Akira Kurosawa

A startlingly relevant 'social problem film' (shakai-mono)--of its time and our own--and an existential melodrama by way of Hamlet.

A fine example of the Kurosawa style...precision of narrative in both scripting and imagistic storytelling...

Rather than simply repeating the successful formula of Yojimbo, which incorporated humor but largely played it straight, Sanjuro flips the script for a largely comic action picture punctuated by a dark, rug-yanking conclusion.

The biggest impression left by Yojimbo is the characterization of Sanjuro, whose iconography of stoic cool (that inspired Clint Eastwood's antiheroic "Man with No Name") is consistently undercut with dashes of comical realism...

One of the all-time-great 'procedurals'...the devilish fun is in the details for Kurosawa.

The play of light and dark elements in what's arguably Akira Kurosawa's most broadly appealing and entertaining picture...explores a dichotomy of the idiocy of greed and the rewards of sacrifice.