Yojimbo

Akira Kurosawa’s darkly comic classic about a lone Samurai warrior, who after the fall of the feudal system in Japan, wanders into a small town and becomes embroiled in a deadly feud between to local gangs. It’s a fascinating combination of eastern and western (real wild western) themes. It’s the classic lone gunslinger plot set in a village in Japan. The plot is almost identical to A Fistful Of Dollars. There are many other parts and techniques in Yojimbo that have been copied by later film makers. Near the start there is a scene of a dog making off with a severed hand in his jaw – lovingly reprised by David Lynch in Wild at Heart. The black and white cinematography is excellent, capturing perfectly the desolation of the besieged town and the tension between the opposing parties.