Movie No:1 - Yojimbo!

When somebody asks me the best movie I have ever watched all that comes to my head is YOJIMBO- by Akira Kurosawa starring Toshiro Mifune. We'll look into what I liked about the movie so much that it is my favorite movie.

Plot Outline:
When the Shogunate (Japanese form of government) started losing power in Japan, lawlessness grew rampantly throughout Japan. Scumbags who were under the watch of Samurai warriors roamed free as samurai warriors were abandoned by their masters so as to cut costs (samurai warriors are hell costly to maintain!! afterall, they were ready to cut their stomachs to save their master's honour!!). These scumbags who dont even any code of living infested small towns and involved in maintaining brothels and gambling houses and drastically affected the normal lives of the people in there. In one such town, there are two gangs. Basically rivals in business these two clans were neck on neck in killing each other whenever they got a chance and they constantly were equals waiting the 'edge'. And then the 'edge' arrives, in the form of a masterless roaming samurai who for money wants to cash on the rivalry between these two gangs. First in order to prove his worth he teases a few gangsters of one gang and cuts three of them down. Then joins the other side, and then reveals their secrets to the other and earns their trust. An abducted hottie comes in whose son and husband were being held off her and our hero kills off gangsters who were watching over her. Later, investigating the scene of rescue the smart villain ( the wussy dude who feels superior with a gun) deduces that it must be the work of the hero. They catch him, hit him, break a bone or two (a gangster of about 8 feet does the duty!) and toss him into a cellar. Our hero escapes from there, gets out of the town with the help of a coffinmaker and recovers and openly challenges the gang of the wussy dude (just a few minutes before the other gang would be destroyed by the wussy dude's gang) and kills all of them! And then returns back to his wandering with the music decorating his walk!

About the cinema:
Well, to all the cinema freaks (i mean 'cinema' not 'movies') the name YOJIMBO will ring the most awesome 'bell' ever! One of Kurosawa's ultimate works, YOJIMBO stands alone from his other works because of the flashyass nature of the hero and infact of the entire movie itself. The hero is composed, stylish, insanely in swordsmanship and radiates superiority in each scene (even when he stands up all beaten!!). Top characteristics of YOJIMBO..
1. Style!! The way Mifune (hero) talks, walks, cuts ... everything is super stylish and so badass!! The dirty kimono, unshaven jaws and his frequent scratching of the itch over his chin, the hands within the kimono (Japanese dress wear) is all so cool for that time and in fact even now.
2. Cinematography - Well, its a Kurosawa movie and so its gotta be top notch and this one tops all of his work in an obvious manner.
3. Sets - A town haunted by the gang rivalry between two top gambler groups looks like a masterpiece with all its shady looking houses and the water tank like structure in the middle.
4. Action - Best of the best ever made! Not too many to kill, but the hero kills them all with style and technique. The very moments he gets his hands out from his kimono to draw his sword are just too awesome!



5. Music - Lifeline of the style that Mifune exhibits!! Especially the one that plays after when Mifune cuts 3 of the punkasses to prove his skill.. damn, that very music portrays what the Yojimbo is made and capable of!
6. Characterization - Apart from the obviously awesome Mifune, the other characters and their characteristics are pretty unique. Be it the coffinmaker, the scared Sensei, the fat pig-like stupid gangsteror the villain dude.. everybody are so 'cinema' perfect!!

Effect of YOJIMBO on movies:
This movie is the bible of how to portray a badass hero. Not only his role should be badass but everything and everyone around him should focus on accentuating the surrounding to provide the backdrop. After this movie, YOJIMBO was considered to be the archetypical Japanese samurai hero and tons of movies were made with the same character name as the hero (most of them starred Mifune himself). You will be wondered if you come to know that A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS is exactly the western version of YOJIMBO!

Recommendation:
If you love 'cinema' this is a must watch. Will be pretty difficult in admiring it with your attention on the subtitles, so watch it once with subtitles to watch the movie and then once more to see the 'cinema' in it!
And for the ones who don't want the 'cinema' part of the movies, try this movie and if you find it good there there is definitely a person who likes 'cinema' in you! ;-)

Adios for now! (btw YOJIMBO never says 'Goodbye'!)