Sanjuro (1962) Tsubaki Sanjûrô (original title)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Ryûzô Kikushima (screenplay) &
Hideo Oguni (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 May 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Uncle | Samurai | Corruption | Ronin | Warrior

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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
Akihiko Hirata	...	Samurai
Toranosuke Ogawa
Sachio Sakai
Kenzô Matsui	...	Samurai
Toshiko Higuchi
Tatsuhiko Namisato	...	Samurai
Yutaka Sada	...	Murota samurai
Shin Ôtomo
Shôichi Hirose
Minoru Itô
Kôji Uruki
Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi
Fuminori Ôhashi

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits
Ryûzô Kikushima		(screenplay) &
Hideo Oguni		(screenplay) &
Akira Kurosawa		(screenplay)
Shûgorô Yamamoto		(novel "Nichinichi heian")

Produced by
Ryûzô Kikushima	....	producer
Tomoyuki Tanaka	....	producer

Original Music by
Masaru Satô

Cinematography by
Fukuzo Koizumi
Takao Saitô

Production Design by
Yoshirô Muraki

Sound Department
Wataru Konuma	....	sound recordist
Hisashi Shimonaga	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Ichirô Inohara	....	lighting technician
Katsuhiro Kato	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Ryû Kuze	....	fencing advisor

Production Companies

• Toho Company (presents)
• Kurosawa Production Co.

Distributors

• Toho Company (1962) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Toho Video (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• Toho Video (2009) (Japan) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Cowboy Pictures (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1966) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Toho Company (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• trigon-film (2012) (Austria) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2012) (Germany) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2012) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Arte Vidéo (2001) (France) (DVD)
• BFI Video (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (VHS)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Sandrews (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Wild Side Vidéo (2006) (France) (DVD)
• WoWow (2012) (Japan) (TV)
• trigon-film (2012) (Germany) (DVD) (special edition)
• trigon-film (2012) (Switzerland) (DVD) (special edition)

Other Companies

• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

"Tsubaki Sanjûrô" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 | UK:12 | UK:PG (re-rating) (2002) | UK:A (original rating) | West Germany:12 | USA:Unrated | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

In the scene where Sanjuro has to kill about a dozen of Kikui's men and then smacks three of the young samurai for forcing him to kill so many, Toshirô Mifune slapped the three young actors for real. As seen in the film, the slaps both surprised the actors and knocked them backwards.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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:

Mutsuta, the Chamberlain:Once as I rode by, someone said "the rider has a longer face than the horse."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences (2006) (V)

Better than most in the genre, even if not a 'masterpiece' for Kurosawa

Sanuro, the sequel (or prequel, more likely a sequel though) to Akira Kurosawa's 1961 classic Yojimbo, brings us Toshiro Mifune to one of his most memorable characters, as he helps out (begrudgingly but, for the audience, funny way of help) with a group of would-be samurai trying to fight a corrupt man trying to gain power. With this film, Kurosawa delivers if not more than the same amount of violence (with one of his finest scenes of which towards the very end), and Mifune along with co-stars are believable and make for an entertaining ride. For those who are not familiar with Kurosawa and look to start, this and Yojimbo are the best starting points. But to say that it is not one of Kurosawa's very best is not entirely a dis-service to him. One flaw for me was that the story was not very clear on the first viewing, or at least as clear as what I'm used to from him (then again, the samurai genre is one I've only started to dig into). But a second viewing brought it clearer, and was even more suspenseful and amusing. That it is not as satirical (or perhaps it is) than what I had heard is not a minus however. The best that can be said that it is highly watchable, and could grow on those looking for a samurai film with more based on character than on immediate, flowing blood-shed and carnage. The least that can be said is that it does not compromise artistry and thoughtfulness for mediocrity. Grade: A