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Tsubaki Sanjûrô
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Tsubaki Sanjûrô (1962) More at IMDbPro »

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Tsubaki Sanjûrô (1962) -- A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   7,047 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Akira Kurosawa
Writers:
Ryuzo Kikushima (writer)
Akira Kurosawa (writer)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Sanjuro on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 May 1963 (USA) more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win more
User Comments:
Kurosowa goes into blockbuster mode! more

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
Toshirô Mifune ... Sanjûrô Tsubaki / The Samurai
Tatsuya Nakadai ... Hanbei Muroto
Keiju Kobayashi ... The Spy
Yuzo Kayama ... Iori Izaka
Reiko Dan ... Chidori, Mutsuta's daughter
Akihiko Hirata ... Samurai
Takashi Shimura ... Kurofuji
Kamatari Fujiwara ... Takebayashi
Takako Irie ... Mutsuta's wife
Masao Shimizu ... Kikui
Yûnosuke Itô ... Mutsuta, the Chamberlain
Akira Kubo ... Samurai
Kenzo Matsui ... Samurai
Hiroshi Tachikawa ... Samurai
Yoshio Tsuchiya ... Samurai
Kunie Tanaka ... Samurai
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tatsuyoshi Ehara ... Samurai
Tatsuhiko Hari ... Samurai
Kôji Uruki
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Directed by
Akira Kurosawa 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Ryuzo Kikushima  writer
Akira Kurosawa  writer
Hideo Oguni  writer
Shugoro Yamamoto  novel "Peaceful Days"

Produced by
Ryuzo Kikushima .... associate producer
Tomoyuki Tanaka .... associate producer
 
Original Music by
Masaru Satô 
 
Cinematography by
Fukuzo Koizumi 
Takao Saitô 
 
Film Editing by
Akira Kurosawa 
 
Production Design by
Yoshirô Muraki 
 
Sound Department
Wataru Konuma .... sound recordist
Hisashi Shimonaga .... sound recordist
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Ichirô Inohara .... lighting technician
 
Other crew
Ryu Kuze .... fencing advisor
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Sanjuro (USA)
more
Runtime:
96 min
Country:
Japan
Language:
Japanese
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
For the "explosion of blood" in the final duel, chocolate syrup was mixed with carbonated water and put under 30 pounds of pressure. more
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. more
Quotes:
Mutsuta's wife: You're too sharp. That's your trouble. You're like a drawn sword. Sharp, naked without a sheath. You cut well. But good swords are kept in their sheaths. more
Movie Connections:
Version of Kiru (1968) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
24 out of 27 people found the following comment useful:-
Kurosowa goes into blockbuster mode!, 21 June 2002
9/10
Author: OttoVonB from Switzerland

That must be what this film was when it came out. Yet comparisons between it and Yojimbo (Sanjuro being the sequel) often get it a bit wrong and tend to regard Sanjuro as better. Yes and no. It's a bit like comparing Die Hard and Die Hard with Avengeance, the third film is bigger, funnier, faster... but the first installment is darker and more original. Same with these two: Kurosowa's Yojimbo is dark and has a message and some depth (more than Sanjuro), but Sanjuro is more fun and has a faster pace. It isn't Kurosowa's finest hour, but may be one of his best attempts at lightweight crowd-pleasing (though still bearing lots of quality!) and much closer to great Hollywood capers that inspired him (John Ford was his idol!). Mifune is on top form, yet again, as the reluctant nonchalant samurai/manipulator Sanjuro, and layers his performance with a subtly comical aspect. Probably the best film of Kurosowa's oeuvre to watch first if you've never seen any of his films with Mifune (it has a short running time [96min] and flows smoothly). See what I mean? Yeah you! Well then get moving: go out there and see what all the fuss is about!!!

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Tsubaki Sanjûrô (1962)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Where should I start? lileprechaun2
Question about final duel pyroseed13
Continuation of Sanjuro in CGI internet show justinguiles6
A movie to be remade as a western PaulMorel
Koiso; three or four young samurai twob_ornot
Chamberlain/Superin tendant? JohnVFerrigno
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