Another Criterion Collection release, of which I am an avid fan. While Sanjuro is the sequel to Yôjinbô, only one of the characters remains the same - the ronin played by Mifune - so I was not too worried about not having seen Yôjinbô first. Espicially considering that Yôjinbô has been remade numerous times, of which many I've seen, from A Fistful of Dollars, which is the same exact story line, to Lucky Number Slevin, which follows roughly the same plot. That being said, Sanjuro can easily be viewed on its own.
What needs to be said about a Kurosawa film? Especially one starring the great Mifune. The film is much slower than the average American Hollywood film - I can't even imagine the ASL of this film. While this slowness is often frustrating, it's part of the experience and I try to keep patient and enjoy the film. I was surprised by the lack of deaths, as the ronin often fought with his samurai still sheathed, and simply knocked them out and by the lack of blood, with one notable exception.
Not much else to say. Kurosawa's films speak for themselves.
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