Yojimbo (Kurosawa, 1961) presents an overall stronger story than A Fistful of Dollars (Leone, 1964) as it focuses less on the action sequences on more on character development. In particular A Fistful of Dollars (Leone, 1964) appears to depict some of the more meaningful scenes with an excessive amount of swashbuckling that ultimately detracts from the significance of particular scenes. This can be seen in the respective scenes of both films when the two factions are sparring with one another near
Yojimbo: Ideology and Interpretation Yojimbo was directed by Akira Kurosawa in 1961. It is the story of a nineteenth century Japanese village that is controlled by two opposing merchants and their clans. The visit of a wandering samurai, who seeks work as a hired killer, interrupts their arguing over a gambling concession. The samurai, Sanjuro, is able to exploit both gangs using his skill with a sword. The story is an Eastern take on the Hollywood western with a dash of satire, with “The
It has been said that movies have repeating themes. Ideas have just been circling around and what distinguishes a movie from the other is the way it was portrayed. Some of the most common themes that we can observe in films are the man versus nature where the characters are fighting for survival, man versus himself or the struggle of the character’s self-demise, loss of innocence that portrays the journey of the characters into self-identity, love conquers all which is basically inclined to romance
seems to disregard the law, consistently, or someone who commits sinful acts, religiously based or morally based, would be decided as a “bad” person due to their overall disrespect to rules and normality, according to societal standards. In the film Yojimbo, a lonely samurai
dramatization of various scenes. The differences and commonalities between the samurai films with traditional values and the films that challenge those values will be analyzed clearly in the film trilogy: Samurai I, II and, III by Hiroshi Inagaki and Yojimbo by Akira Kurosawa. The contrasts and commonalities of the two films are in the protagonists’ appearance, personality, sword skill, their relationship with others, cinematography, politics, and themes. Samurai trilogy follows the life span of Takezo
Shakespeare’s ultimate goal was to resonate with his audience by using his creative and artistic talent. Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood is deemed worthy of keeping this spirit of Shakespeare alive. Kurosawa took the main themes and ideas of Shakespeare and interpreted them in such a way that made it the great film it is today. Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood is the better adaptation of the Tragedy of Macbeth for the fact that the play was altered into feudal Japanese culture. The average audience of Throne
Akira Kurosawa, legendary Japanese filmmaker who directed films like The Hidden Fortress which was a major inspiration for Star Wars, Yojimbo, Rashomon and many more, but his most well known film, The Seven Samurai is his best movie, it is rank 19 of Top Rated Movies in IMDB, so of course after the release of the film in America, Hollywood remade the film and titled it The Magnificent Seven. Because it is a remake The Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai both have many similarities in terms of
The films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa have had wide ranging influence over contemporary films, with his ronin films Seven Samurai and Yojimbo influencing countless westerns and mob movies. Arguably, however, Rashomon has been the most instrumental of all Kurosawa’s films because it asks a question that lies near the heart of all cinema: what is reality? Today, any consumer of television or cinema has seen various permutations of the plot of Rashomon numerous times, probably without realizing
Westerns are the most important genre of the American film industry, a reflective tribute to the early days of the grand, wild American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most prevailing and versatile genres and one of the classically American genres in their mythic origins. The popularity of westerns has changed over time. Their most productive period was in the 1930s to the 1960s, and most lately in the 90s, there was a restoration of the genre. This original American art form concentrates
movie. As Grant indicates “If we talk about the strictly Italian interpretation of the western subject, then Leone sets the point of origin.”(50) Story wise, this film is not original, in fact the plot was admittedly borrowed from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961). It features a lonely fortune-hunter who plays two rival families against each
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Western films are the major defining genre of the American film industry, a eulogy to the early days of the expansive American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring and flexible genres and one of the most characteristically American genres in their mythic origins - they focus on the West - in North America. Western films have also been called the horse opera, the oater (quickly-made, short western films which became as common place as oats for horses)
9. Cruel Story of Youth (Nagisa Osima, 1960) Nagisa Oshima’s second feature film is a prime example of the Japanese New Wave, as it focuses on adolescent delinquency, the sexual revolution, and the failures of the post-war generation. Furthermore, it was his first commercial success and the one that introduced him to the rest of the world. Makoto, a high school student has the habit, along with her friends, to ask for car rides from middle-aged men. During one of those, a lecherous individual tries
Hollywood is an interesting entity, it provides the world with entertainment that is exciting, emotional, unique and so much more. At the same time, however, it’s hard not to see Hollywood as a money grubbing industry, full of sleazy deals, awful movies and it has even produced films completely diluted of originality. One style of filmmaking that often gets this label of unoriginality is remakes, which “While genre films, cycles, and sequels… have found their legitimate place in film theory and criticism