A wandering samurai, Sanjuro, is drawn into local politics. The Superintendent of a clan is plotting to take over the clan by implicating the Chamberlain in corrupt activities (activities the Superintendent is actually responsible for). Part of the plan involves killing off the Chamberlain's staff and, in protecting them, Sanjuro sides with them. The supporters are massively outnumbered so it will require all of Sanjuro's cunning and swordcraft to ensure the Superintendent does not succeed in his evil plan.Good action-drama, directed by Akira Kurosawa. Interesting, engaging storyline and some great action scenes. Toshiro Mifune (who else would be the lead? - this is Kurosawa!) gives his usual solid performance as the hero. You can see how Kurosawa's samurai movies and Mifune's acting influenced westerns (esp. Sergio Leone) and Clint Eastwood, respectively.However, not among Kurosawa's best (Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran, Throne of Blood). Plot is a bit clumsy and feels contrived at times. Some turns of events seem implausible. Drags in parts and the Chamberlain's wife was quite irritating, limiting the character-engagement.Great ending though with a very powerful message.

A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.Toshiro Mifune's sword fighting in the film was used in an extensive illustrated example of "samurai virtuosity with his sword" in "This is Kendo", a kendo manual published in English. As it should be! This is seen as a more light-hearted sequel to "Yojimbo", and indeed it is one of the few films I am aware of where samurai dance around in joyful glee. The violence is relatively low-key, with one crucial moment of gore, and the tone at times is even a bit humorous. Although not as praised as "Yojimbo", perhaps it should be.

This is the sequel to 'Yojimbo'. Toshirô Mifune returns as the wandering ronin Sanjûrô Tsubaki. He encounters nine naive samurai who wants to confront corruption. One of the samurai had confronted his uncle the lord with the accusations. The response was dissatisfying so he tells the superintendent. The superintendent tells the nephew to gather his men. The ronin immediately smells a trap, and the corrupt superintendent launches a raid on the group. Only the ronin's smarts saves the group. Now the uncle and his family are taken prisoner and the ronin endeavors to rescue them with the help of the nine naive samurai. Only the clueless nine are sometimes more problematic with their distrust of the often napping ronin.This is a funnier movie than Yojimbo. Sanjuro does battle more with his brains than with his sword. The best swords are kept in their sheaths. However there is that great scene of drawing of the swords at the end. The guy imprisoned in the closet has a good funny scene. It's a very good sequel to Yojimbo with a funnier tone.

Sanjuro, which is also in a way a sequel to Yojimbo, is quite different from his usual films because not only it packs exciting comedy but it has more intelligence than what you would expect from a classic B&W film. This is because Sanjuro is basically a cat-and-mouse mindgame.Unlike Yojimbo where only the main character controls the chessboard and the rest just followed like robots to the sequence of events, Sanjuro allows the main players (friend or foe) space to control the game and outwit each other. The funny moments were golden, especially the Lady, the confused guard who was locked and the scene with the flowers. Best of all, the greatest gem is the battle sequence between 2 master samurai right at the end. I actually came to like this more than Yojimbo because it seems to be an enhanced version in certain respects.