Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Fight Scene Clip from Yojimbo: Sanjuro vs. Ushitora's gang

Scene: Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Japan in the approximated year 1860 in an unknown village taken over by two dangerous gangs.

Actors: Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune) vs. Ushitora's gang (Daisuke Kato, Kyu Sazanka, and two others)

Stuntmen: During my research, it is stated there were stuntmen for this movie, however finding the names of these stuntmen was difficult.

Scenario: Sanjuro, a lone ronin enters a town which is torn apart by two rival gangs. Each side tries to have him become their own bodyguard (Yojimbo.) He offers some help and in the end there is balanced attained in having both gangs out of the picture.

Genre: It begins very expressionistic. This Japanese style of focus, dedication, and motivation on each strike is evident, especially in the beginning of this scene where Sanjuro is walking focused and calmly towards Ushitora's gang. It is also realistic once the fighting begins. swords striking about and the sight of speed per character.

I will be taking the Objective levels through the eyes of Sanjuro.

Objective: His ultimate objective is to live and survive. (To WIN.) He has no need for the people of this village, however there are sparks of attaining a neutral state to this village where it was once a major danger zone. 

Tactics: He uses his skills attained as a living ronin. Focus, speed, determination. He remains calm and does not give in to fear or instability. 

Obstacles: The aggressiveness of the Ushitora's gang force against him. He is aware of this obstacle. He does not flee from this. 

I chose this scene because not only am I a Kurosawa fan, but I am infatuated with Sanjuro. His methods and focus. What it means in displaying what a ronin truly is. Movies like this are sometimes easily forgotten so in re watching this, it is humbling. This is an inspiration to many great movies we see today. For example, Clint Eastwood's old classics. 


I've included the link in case the movie does not work. Enjoy! :)
-Gina Bauza

1 comment:

  1. Yay Yojimbo! I love his character gesture of scratching his face with his arm inside his gi.

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