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Yojimbo Comparison

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A Comparison between Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars The Seven Samurai. Hidden Fortress. Yojimbo. These are just a few renowned films directed by none other than the ingenious Akira Kurosawa. Ever since he rose to fame, numerous directors have tried to imitate his film techniques and shots, incorporating these techniques into their own films. However, Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars went far beyond the basics of replicating Kurosawa’s film techniques. Despite some major differences in themes, Leone produced an almost exact replica of Yojimbo. Moreover, the background music and special sound effects in both films shared some similarities as well. The most important aspect of the two films was composition of both movies that provided the …show more content…

To begin with, Kurosawa’s Yojimbo was centered on comedic themes whilst Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars involved Western themes, including the cowboy styles that gained popularity over the years. After producing several samurai films based on heroism, Kurosawa directed Yojimbo, a samurai film that incorporated many humorous and fatuous scenes. When the two samurai clans clashed, Kurosawa added comic relief to the film by allowing the main character to observe the fight and to hysterically laugh at them (Yojimbo). Moreover, by infusing humor and universal themes into his works, Kurosawa appealed audiences of many different cultural backgrounds (David). Furthermore, Yojimbo involved themes that centered on not only comedy, but also heroism. In the first scene, the main character, played by famous star Toshiro Mifune, appeared as a “lost” samurai, searching for a purpose to live. Although the hero seemed nonchalant to the town’s troubles, he helped to solve the clan issues and saved a family by rescuing the wife. When the protagonist saved the family, Kurosawa successfully depicted the act of heroism as the …show more content…

According to most film critics, all of the scenes in Kurosawa’s film were carefully executed, meaning no shot was wasted. In Yojimbo, there were numerous scenes that stood out as striking because of Kurosawa’s effective use of composition. In one scene where the protagonist knelt in front of the main antagonist, Ushitoa, the difference between light and dark areas corresponded to the position of the actors. Moreover, by using shadows, Kurosawa illustrated how the “light areas” represented the good side whereas the “dark areas” represented the evil side. In this manner, Kurosawa successfully depicts that the good will always prevail. Furthermore, many scenes in Yojimbo involved movements of characters that helped to stimulate actions in the film. When the head leader of a clan entered into the shot to challenge the other household, his acolytes appeared behind him, creating more movements within the shot. Consequently, the audience would feel more of the tension between the two rival households. Although Kurosawa’s shots involved movement and were typically wide-angle and medium shots, Leone’s shots involved more medium close-ups and less movement of the characters. However, the use of rifles and pistols in A Fistful of Dollars resulted in more actions that movement of many characters seemed unnecessary. Additionally, Leone’s

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