This Iconic Akira Kurosawa Movie Was Completely Remade Into 1 of the Most Famous Westerns Ever (& It Wouldn’t Be the First Time)

In 1961, writer/director Akira Kurosawa was already one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the world. It seemed like no matter how many movies he made, Kurosawa was furthering his career as a director and strengthening his place as one of the greatest auteurs in cinema history. Fans and fellow filmmakers all over the world loved his films, especially after he made his masterpiece, Seven Samurai, in 1954. However, Kurosawa never stopped exceeding expectations and continued to tell compelling stories well into his old age. In the ’60s, he made some of his most beloved films, including a samurai duology about the character Sanjuro. These films were more influential than Kurosawa could have foreseen, and his writing, in particular, inspired others to mimic his work.

His 1961 classic, Yojimbo, was so impactful that it influenced another auteur to make the exact same movie in a different genre. The history of this remake has been told and re-told throughout film history, and despite some controversy around the subject, there is no denying the influence of the 1961 samurai epic as well as the influence of its 1964 Spaghetti Western remake. Akira Kurosawa might have been an incredible visionary, but his stories and his scripts were arguably some of the best in cinema. His writing was so impeccable that it spawned a ton of rip-offs and remakes during a time when he would try and be denied the credit he rightfully deserved. Yojimbo was remade just three years later, and it wouldn’t be the first time his work was re-imagined in another genre.

Yojimbo Tales a Sword for Hire During the Historic Edo Period

In Japanese, «yojimbo» translates to «bodyguard,» which is a term that encapsulates the entire central dramatic conflict of Kurosawa’s 1961 classic, Yojimbo. During the Edo period of Japan in the year 1860, a wandering samurai comes across a small town that he quickly learns is under the occupation of two dangerous gangs, or gamblers, as they are called. While the two gangs battle each other for control of the town, the nameless samurai drifter finds himself stuck in the middle of the conflict when he looks to utilize the situation to his financial benefit.

As a sword for hire or bodyguard, the gangs try to hire him to their side multiple times throughout the story. Meanwhile, it is unclear if the samurai is anything more than a mercenary looking for work, as profit seems to be his primary focus. Interestingly enough, he constantly manipulates the two gangs into further conflict with one another as a way to rid them of the town entirely. As the story goes on, the samurai (who eventually goes by the made-up name, «Sanjuro») becomes morally compromised when he wishes to save one of the families that have been greatly harmed by the gamblers. This leads to a personal defeat and redemption for Sanjuro, who eventually defeats the evil lurking within the town.

While the film can be praised on numerous levels, from the eerie black and white cinematography, beautiful shot compositions and natural dialogue, it is the storytelling and structure that stand out most. If the story sounds familiar to readers, it should, as the story was remade beat for beat by another great filmmaker from another country just three years later. Yojimbo is one of two Kurosawa films that have been highly regarded from a storytelling standpoint and remade multiple times in multiple different ways because of it. Yojimbo is still the best version of the story Kurosawa crafted and teams him up with long-time collaborator Toshirō Mifune for yet another fantastic samurai epic. With Japan’s version of the «Wild West» depicted, it was only a matter of time before the story would be ripped off by another filmmaker.

The defining moment of Yojimbo will be remembered forever, because it has gone on to embody many great versions of the same sequence. When Sanjuro faces down the final gang in the middle of town and pulls out a wild card tactic to win the day, audiences in 1961 were blown away. They have since been blown away, especially since the movie that remade the film was almost just as good as Kurosawa’s original.

A Fistful of Dollars Was Sergio Leone's Version of Yojimbo

Even sixty-plus years later, it is hard for fans to believe that Sergio Leone initially tried to pass off his script for A Fistful of Dollars as his own material. When the iconic Spaghetti Western was initially released, Leone denied allegations that it was a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai classic Yojimbo. Eventually, it was a lie that Leone could no longer uphold, and Kurosawa even gets credit on A Fistful of Dollars for the writing.

In retrospect, nobody can hold it against the young and ambitious Sergio Leone, making one of his first feature films ever. For starters, so many others have remade and ripped off Kurosawa’s work that it is hard to get too angry at Leone’s initial comment about the script. Furthermore, Leone more than proved his ability to craft original and compelling stories with the same world and characters from A Fistful of Dollars. Not only did he top himself with his classic sequel For a Few Dollars More, but he capped off one of the greatest trilogies in cinema history with his masterpiece, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in 1966. Leone is an auteur all on his own, but definitely kicked off his career by remaking a Kurosawa classic.

A Fistful of Dollars is brilliant in its own way, and what little changes there are, they have a distinct Leone touch that can’t be replicated. Clint Eastwood is the coolest «man with no name» fans could ask for, and the climax nearly tops Kurosawa’s climax from Yojimbo. Then, there is the brilliance of an Ennio Morricone score overlaying the entire production. However, to even remotely consider A Fistful of Dollars separate from Yojimbo is mind-boggling. Every beat of A Fistful of Dollars is exactly the same as Yojimbo, and even a few lines are directly stolen from Kurosawa’s original script. From the initial confrontation with the gangs to siding with one, becoming morally compromised, beaten and redeemed, A Fistful of Dollars takes every aspect of Yojimbo and does it over.

While the «man with no name» has a cooler wild card moment with a piece of metal hidden under his poncho, it is still a variation of Sanjuro’s wild card moment of using a small blade as a throwing knife to defeat the toughest enemy. Both versions of the lonely drifter who aids an occupied town are fantastic classics of cinema. There just happened to be one that came out before the other.

Kurosawa's Films Would Continue to Get Remade After a Fistful of Dollars

Even with the initial controversy surrounding A Fistful of Dollars, Kurosawa’s films would continue to get ripped off and remade well after 1964. Leone’s initial remake wouldn’t be the first time that Kurosawa’s Yojimbo would get turned into a Western. In fact, it would happen again two years later when Sergio Corbucci made his version of the story with Django in 1966. While different from Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars, Django undoubtedly takes bits and pieces from Kurosawa’s original script. Furthermore, A Fistful of Dollars wasn’t the first time one of Kurosawa’s films was remade. The first time that happened was in 1960 when Hollywood remade his masterpiece Seven Samurai into a classic Western, The Magnificent Seven.

As it turns out, Seven Samurai would go on to be the most remade work of Kurosawa’s for decades after its release. Not only does Star Wars pull from it on multiple occasions, but it also appears in different variations in films such as Battle Beyond the Stars and China Gate. Another element of Kurosawa’s work that is used in various films and TV shows is his «Rashomon Effect», which is when multiple versions of the same story are told and left up to the audience to interpret which is true. This first appeared in his 1950 classic, Rashomon.

While A Fistful of Dollars might have been one of the earliest Kurosawa remakes and one of the best Kurosawa remakes, it would hardly be the last. Both Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars are classics, and both are brilliant in their own way. However, Yojimbo’s influence is just more proof that Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Even other all-time greats were ripping off his work.

• 

  Your Rating

  Rate Now 0/10

  Your comment has not been saved

  Follow Followed

  Yojimbo

  Not Rated Action Thriller Drama

  Cast

  See All

  • 

    Toshiro Mifune

  • 

    Tatsuya Nakadai

  • 

    Yôko Tsukasa

  • 

    Isuzu Yamada

  A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.

  Powered by

  Expand Collapse

• 

  Your Rating

  Rate Now 0/10

  Your comment has not been saved

  A Fistful of Dollars

  pg-13 Western Drama

  Cast

  See All

  • 

    Clint Eastwood

  • 

    Marianne Koch

  A Fistful of Dollars is a spaghetti Western film from director Sergio Leone starring Clint Eastwood. A Fistful of Dollars is notable for being Clint Eastwood's big break in Hollywood and also for being the beginning of the "Dollars Trilogy." The film was followed by For a Few Dollars More in 1965 and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in 1966.

  Powered by

  Expand Collapse