Sanjuro (1962)
"Tsubaki Sanjûrô" (original title)

A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Ryûzô Kikushima (screenplay), Hideo Oguni (screenplay),

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Sanjûrô Tsubaki / The Samurai
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Hanbei Muroto
Keiju Kobayashi	...	The Spy
Yûzô Kayama	...	Iori Izaka
Reiko Dan	...	Chidori, Mutsuta's daughter
Takashi Shimura	...	Kurofuji
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Takebayashi
Takako Irie	...	Mutsuta's wife
Masao Shimizu	...	Kikui
Yûnosuke Itô	...	Mutsuta, the Chamberlain
Akira Kubo	...	Samurai
Hiroshi Tachikawa	...	Samurai
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Samurai
Kunie Tanaka	...	Samurai
Tatsuyoshi Ehara	...	Samurai

Storyline

A group of idealistic young men, determined to clean up the corruption in their town, are aided by a scruffy, cynical samurai who does not at all fit their concept of a noble warrior.

---

Plot Keywords:

uncle | samurai | corruption | ronin | warrior | 

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

7 May 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sanjuro

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, Kurosawa Production Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While most of the sets were built in the studio or out in the lot, the shrine in the first scene was a real, unused shrine in Gotemba. It is still standing as of 2007.

---

Goofs

When the Chamberlain's nephew goes to peek over the wall to check if Kikui's house is full of troops, he supports himself on the wall which bends slightly, belying its supposed sturdiness.

---

Quotes

[last lines]
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: See ya around.

---

Connections

Referenced in Night Job (2010)

User Reviews

The master in a lighter mode

Sanjuro is not one of Kurosawa's great films, but it shows him relaxed and having fun, deconstructing the jidai-geki (samurai film) genre with tongue firmly in cheek.

The film lacks the meticulous visual style of Yojimbo, but it is very well photographed, with some extremely fluid cinematography and those effortlessly artful group compositions that only Kurosawa seems to be able to do. The plot is a little exposition-heavy, but it's always swift-moving and never comes close to taking itself seriously.

Watching Toshiro slice apart all those enemies in the various battle scenes with nary a bloodstain in sight, I did find myself wishing the folks at Toho had sprung for a few squibs. But all is set right in the brilliant final swordfight, which is worth the price of admission.