Watching three films back to back, which essentially are the same story has been an interesting exercise I have written a full analysis on the films in separate posts which can be accessed by clicking on the movie title. However, the exercise asked me to summarise each film in around three sentences.

Yojimbo (1961)

A Ronin arrives in a town controlled by rival gangs. He decided that the town would be better off with either gang. What follows is the Ronin playing the gangs against each other to achieve his goal.

A Fist Full of Dollars (1964)

A stranger arrives in a town controlled by rival gangs. He decides that this can work to advantage to make money. In his attempts to play them off against each other for money brings down one gang and wipes out the other to avenge the friend he made in the village.

 Last Man Standing (1996)

A drifter/gunslinger arrives in a town divided by gangs. For his purposes, he plays both gangs against each other to bring them down.

The two remakes are remarkably faithfully to the original screenplay of Yojimbo – so much so that Kurosawa successfully sued for breach of copyright over A Fist Full of Dollars. However, there are subtle differences in them all. I believe Fist full of Dollars is closest, weighted towards money making especially at first, by the stranger; morality is coming later in the film when we see him rescue Marisol. Yojimbo I feel the destruction of the gangs the Ronin’s moral crusade.

Last Man Standing although an official remake I found the narrative much more confusing – there is no moral standpoint. Yes, he helps the two female characters but is that out moral decency or guilt as in the in especially in the case of Lucy is probably is the cause of her being attacked. He is seen telling the Texas Ranger he intends to bring the gangs down, but why? To step in, there place?

Of the films the most pleasing to why eye regarding cinematography is “A Fist Full of Dollars”. There is that open expansiveness found in the traditional westerns, with deep depth of field used, with expansive wide shots; however, there is a good use of close-ups – extreme close-ups in places e.g. the final face off with the man with no name and Ramon. The film stock used is not too vivid its colours, there a some muted effect give a more feel to how the old west would be compared to traditional westerns.

Yojimbo is not as expansive in its shots; there are more close-up to characters the, camera is often at right angles to the scene. On the whole, there are more medium shots and there is an overall dark feel and look to the lighting.

Last Man Standing the cinematography lots of combination of long, medium and close-ups there no consistency. The colours are all muted by a layer of dust, and while I have said, I don’t mind this, it does on further reflection give an overall drab feeling to a lacklustre film.

Of the three film in would say the most skilful cinematography is in A Fist Full of Dollars because the have successfully mixed the Japanese and traditional western styles together to give unique dramatic effect. I like the way that the film has a look on the surface of the classic western, but as you are drawn in, there are more close scenes giving the feel of a not western genre drama.

Culturally is there a big difference to the Japanese audience between the sword and the pistol about the western and the chanbara? I feel that probably there isn’t. Chanbara is escapism for the masses in Japan in the same way that the “cowboy” (western) was escapism to American audiences.

However, the use of a pistol in Yojimbo is a different it is used to show the character of (or should I say lack of?) Unosuke. Unosuke has no honour or skill he is the quintessential bully and bringing the pistol is giving himself a power that he could not have otherwise.

Perhaps really where the cultural feeling towards the pistol will e would be a metaphor for the bulldozing nature of the American culture intruding in other cultures and overriding them. Which can also be seen metaphorically in the famous knife to a gunfight scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Summary

A Ronin arrives in a small town in the grip of warring crime lords. Despite a warning to move on, he uses the fact that both sides seek his skills as a swordsman to his advantage, as he believes the town would be better without either side.

Synopsis

After hearing an elderly farming couple lamenting the fact their son has joined local bandits; a ronin arrives in a town which the divided by a gang war. In the town, he meets the owner of the local izakaya (pub /bar) who advises him to keep travel after explaining how the town is divided by local gangs headed by Ushitora and Seibei. The ronin decides to stay as he feels the town would be better with both sides dead.

Initially siding with Seibei for a hefty fee, the ronin leads Seibai to a showdown with Ushitora. However, the Ronin has become aware of the plan to have him killed to avoid having to pay. He resigns from Seibei in front of Ushitora leaving them to face their fate. The showdown is avoided with the unexpected arrival of a government official.

The government official called away to another village, due the murder of another official, the Ronin becomes aware that it was Ushitora who organised the murder to get the official to leave. The Ronin captures the assassins and sell the to Seibei, but tells Ushitora that it was Seibei men that caught them earning a reward from Ushitora.

Ushitora then orders the kidnapping of Seibei’s son who he offers in exchange for the two prisoners. However, Ushitora double crosses Seibei at the swap when his brother, Unosuke, shoots the assassins with a pistol. But Seibei anticipated this so he kidnapped Ushitora’s woman. The next morning she is swapped with Seibei’s son.

The Ronin finds out that the woman was the wife of a local farmer, who he lost over a gambling debt. The Ronin tells Ushitora that Seibei is coming to take her back. Using the cover of Ushitora gathering his men, the Ronin kills Ushitora’s guards and reunites the woman with her family as encourages them to he flee. However, Unosoke is suspicious and see’s through the Ronin’s doublecross; the ronin is then severely beaten.

Despite the beating the ronin escapes with the assistance of the izakaya owner Ushitora is the destroying Seibei. However, while is recuperating in a graveyard, he finds out the izakaya owner has been captured by Ushitora so he returns to the town and kills Ushitora and all his men, despite Unosoke’s use of a pistol.

His work completed the Ronin leaves town and moves on.

Review

While I know that this film inspired a spaghetti western, I was surprised by the overall western feel of the movie, the Ronin and the warring gangs are far more interchangeable with the old west than the theme and styles of the other famous Kurosawa film remade as western the “The Seven Samurai”.

The performance of the lead Toshiro Mifune is fantastic; there is much subtlety in his facial expression which great depth to the dramatic and comic moments – have heard his film called a comedy, I think that doing it a disservice, it is satirical, and it is not taking itself too seriously. The comic moments lighten what essentially is, a dark story; although not a dark as the Seven Samurai.

The visual styling of the film pleases, an almost graphical nature to the shots, e.g., the long shots and how the camera is a right angle to the action. I’m less convinced about the score – it is very western and overly dramatic, I would have preferred a little more subtlety.

Overall though the best film I have watched so far in connection with this course.

Last Man Standing (1996)

Dir: Walter Hill

Cast: Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern

Summary

Prohibition era gunslinger finds himself in the middle of a gang war between Italian and Irish mafia, in a deserted On a West Texas town. Where he can play both sides off against each other, to his benefit.

Synopsis

Arriving in a deserted West Texas town loner gunslinger John Smith immediately creates trouble with a careless glance at the girlfriend of Doyle, the local Mafia boss. After reporting the incident to the cowardly local sheriff, Smith finds out about the town from the local saloon keeper and does to confront Doyle’s men about damages to his car. In an ensuing gunfight, Smith kills one of Doyle’s men.

Smith then starts working for Strozzi of the rival gang, the organisation where to assist with the stealing one Doyle liquor shipments and start an affair with Strozzi girlfriend, Lucy and meets a visiting high profile Chicago mobster.

Smith the defects to the Doyles where he lets them know of Strozzi’s plans and deceptions, causing the Doyle gang to attack and kill some of Strozzi’s men and kidnap the Chicago gangster. Strozzi’s gang responds by kidnapping Doyle’s girlfriend, Felina. A fair exchange is arranged.

Smith meanwhile is summoned by the sheriff to meet Capt Picket of the Texas Rangers who is intending to wipe out one of the gangs as he can tolerate just one. Smith explains he means to play both groups against each other so that the wipe each other out. Capt. Picket informs him in ten days he will attack and if Smith found he would be killed too.

Lucy visits Smith to tell him she been attacked by Strozzi, so he gives her money to leave town. Smith then start more rumours that Strozzi is intending to kidnap Felina again and is sent by Doyle to where she been hidden. Smith kills Doyles means guarding Felina, and after finding she was won by Doyle in guard game from her husband, he helps her escape back to her husband in Mexico.

Some of Doyle men are suspicious of Smith, and Smith double cross is eventually uncovered, and Smith is tortured for the whereabout of Felina. Smith does not reveal her whereabouts and manages to escapes with the assistance of the tavern owner and sheriff; witnessing Doyle men wiping out Strozzi gang in the process.

A few days later while Smith is recovering in an old church is finds out that the Saloon owner has been captured for helping Smith. Smith return to town to seek revenge on Doyle’s gang and free the tavern owner.

Doyle and his right hand are absent from the final shoot as they are trying to find Felina. However, they face Smith in the final scene where they try to convince him to join them again. However, the Saloon owner kills Doyle for ruining his town, and Smith shoots the others.

Smith then leaves town commenting that he is just as broke as when he arrived as he had given all his funds to Lucy and Felina but at least the town was better off without the gangs.

Review

While this is almost a carbon copy of Yojimbo, I found this film a hard watch. The running time was only 101min however, it much longer. The pace was slow; there was no energy to the movie. I did, however, enjoy the look of the film, the cinematography gave drab muted, dust covered colours which I would associate with the period particular in a Texas ghost town.

The character of Smith is just a little dull; Bruce Willis performance seems to mumble lines and doesn’t give off the aura of a hired gun. Walken is strong as Hickey but is hat down to the script and direction or just the actors natural ability to portray that style of character – I think the latter. And perhaps in not even worth going into the technical inaccuracies like over 40 shots from 2 guns that would hold about 16 to 18 shots between them.

While I disagree with him on cinematography, I think the great Roger Ebert hit the nail on the head with his opening paragraph:

““Last Man Standing” is such a desperately cheerless film, so dry and laconic and wrung out, that you wonder if the filmmakers ever thought that in any way it could be … fun. It contains elements that are often found in entertainments–things like guns, gangs and spectacular displays of death–but here they crouch on the screen and growl at the audience. Even the movie’s hero is bad company.”

Bibliography

Ebert, Roger (1996-09-20). “Last Man Standing review”. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2016-07-13.