Sanjûrô (1962)

Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Starring Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yûzô Kayama, Reiko Dan, Takako Irie, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, Yûnosuke Itô, Masao Shimizu, Keiju Kobayashi.

Follow-up to Yojimbo delivers the same kind of tongue-in-cheek, action-heavy entertainment. Mifune reprises his role as the shabby, indolent grouch of a rônin who goes by Sanjûrô (different last name here, emphasizing that nothing about his identity is on the level), this time coming to the reluctant aid of nine samurai who want to rescue their abducted lord chamberlain (Itô). Technically impressive, if thematically slight, outing offers up plenty of well-staged comic book-style action and a heavier dose of humor; Mifune is even more larger-than-life here, but the supporting cast isn’t quite as memorable, though Irie’s chamberlain’s wife provides the requisite grounding influence (Nakadai also returns from Yojimbo, but he plays an entirely different character). Originally planned as a standalone adaptation of Shûgorô Yamamoto’s novel “Hibi Heian,” but after Yojimbo’s box office success, producers pressured Kurosawa to churn out a sequel, so he incorporated his samurai antihero into the lead role; it’s safe to say that the challenge was met successfully.

79/100