A mix of samurai action and political intrigue with mixed results. Yojimbo's grizzled antihero plays mentor to a posse of bumbling would-be warriors in this sequel. While the film lacks the visceral punch of its predecessor, there are a few laughs and some elegant swordplay sprinkled throughout, as well as one particularly memorable moment of arterial spray.

"Sanjuro" is a decent samurai outing for legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. I do feel this one is a bit weaker than the others I have seen as the story just didn't grab me in the same way. I still feel the performances are good and the technical elements are great. I also just personally think I prefer the non-samurai films by Kurosawa at this time, because those tap more into human nature which I just find interesting. Overall, I think if you like the samurai films he made, this one is a solid addition, but it just didn't hit for me the same way a lot of the others do with the storytelling, and I also feel it is much lighter in tone, which can also be nice if you're in the mood for something more casual.

Perfection, a thrilling film to watch with a compelling story and intense moments. This is one of those films you have to see.

How often do we hear the news that the maker of a popular movie has caved in to public pressure, and made a sequel, in which the same actor plays the character from the last film? It is often the case that the sequel, though popular, is not thought to be as good as the first movie. However when the writer and director of the movie is Akira Kurosawa, one can be sure that the resemblance stops there. Sanjuro is a sequel of sorts to Yojimbo, though some consider it to be a prequel, based on the historical events surrounding the story. In any case it once more features Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune). Sanjuro is not his real name. Sanjuro means "thirty years old". Even that is not true as Sanjuro wryly confesses to being closer to forty. In Yojimbo, he suggested that his name was Kuwabatake Sanjuro. However he clearly made up that name, when he was asked to give one, after seeing a mulberry field (Kuwabatake). In this film, he says his name is Tsubaki Sanjuro after looking at a camellia (Tsubaki) bush, which will play a part in the action. In short, the ‘Samurai with no name' is back, but the sequel is no tired re-tread of the first film, telling the same story. Here Kurosawa opts to tell a different tale that is not even similar in tone to the first movie. Both stories contain much cynical humour, but in Yojimbo, it is of a more savage nature. Here the tone is often light-hearted and frivolous, which may cause some critics to consider the movie to be of comparatively little substance. However there are serious themes beneath the comedy. The story concerns corrupt elders engaging in fraudulent practices, and the efforts by the local samurai to stop them. The samurai are convinced that the Chamberlain, Mutsuta (Yūnosuke Itō) is in league with the criminals, mainly because he has an ugly face. They do not doubt the honesty of the more physically pleasing Superintendent Kikui (Masao Shimizu). The main contrast in the movie is that between Sanjuro and the local samurai. The nine warriors have little personality of their own. They all share the same traits. They are naïve and callow. They are obedient to authority. They are excitable and nervous. They are clueless. Their ideas are silly, and doomed to fail, and they constantly get in Sanjuro's way. Even in appearance, posture and movement, the samurai are lacking in individual identity. They dress the same. They sit in straight lines. They move together in a mass of bodies. When they are upset they stand up in unison. They say the same things at the same time. By contrast, Sanjuro stands out in any room. Compared to the rigid posture of the others, he is nonchalant and relaxed. He scratches, grunts, yawns or drops asleep. His clothes are grubby. He is a loner by nature, but he is forced to look after the other men because he feels sorry for them, and knows they will be helpless without him. They need his cynicism, his experience and imagination, and his capacity to think independently. Nonetheless Sanjuro remains an unreformed killer throughout of the story. There are 27 killings in the film, all of them done by Sanjuro. This is his metier. Sanjuro does not enjoy killing for the sake of killing. When the interference of three of the naïve samurai forces his hand, he slaps the samurai across the face because he is angry that they made it necessary for him to cause more deaths than he intended. After his last fight, Sanjuro can only walk away from the town. There is no place in a community for a man like him. He can only thrive where there is violence. Nonetheless despite his angry and violent parting words to the other samurai, they bow to him out of respect. For now there is still a need for a violent guardian to look after their world, and they respect the courage and resourcefulness of the man who protected them. I wrote a longer appreciation of Sanjuro on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2020/04/14/sanjuro-1962/

A drawn sword that wouldn't stay in its sheath. But the best sword is kept in its sheath.

I do love Akira Kurasawa's movies, especially Seven Samurai, Ran, Ikiru, Rashomon, Yojimbo, The Hidden Fortress and Throne of Blood. Sanjuro(sequel to Yojimbo) is not quite on the same level, but it is a fine film regardless and perhaps alongside The Hidden Fortress Kurasawa's most accessible film. It is very well made, with beautiful and sometimes epic scenery and superb camera work. Kurasawa directs with his usual flair, not as delicate as Ikiru, haunting as Yojimbo or as ambitious as Ran, but still highly impressive. The score is lively, the story is engaging, crisply-paced and always fun and the script is witty and tongue-in-cheek yet with a subtle edge. The characters are somewhat one-dimensional and not quite as identifiable as the titular character in Ikiru but still likable nonetheless, and Toshiro Mifune's lead performance is a very subtly fun one indeed. Overall, a great film but not my favourite from Kurasawa. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Mifune plays a super smart, super deadly samurai. The problem I had with the movie is that everybody else is so super dumb that the movie doesn't seem realistic to me.

One of Kurosawa's better samurai films, which is a half hearted compliment. A follow up to Yo Jimbo, the story is pretty standard. What's with the old woman's black teeth? Really grim to see. Good final duel aside, it's fairly forgettable.

Tosohiro Mifune again plays the role of the ronin from Kurasawa's previous movie "Yojimbo", and both share the theme of a wandering lone warrior in a parody of Clint Eastwood "man with no name" Western movies. "Yojimbo" was exciting and amusing; "Sanjuro", alas, is overlong, repetitive and inferior. The story is about a group of samurai meeting in a shrine, one of whom is the nephew of the region's Chamberlain, who had laughed off the nephew's exposure of corruption in the local government. The nephew had then told the local Superintendent, who expressed belief. The ronin, who happened to be sleeping nearby, had overheard the conversation and warns that the Superintendent is the true criminal...and is proved right when the Superintendent send some assassins to kill the nephew and his friends. The ronin manages to trick the assassins into leaving, and the nephew and his friends learn that the Chamberlain had been kidnapped and held hostage. Sounds exciting, right? But then the movie starts to repeat itself, with people continually looking over walls or opening and closing doors, with the ronin running back and forth and fighting and being upset at having to kill people, with the nephew and his friends being mistrustful of the ronin and causing further grief because of it, with troops marching back and forth. The tension is lost and the latter half of the movie slows to a crawl, spoiling the sharp beginning.

I liked this Yojimbo sequel even more. <insert even awesomer review>

Enjoyable classic with strong overtones of morality - slightly twisted.

While not as strong as its predecessor, Sanjuro still stands solidly on its own two feet. Toshiro Mifune plays his part well and gives us an iconic protagonist that is believably wise and understandably indifferent. The plot was a little confusing to me at times, as I am not that familiar with feudal Japan, but I was still able to follow the story and enjoy the journey.

A funny, fast-paced, simple and effective action flick. It's got a brisk smart script and a funny, off-beat, smouldering performance from Toshiro Mifune. Watching with a Japanese native there was a lot of untranslated humour that would have come across well with a little effort and while I missed that, the tight, economical script frames it as a lean, tactical thriller with some nice bare philosophy laden in. Kurosawa, framing and editing is still second to none, the photography crisp and the image quality flawless. Overall I enjoyed the simplicity a lot more than even some of Kurosawa's better films, there's an elegance to how easy the film is to follow. Genuinely tense in places, the final standoff toe-curling stuff, the moment where Sanjuro is forced to kill the soldiers is horrific, simple and elegant in its portrayal of reluctant bursts of terrible violence. A minor entry but a thoroughly entraining quality one.

Sanjuro is a true delight, and one of my favorite new-to-me films I’ve watched all year. This is the kind of role that Toshirô Mifune feels born to play. He portrays a Ronin who is rough around the edges, but good at heart and smarter than everyone around him. I know he’s done similar things in some of his other Kurosawa roles, but this is like the perfection of that character from Yojimbo or Seven Samurai. I found him to be a great mix of funny and charming throughout the entire film. It’s like someone took the character of Han Solo, but then gave him the wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Right up until the final scenes I was enamored with this character and his journey, and I never once questioned why he was helping out. I suppose, now that I’ve had some time to reflect on the film, it is a puzzle that he is compelled to risk his own life for these samurai, but I think we’re just supposed to trust that he’s doing the right thing out of a sense of justice, and whatever code of honor he upholds. I love the structure of the story in Sanjuro. They dole out information a little bit at a time, so occasionally we can laugh at the foolishness of the young samurai who doubt our titular hero, and other times we can sympathize with them because we don’t see the goal of his plan. The movie progresses in such a satisfying way that I was riveted the entire time. There are exciting battles, there are a number of tense moments, and plenty of twists and turns in the story. Throughout all of this there is a comedic lightness that makes it even more enjoyable for me. The events of the film include all kinds of life-or-death consequences, but because Mifune plays it so laid-back, I was able to laugh quite a lot through the movie. This is the kind of movie that I found so entertaining that I was instantly talking to other people about it. I wanted to watch it again, and I knew it would rank in my Top 100 with only one watch, which is a rare feat. There is little doubt that I’ll be adding this to my collection.

"Sanjuro" is more like a Kurosawa style movie than the spaghetti westerns of "Yojimbo" in a visual presentation but more polished. "Yojimbo" has a more mixed bag and "Sanjuro" is more to a solo movie, more bright but still gorgeous. There is nothing wrong with both movies because I prefer "Yojimbo" which still shows a lot of visuals rather than this film. Both movies work very well together in the first and final Mifune's Sanjuro trip. It gives a little more complex and in-depth in its character.

The Yojimbo goodness continues

This companion to "Yojimbo" is much more inherently Japanese, and therefore richer in its own style, packing more entertainment, beautiful craftsmanship and clever storytelling into a shorter run time.

I was initially cynical that how could a film be better than Jojimbo. This film not only found a way but it is humorous, clever and plot is just brilliant. Stop reading this and watch this epic master piece of glorious cinema.

Sanjuro is a great sequel of sorts to Yojimbo. The Ronin With No Name now leads a group of hapless samurai through a dangerous corruption case. Like most of Kurosawa's films from this period, it is highly satisfying.

Sanjuro is the second film of Kurosawa’s direction and delivers in character thanks to it’s swift action