Toshiro Mifune can’t believe what he sees in YOJIMBO.
YOJIMBO (Akira Kurosawa, 1961)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Wednesday, February 3, 1:30, 5:25, 9:20
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org
Toshiro 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 as well as HIGH NOON.
Toshiro Mifune can’t believe what he sees in SANJURO.
SANJURO (Akira Kurosawa, 1962)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Wednesday, February 3, 3:35, 7:30
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org
In this YOJIMBO-like tale, Toshiro 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.