Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo — GTGC #299

It’s the second entry in our annual AntiTrash marathon, and this year we’ve got a western theme. And this week, we’re going so far west that we’re landing in the east. That’s right, we’re looking at the great Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. You might be asking yourself, “Self, why are they claiming this Japanese samurai film to be a western?”

We dive deep into that question

Dueling with Yojimbo

Picture this, a desolate town with a saloon, cemetery and house of worship. There are two faction, battling it out and causing chaos. One day, a talk, dark and mysterious strangers rolls into town. He holes up in the saloon and starts playing both groups like a fiddle. If you’re picturing a western, you’d be correct. It’s also the premise of Yojimbo and sets the stage for a number of retellings, including A Fistful of Dollars, which we covered here.

In this week’s episode, we bring our trademark analysis to Yojimbo and discuss the transposition of genre, define art house cinema, discuss the cult of distribution and dive deep into a really fun movie. But, before any of that, we’ll play a game. This week, we discuss our favorite Story Retellings Revamped.

Next week, we interrupt this westerns for a special presentation—Episode 300. We’re going big with one of the biggest movies of all time and a studio full of voices from the past. It’s gonna be fun.

So, get your boarding pass ready and we’ll see you, next week!

Get in Touch!

Thanks for joining us for our Yojimbo movie analysis. If you haven’t yet, you can connect with us through our various means of social media. Hit us up and let us know what you like and what you don’t like. Also, it would mean a lot if you left a review on iTunes or Stitcher after you finish subscribing.

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