History Film / Yojimbo

''Yojimbo'' (Yōjinbō, 用心棒, meaning "bodyguard") is a 1961 {{Jidaigeki}} film directed by Creator/AkiraKurosawa, loosely based on Creator/DashiellHammett's novel ''Literature/RedHarvest''. It stars Creator/ToshiroMifune as a wandering rōnin who arrives in a town beset by criminals and decides to clean the place up (apparently [[WarForFunAndProfit for fun and profit]]). His method is simple, yet clever: [[DivideAndConquer he reduces the number of gangsters in the town by getting the two rival factions to go to war, then mops up the remainder]]. When asked about his name, he looks at a mulberry field and answers "Kuwabatake Sanjūrō".

* AssholeVictim: At the end following the CurbStompBattle of Sanjuro, Mayor Tazaemon chases DirtyOldMan Tokuemon with a knife and kills him.

''Yojimbo'' (Yōjinbō, 用心棒, meaning "bodyguard") is a 1961 {{Jidaigeki}} film directed by Creator/AkiraKurosawa, loosely based on Creator/DashiellHammett's novel ''Literature/RedHarvest''. It stars Creator/ToshiroMifune as a wandering rōnin who arrives in a town beset by criminals and decides to clean the place up (apparently for fun and profit). His method is simple, yet clever: [[DivideAndConquer he reduces the number of gangsters in the town by getting the two rival factions to go to war, then mops up the remainder]]. When asked about his name, he looks at a mulberry field and answers "Kuwabatake Sanjūrō".

A year later it got a sequel titled ''Film/{{Sanjuro}}'', which is a bit more light-hearted.

* AssholeVictim: At the end following the CurbStompBattle of Sanjuro, Mayor Tazaemon chases the [[DirtyCop slimy lawman]] Hansuke with a knife and kills him. The guy let the MobWar happen and did his best to gleefully profit from it, so nobody will miss him.

* BittersweetEnding: The town is free of the gangs, but [[spoiler:thanks to how badly the war had escalated before the end, there isn't much ''left'' of the town, with the restaurateur and the cooper being the only depicted adult males still alive and sane]]. As for Sanjuro, [[spoiler:he may have conned some gold out of the gangs before wiping them out, but in the end he's still just a wandering ronin with little to his name but the clothes on his back and the sword at his waist]].

* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: Quite a few of these. This is one reason this movie stands the test of time so well. In fact, although the plot revolves around the threat of violence, very little screentime actually depicts violence. So it hardly fits the modern concept of "action movie".

* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight: [[spoiler:Averted. Sanjūrō wins.]]

A year later it got a sequel titled ''Film/{{Sanjuro}}'', which was a bit more of a light-hearted comedy.

* CharacterTics: Sanjūrō has a habit of keeping one hand inside of his clothing and twitching his shoulders. The idea behind this is that he's like a wolf/dog and has fleas -- making him ''[[IncrediblyLamePun a character with ticks]]''.

* TheExpyWithNoName: "Kuwabatake Sanjūrō" is the UrExample, a nameless and mysterious ronin who is [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname known only by their nickname]], visits a town beset by criminals and eliminates two rival gangs by making them go to war with each other.

''Yojimbo'' (Yōjinbō, 用心棒, meaning "bodyguard") is a 1961 JidaiGeki film directed by Creator/AkiraKurosawa, loosely based on Creator/DashiellHammett's novel ''Literature/RedHarvest''. It stars Creator/ToshiroMifune as a wandering rōnin who arrives in a town beset by criminals and decides to clean the place up (apparently for fun and profit). His method is simple, yet clever: [[DivideAndConquer he reduces the number of gangsters in the town by getting the two rival factions to go to war, then mops up the remainder]]. When asked about his name, he looks at a mulberry field and answers "Kuwabatake Sanjūrō".

* AdaptationTimeChange: ''Yojimbo'' is loosely based on the novel ''Red Harvest''.

* AFistfulOfRehashes: The one that's thought to have started the rehashing chain is itself an adaptation of ''The Glass Key'', though its plot more closely follows ''Red Harvest''.

''Yojimbo'' (Yōjinbō, 用心棒, meaning "bodyguard") is a 1961 JidaiGeki film directed by Creator/AkiraKurosawa, loosely based on Creator/DashiellHammett's novel ''Literature/RedHarvest''. It stars Creator/ToshiroMifune as a wandering rōnin who arrives in a town beset by criminals and decides to clean the place up (apparently for fun and profit). His method is simple, yet clever: he reduces the number of gangsters in the town by getting the two rival factions to go to war, then mops up the remainder. When asked about his name, he looks at a mulberry field and answers "Kuwabatake Sanjūrō".

* EvilPlan: Ushitora seeks to usurp his old boss and TakeOverTheTown.

* AntiHero: Sanjuro is a vicious and remorseless killer, and he spends most of the film conning money out of the two criminal gangs fighting over the DyingTown rather than actively trying to help. But he never turns his brutal talents on the innocent, he can't quite manage to snuff out a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold/deep-seated sense of compassion beneath his callous exterior]] and abandon the helpless in need, and almost everyone he kills [[AssholeVictim/really had it coming]].

* AntiHero: Sanjuro is a vicious and remorseless killer, and he spends most of the film conning money out of the two criminal gangs fighting over the DyingTown rather than actively trying to help. But he never turns his brutal talents on the innocent, he can't quite manage to snuff out a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold|deep-seated sense of compassion beneath his callous exterior]] and abandon the helpless in need, and almost everyone he kills [[AssholeVictim|really had it coming]].

* AntiHero: Sanjuro is a NominalHero. He cleans up the town, not out of compassion for the people, but because he's glad to have an opportunity to make money killing people. The only things keeping him from being a VillainProtagonist are a handful of PetTheDog moments and the fact that his victims are even worse.

* CripplingTheCompetition: Sanjuro is beaten senseless for rescuing the family that Ushitora's gang was holding hostage.

* FalseFlagOperation: Sanjuro kills all of Nui's hostages while making it look like fifteen men did it.

* GunsAreWorthless: Being a gunslinger doesn't mean much when you gun-hand is disabled.

* HollywoodHealing: Sanjūrō manages to heal quickly and apparently without lasting consequences after being beaten pretty badly. Although it takes him at least a week if not more to fully recover.

** Sanjūrō manages to save a family that's been caught between the quarrels of the two gangs, which [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold makes him less overtly antiheroic.]] In order to act a little more rugged, Sanjūrō [[ShooTheDog threatens them with death if they don't get the hell out of there fast enough.]] He does so with good reason: if they're caught, they'll likely be killed.

* GiantMook: [[http://historymike.blogspot.com/2009/05/namigoro-rashomon.html Kannuki the Giant]], one of Ushitora' mooks. None of the other {{Mook}}s are even as tall as his shoulders and he wields a [[{{BFS}} big freakin]]' [[DropTheHammer mallet]].

An enormously influential film, it has had at least three direct remakes -- Creator/SergioLeone's ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' (as a Western), Creator/WalterHill's ''Film/LastManStanding'' (as a mob movie) and Albert Pyun's ''Omega Doom'' (as a sci-fi movie) -- as well as homages in numerous other films and television shows.