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Yojimbo is the first of two Akira Kurosawa movies to feature the character Sanjûrô Tsubaki (played by the fantastic Toshirô Mifune). Mifune has appeared in several Kurosawa movies including the samurai movies Sanjuro, Seven Samurai, and Rashômon, to name a few. Some might notice that Yojimbo was the basis for Sergio Leone’s A Fist Full Of Dollars.
Look at this clip; the lighting is absolutely perfect. It's almost a little too perfect. It sort of looks as if it were filmed in a soundstage. There is an artificial quality to it. I love the muted glow through the rice paper windows mixed with the sharp light and shadows coming through the door. The overhead light in the house adds a roughness to the fight while maintaining the beauty of the scenery. The wide shot (about three minutes in) is breathtaking. The light cascades over Sanjuro and seems to show him as an angelic figure all the while mantaining his humbleness by showing him on a lower level than the family he saved. The family looking down on a solitary Sanjuro highlights the fact that he is a ronin and is alone in his journey.
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