#52 - Yojimbo

#52 is a classic - utter and complete classic - it has inspired copycats in the west - (A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing) - it made an international superstar out of Toshiro Mifune and continues the great collaborations between him and Akira Kurosawa.

I'm going to do something a little different here - I'm not going to talk about the film yet

I'm going to talk about a time when I had seen Seven Samurai, and had bought the boxed set which included that, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, and the Hidden Fortress.

Also I was semi homeless - living out of a friend's spare bedroom - and drinking heavily - I also had a band practice space which had a small couch but not much band practicing.

And I went out and bought one of those combo DVD/TV units - and I'd walk 3 blocks to the store, buy some rumplemintz, walk back to the practice space, and watch these DVD's on the 4:3 little TV which I put at the end of the couch, and I'd drink to excess and watch samurai movies.   I think I watched them all twice

Later on, after I quit drinking, I'd find refuge again in a two week theater run of Samurai movies in Town.  Right when I was beginning my sobriety, I would play video games or watch TV or (meh) smoke weed - but early on there was a two week stint of Samurai movies at the University's Theater, where I got to see Yojimbo on the big screen, as well as other classics like Sword of Doom and Hari-Kiri, which may be my favorite Samurai film of all time.

So the genre has a special place in my heart - they're my westerns - I still want to go to Japan but the wife is too paranoid about radiation so I'll probably never get to go - but I'd go on a tour and I'd look at famous Japanese history from the 1600-1850's

It's a deeply entertaining film - the music, cinematography, and action are top notch - it looks great on a Blu-Ray and I even listened a 2nd time with the commentary because Stephen Prince brings a lot to it, and will tie it together with the next film, a sequel with the same character, who Mifune would also play a variation on a couple more times in future cinema - just as Clint Eastwood would play a different "Man With No Name" character in some of his later westerns.

It's a great film - I wish everyone could enjoy it in the theaters again

RB