Overview
A lone samurai navigates a deadly game of deception in a divided town.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- sardonic
- witty
- stylish
- classic cinema night
- action movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Yojimbo as an acclaimed, stylishly inventive Kurosawa classic that fuses samurai action, western conventions, satire, and comedy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Sanjuro deliberately offers his services to both gangsters and engineers their conflict rather than confronting the town's power structure directly.
The gangsters, corrupt officials, prostitution, and gambling economy are presented through a blend of farce, satire, and forceful action.
The wandering samurai arrives as an unaffiliated outsider and becomes the disruptive force in a town controlled by opposing criminal bosses.
The black-and-white photography gives the dusty rural town, confrontations, and swordplay a severe graphic clarity.
Films like Yojimbo, and why
Sanjuro
shared samurai setting, morally ambiguous lone warrior, kinetic swordplay, and darkly comic tone
Seven Samurai
shared period action drama, ensemble conflict, strategic combat, and Akira Kurosawa's dynamic visual storytelling
A Fistful of Dollars
shared wandering warrior protagonist, frontier justice, sardonic humor, and revisionist western energy
High Noon
shared lone outsider, corrupt town, escalating gang violence, and terse showdown structure
Movie Details
- Director
- Akira Kurosawa
- Release Date
- 1961-04-25
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 8.1 / 10 (1762)
Cast
- Toshirō Mifune
- Tatsuya Nakadai
- Yōko Tsukasa
- Isuzu Yamada
- Daisuke Katō
- Seizaburō Kawazu
- Takashi Shimura
- Hiroshi Tachikawa
- Yōsuke Natsuki
- Eijirō Tōno
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Yojimbo about?
- A sardonic wandering samurai turns a gang-ridden Edo-period town against itself through cunning, swordplay, and calculated chaos.
- What is Yojimbo like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Yojimbo as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Yojimbo violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Yojimbo as brutal.
- What did critics think of Yojimbo?
- Critics broadly regard Yojimbo as an acclaimed, stylishly inventive Kurosawa classic that fuses samurai action, western conventions, satire, and comedy.
- Which films are like Yojimbo?
- Films with a similar feel include Sanjuro, Seven Samurai, A Fistful of Dollars, and High Noon.
- How long is Yojimbo?
- Yojimbo runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Yojimbo?
- In United States, Yojimbo streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
