In the Queue: Sanjuro

I've had the movie Sanjuro on my shelf to be watched for many months and finally got around to it today. (Don't ask why it took me so long.) This Kurasawa film is a sequel to Yojimbo (which I have not seen but is in my Netflix queue somewhere) starring the fabulous Toshiro Mifune in the title role of this dark comedy. Sanjuro is a sarcastic, surly yet wise ronin who leads a small gang of young samurai rebels in their quest to rescue the uncle of one the rebels.

I enjoyed this very much, and it made it me laugh out loud quite a bit. (Also: this Criterion Collection release that I saw looks & sounds great.) While I love Mifune as Sanjuro (and, I must confess, I think I have a little crush on Mifune), I think my favorite character is the prisoner who's kept in the closet and pops out every once in a while to give his opinion to the young samurai. Hee! The best line for me, though, might be Sanjuro's: after the young rebels have made several foolish mistakes and now plan to attack the bad guys in what is undoubtedly a trap, Sanjuro asks, "Aren't you tired of being stupid yet?" HeeHee! I will be using that line often in my life from now on.