YMMV / Yojimbo

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• Adaptation Displacement: Possibly one of the most complicated examples— the story began as a Hardboiled Detective novel (Red Harvest, by Dashiell Hammett), then became a Jidaigeki film (Yojimbo), and was then adapted once more as a Spaghetti Western (A Fistful of Dollars). Later, it was adapted into a French gangster/action comedy in the 1970s, Cop or Hood. It was also adapted three times in The '90s, with the gangster film Last Man Standing, the Action Hero film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme Desert Heat, and then as a rather forgettable sci-fi flick, Omega Doom. And from all of this, Yojimbo manages to both play this trope straight and avert it at the same time; the Kurosawa film is much better known than both the novel it's based on and most of its own adaptations, but at the same time is generally brought up among English-speaking audiences just for the fact that A Fistful of Dollars is a knockoff of it (Yojimbo itself is generally well-known among film buffs regardless of language, thanks to how innovative it was at the time).
• Awesome Music: Sanjūrō's theme. It's about fifteen seconds long, but it suits him perfectly and it kicks ass.
• Complete Monster: Ushitora, rival of Seibei, is one of the two gang leaders in the nameless town. Elevating the corrupt sake brewer Tokuemon to mayor, Ushitora murders a government official to keep his business secret and keeps Tokuemon's loyalty by having enslaved a man's wife from gambling debts and allows Tokuemon to use her as a Sex Slave. Upon seizing a chance to wipe out Seibei, Ushitora massacres Seibei, his men, and even his entire family while also torturing the Rōnin Sanjuro.
• I Am Not Shazam: Many folks (particularly in the West) assume that "Yojimbo" is the protagonist's name, rather than his (sort-of) job title.
• Magnificent Bastard: The nameless Rōnin known as Kuwabatake or Tsubaki Sanjuro is a killer for hire who arrives in a desolate town controlled by feuding gangsters Ushitora and Seibei, he skillfully plays the two against one another, inflaming tensions so they will wipe one another out and ensuring their victims will be saved. After slaughtering Ushitora and his men, Sanjuro later returns to bring down a corrupt official named Kikui by playing his faction with faulty information. When he also ruins the plans of honorable samurai Hanbei, Sanjuro reluctantly defeats him in a fatal duel by altering how he draws his sword, knowing the more honorable Hanbei will strike in a traditional fashion.
• Once Original, Now Common: Director Akira Kurosawa was such a huge influence on films such as A Fistful of Dollars and Django that the movie can come across as this. However, Yojimbo has more of a dark, tongue-in-cheek sense of humour than the other two. In addition, Toshiro Mifune's performance is more confident and self-assured than either the reserved charm of Clint Eastwood or the solemn weight of Franco Nero.
• Signature Scene: The final showdown, where Sanjuro squares off against Unosuke and his gang in clouds of blowing dust.

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