| Release Date: | Sep 1961 |
|---|---|
| Genres: | Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Thriller |
| Awards: | Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination |
| Runtime: | 75 min |
| Cast: | Toshirô Mifune (Sanjuro Kuwabatake, The Samurai), Tatsuya Nakadai (Unosuke, gunfighter), Yôko Tsukasa (Nui), Isuzu Yamada (Orin), Daisuke Katô (Inokichi, Ushitora's rotund brother) Seizaburô Kawazu (Seibei, brothel operator) Takashi Shimura (Tokuemon, sake brewer) Hiroshi Tachikawa (Yoichiro) Yosuke Natsuki (Kohei's Son) Eijirô Tôno (Gonji, tavern keeper) Kamatari Fujiwara (Tazaemon) Ikio Sawamura (Hansuke) Atsushi Watanabe (The Cooper (Coffin-Maker)) Susumu Fujita (Homma, instructor who skips town) Kyû Sazanka (Ushitora) Kô Nishimura (Kuma) Takeshi Katô (Ronin Kobuhachi) Ichirô Nakaya (First Samurai) Sachio Sakai (First Foot Soldier) Akira Tani (Kame) Namigoro Rashomon (Kannuki the giant) Yoshio Tsuchiya (Kohei) Gen Shimizu (Magotaro) Yutaka Sada (Matsukichi) Shin Otomo (Kumosuke) Shoichi Hirose (Ushitora Follower) Eisei Amamoto (Yahachi) Shôji Oki (Sukeju) Fuminori Ohashi (Second Samurai) Hiroshi Yoseyama (Farmer) Senkichi Ômura (Traveler) Fumiko Honma (Farmer's ex-wife) Ryusuke Nishio (Seibei Follower) Naoya Kusakawa (Seibei Follower) Nadao Kirino (Seibei Follower) Jun Ôtomo (Seibei Follower) Shinpei Takagi (Ushitora Follower) Akio Kusama (Ushitora Follower) Yasuzo Ogawa (Ushitora Follower) Hiroshi Takagi (Ushitora Follower) Junichirô Mukai (Seibei Follower) Fumiyoshi Kamagaya (Seibei Follower) Ichirô Chiba (Second Foot Soldier) Haruya Sakamoto (Ushitora Follower) Rinsaku Ogata (Seibei Follower) Fumio Kogushi (Ushitora Follower) Yoko Terui (Woman at Seibei's house) Hiromi Mineoka (Woman at Seibei's house) Michiko Kawa (Woman at Seibei's house) Takuzo Kumagaya ((as Jirô Kumagai)) Jerry Fujio (Roku, samurai whose arm is cut...) |
Sanjuro, a wandering samurai enters a rural town in nineteenth century Japan. After learning from the innkeeper that the town is divided between two gangsters, he plays one side off against the other. His efforts are complicated by the arrival of the wily Unosuke, the son of one of the gangsters, who owns a revolver. Unosuke has Sanjuro beaten after he reunites an abducted woman with her husband and son, then massacres his father's opponents. During the slaughter, the samurai escapes with the help of the innkeeper; but while recuperating at a nearby temple, he learns of innkeeper's abduction by Unosuke, and returns to the town to confront him.
