tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post114283673271884759..comments2023-10-11T03:42:59.033-07:00Comments on The Criterion Contraption: #52: YojimboMatthew Dessemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-34901170246188105872013-11-28T08:09:10.412-08:002013-11-28T08:09:10.412-08:00Hey, now you get to watch Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (...Hey, now you get to watch Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (and every other Zatoichi movie, with Katsu at least)!Zach Grootenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15420436304094057767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-35205850175689795852012-06-08T20:55:33.816-07:002012-06-08T20:55:33.816-07:00The Zatôichi film is, as you call it, shameless. ...The Zatôichi film is, as you call it, shameless. It plays off superficial aspects of both Katsu's and Mifune's characters, in a rather mindless plot exercise. To their credit, not all the Zatôichi films are such cheap fare. The one's directed by Kenji Misumi were significantly better; from what I've been given to understand, he had a lot of influence on subject, development, Barry Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-21617419518581909672011-10-04T23:52:06.029-07:002011-10-04T23:52:06.029-07:00The dog-hand is certainly not just a joke. It is ...The dog-hand is certainly not just a joke. It is a zen reference to Huike, the first disciple of Bodhidharma, who cut off his hand in order to attain enlightenment. Toshio is searching in the scene, searching for some sign to guide him about the desolate town he has found himself thrown into. In very many ways this search is a prolonged one which is evident throughout the movie. Toshio is Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-16577502155769610572011-09-14T09:49:22.167-07:002011-09-14T09:49:22.167-07:00Yes, the sword is a symbol of status, but I look a...Yes, the sword is a symbol of status, but I look at it more as the criminals wear swords because samurai do -- NOT because they tehmselves are samurai.<br /><br />My take on Sanjuro is a little different. He's not destroying the town, he's saving it. Saving it for the poor folk, even though he despises that they won't stand up for themselves.<br /><br />And the guy with the jitte? He&Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-23911230820887006132010-04-30T20:39:11.543-07:002010-04-30T20:39:11.543-07:00Colin,
That's interesting -- I didn't rea...Colin,<br /><br />That's interesting -- I didn't realize they had to wear the swords. <br /><br />I'm getting started on my new screenplay, "Scrawny Little Bureaucrat Samurai," as soon as I post this.<br /><br />MattMatthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-70457468294374657282010-04-30T04:40:41.916-07:002010-04-30T04:40:41.916-07:00I've been reading your reviews this afternoon ...I've been reading your reviews this afternoon with pleasure. I live in Osaka, so I've got a bit of a fixation with those Japanese directors from the 50s 60s. <br /><br />In Yojimbo, the character Unosuke has a gun but still wears a sword simply because he's a samurai. The sword was a sign of his rank in society- even a scrawny little bureaucrat samurai had to wear one, even if he Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13916973143311287525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-40908945345479804262010-02-06T17:15:06.890-08:002010-02-06T17:15:06.890-08:00Hi, Matt -- congrats on getting "discovered&q...Hi, Matt -- congrats on getting "discovered" -- you are seriously awesome..<br /><br />I just finished up a post on Yojimbo for a friend of mine's poetry blog:<br /><br />http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com/the_best_american_poetry/2010/02/xxvi-the-30-films-of-akira-kurosawa-yojimbo-1961-by-lewis-saul.html<br /><br />I would very much like to use TWO and only TWO captures of Lewis Saulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12490917696595100263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-59097868594782283792008-03-11T12:20:00.000-07:002008-03-11T12:20:00.000-07:00Lewis,Well, you know me, I'm a stickler for watchi...Lewis,<BR/><BR/>Well, you know me, I'm a stickler for watching things in order; I imagine I'll start with the first one.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-79529787736990236232008-03-04T08:25:00.000-08:002008-03-04T08:25:00.000-08:00I personally think the Zatoichi films are absolute...I personally think the Zatoichi films are absolutely fantastic!<BR/><BR/>Best to start with #3, the first in color (although 1 and 2 are sort of important, plot-wise to what comes after...)<BR/><BR/>Katsu Shintaro is magnificent throughout the series -- and there is something about the location photography that makes me very nostalgic -- for something?<BR/><BR/>The Yojimbo-Zatoichi entry is good,Lewis Saulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12490917696595100263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-75332789808938406152007-10-08T22:13:00.000-07:002007-10-08T22:13:00.000-07:00JJ,I didn't know that -- that's fascinating. I th...JJ,<BR/><BR/>I didn't know that -- that's fascinating. I thought he'd stolen everything from <EM>The Hidden Fortress</EM>, (which I haven't yet seen), but I guess all Kurosawa was fair game, huh?Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-36488633233670616652007-10-08T18:37:00.000-07:002007-10-08T18:37:00.000-07:00Take a look at a Janus films videotape release of ...Take a look at a Janus films videotape release of a Kurosawa film, or try to see one of their prints screened sometime. The original subtitles are very interesting. For instance, in Yojimbo, when Mifune is confronting those three guys, one of them says, in the subtitles: "Don't mess with us! We're dangerous men! I've got the death penalty in three districts!"<BR/><BR/>Then Mifune whips his Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-61281296084544491862007-03-26T17:54:00.000-07:002007-03-26T17:54:00.000-07:00The Don,I'll check it out, then. Is there a Zatôi...The Don,<BR/><BR/>I'll check it out, then. Is there a Zatôichi film you'd recommend starting with if I wanted to see some of that series first?Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1163551075713175182006-11-14T16:37:00.000-08:002006-11-14T16:37:00.000-08:00Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is ok, and as a avid Zatoic...Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo is ok, and as a avid Zatoichi fan I must admit I enjoyed this depature from the fairly formulalic series. It's a much better than the equally hoaky team up between Zatoichi and the One Armed Swordsman. (a famous Shaw Brothers character)The Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13758369136192482313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1144560693673776722006-04-08T22:31:00.000-07:002006-04-08T22:31:00.000-07:00Yan, I think it's a combination of two things. On...Yan, I think it's a combination of two things. One is that Criterion has a close relationship with Janus Films, which still controls American distribution rights for an incredible percentage of foreign films of the fifties and sixties (I think they were about the only company buying these rights from 1955 to around 1965, when other studios started to get interested). So Kurosawa and Bergman Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1144083795360665922006-04-03T10:03:00.000-07:002006-04-03T10:03:00.000-07:003 Kurasawa (Kurasawii?) down, 11 to go. I like hi...3 Kurasawa (Kurasawii?) down, 11 to go. I like his films, but seems a bit much. <BR/><BR/>I just looked at the list, and Bergman wins with a total of 16. I barely made it through 2 Bergmans. I could never do it. Do you think Criterion makes a point of giving a couple of directors so many slots?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com