Tsubaki Sanjûrô (1962)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Ryuzo Kikushima (writer)
Akira Kurosawa (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

7 May 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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 | Corruption | Samurai | Rescue | Ronin

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

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 Companies

• Kurosawa Production Co.
• Toho Company

Distributors

• Toho Company (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Cowboy Pictures (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

Sanjuro (USA)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound encoding) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 | UK:12 | UK:PG (re-rating) (2002) | UK:A (original rating) | West Germany:12 | USA:PG-13

Company:

Kurosawa Production Co.

Trivia:

For the "explosion of blood" in the final duel, chocolate syrup was mixed with carbonated water and put under 30 pounds of pressure.

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'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.

Movie Connections:

Version of Kiru (1968)

Kurosowa goes into blockbuster mode!

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!!!