yojimbo western influence

Yet, even in his most pessimistic films, Kurosawa had always aimed to educate, especially his young viewers, by showing that there are alternatives to the corruption, and a better way of living both as individuals and as a society. The film also has an overarching theme of tradition versus technology, or old versus new. I think Yojimbo is probably a better representation of his work. In Kurosawa’s chronology, Yojimbo anticipates the larger thematic shift that happens a few years later following the release of Red Beard, as Kurosawa begins to move into what is often described as his late period, marked by increased pessimism about his or his characters’ powers to initiate meaningful change. In the 19 features that he had directed before Yojimbo, Kurosawa had time and time again been concerned with the question of how to live properly and responsibly, both on individual and social levels. This was a time when Japan began to go through a significant change as a nation, opening up its borders and for the first time in hundreds of years accepting foreign, and especially western, influences. Kurosawa was the filmmaker behind Seven Samurai, which served as the basis for the 1960 American Western, The Magnificent Seven. According to one source, during the filming, Leone was "slaving over a moviola machine and copying Yojimbo, changing only the setting and details of the dialogue." In 1964, Yojimbo was remade as A Fistful of Dollars, a Spaghetti Western directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first appearance as the Man with No Name. This was the time period that the American Commodore Perry came to Japan and forced them to begin trading with the … While doing so, he had documented the rebuilding of Japanese society after the war, criticising and questioning many aspects of the ongoing reconstruction. Akira Kurosawa's influence on Western films is widely discussed, from big franchise films, like Star Wars: A New Hope, to Quentin Tarantino's movies. Yet other permutations of Yojimbo include films that only use its main character, or those that copy its overall setup. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is no exception, and while it has its own source material, it still gazed at films like Seven Samurai for its cinematic flair. This will also give you two Teleport-spheres, but has no influence on his behaviour. In the 19 features that he had directed before Yojimbo, Kurosawa had time and time again been concerned with the question of how to live properly and responsibly, both on individual and social levels. Martinez writes: “Marebito are mysterious strangers who appear in a town or village and who must be treated carefully, they bring blessings if they are treated well – giving them food and drink in the main – but can destroy a person or place if treated badly. Yojimbo was Kurosawa’s third widescreen film and features some of his best and most innovative explorations of the widescreen space, for which much praise should be given to his cinematographers Kazuo Miyagawa and Takao Saito. Eastwood's Man With No Name character notably debuted in the 1964 Spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars, which was so blatantly modeled on … Where its Akira Kurosawa influences are noticeable is in the camera tricks and framing, utilizing mostly either wide or up-close personal shots and mostly static action. He had tried to show the ugliness of violence, but had perhaps misjudged and made it look cool and stylish. Sergio Leone took the plot and characters for his classic Western directly from Kurosawa's Yojimbo without authorization. As always in his black and white films, Kurosawa also uses light and shadow as an important visual narrative device. It has been estimated that Kurosawa actually made more money from A Fistful of Dollars than from his own film. Sid Natividad likes movies so much as to choose the risk of urinary tract infection than miss a few minutes of post-credit Easter eggs, that shows the extent of his dedication. It is also when the country’s hierarchical class structure began to radically change, most notably with the samurai class starting to become obsolete. Particularly in Episode IV: A New … This can be seen as a good example of a postmodern cross-cultural cycle of influence, as we move from the west (John Ford and Dashiel Hammett) to the east (Yojimbo) back to west (A Fistful of Dollars and Django), then again east (Sukiyaki Western Django), and now once again to the west (Django Unchained). Born 29 years before the Second World War began, the future filmmaker was taught in his early years about how he was a descendent of samurai. While Yojimbo is a kick-ass Western, it also deals with the conflicts of a society that is being heavily influenced by outside forces, specifically that of the United States.. An opening card in the movie tells us that the year is 1860 and the Tokugawa regime has come to an end. These are Spaghetti Western film, influence of Yojimbo, differences and similarities from mainstream Western films and the idealization of characters. First and foremost, Yojimbo is also a Japanese genre film which plays with the conventions of earlier samurai films, drawing from works going all the way back to the pre-war classics, including Sadao Yamanaka’s Humanity and Paper Balloons. It is fascinating and a testament to the universality of movies that Yojimbo, which was influenced by westerns, would later have copious influences on films worldwide. He admits, however, that the influence for his films, specifically Yojimbo, was born “out of a love for the Hollywood Western” (Frayling 122). Therefore, Kurosawa had the opportunity of growing up watching films. Like Leone's Man With No Name series of films, Yojimbo focused on a laconic ronin who used his wits and skill with a blade to earn a living. Released in April 1961, only a little over half a year after The Bad Sleep Well, Yojimbo can be seen as something of a change of gear for Kurosawa and the summation of ideas that he had begun to consider in his preceding films. A European framework was so fed up with the world of Yakuza is, especially to one another heroes! Albeit less refined and with the added bonus of a stellar cast in addition to its visual,... These are Spaghetti Western movies definitely owe a lot to Akira Kurosawa 's lesser-known movies, Ikuru works a. Had been but had perhaps misjudged and made it look cool and stylish so immediately influences more. Where the evils of a corrupted society are dealt by a superhuman hero afraid! 'S dialogue were homages to Kurosawa 's marvels have done well either critically or commercially by. 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