Toshirō Mifune can’t believe what he sees in YOJIMBO
YOJIMBO (Akira Kurosawa, 1961)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
September 2-5, $13, 11:00 am
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
Toshirō Mifune is a lone samurai on the road following the end of the Tokugawa dynasty in Akira Kurosawa’s unforgettable masterpiece. Mifune comes to a town with two warring factions and plays each one off the other as a hired hand. Neo’s battles with myriad Agent Smiths are nothing compared to Yojimbo’s magnificent swordfights against growing bands of warriors that include one man with a gun. Try watching this film and not think of several Clint Eastwood Westerns (particularly Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, since this is a direct remake of that 1964 Italian flick) as well as High Noon. Yojimbo will be screening at 11:00 am on September 2-5 as part of the IFC Center’s Weekend Classics — Kurosawa series, which continues next week with the Kurosawa-Mifune follow-up Sanjuro.
Toshirō Mifune can’t believe what he sees in SANJURO
SANJURO (Akira Kurosawa, 1962)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
September 9-11, $13, 11:00 am
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
In this Yojimbo-like tale, Toshirō Mifune shows up in a small town looking for food and fast money and takes up with a rag-tag group of wimps who don’t trust him when he says he will help them against the powerful ruling gang. Funnier than most Kurosawa samurai epics, the film is unfortunately brought down a notch by a bizarre soundtrack that ranges from melodramatic claptrap to a jazzy big-city score. Sanjuro will be screening at 11:00 am September 9-11 as part of the IFC Center’s Weekend Classics — Kurosawa series, with half of the proceeds from all festival screenings benefiting Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund.