and excellently produced motion picture I'm kicking myself for not watching it waaaaaayy sooner than I did. Better late than never, I suppose, especially when a great feature film like Yojimbo factors into the equation. Directed by Akira Kurosawa (he's also a writer of the film) and released in April 1961, this is the kind of movie that exemplifies why a simple premise can sometimes be the perfect thing to hinge an entire feature on.