Question 1

What animal-inspired direction did Akira Kurosawa give his lead actors for their characters?

Accepted Answer

Kurosawa told Toshirô Mifune his character was like a wolf or dog, and Tatsuya Nakadai's was like a snake. Mifune created Sanjuro's shoulder twitch based on this.

Question 2

How did this film influence Sergio Leone and lead to legal action?

Accepted Answer

Sergio Leone was inspired by Yojimbo to make A Fistful of Dollars (1964) with a similar plot. Kurosawa sued for copyright infringement, delaying release for three years.

Question 3

What unusual method was used to create the sword-cutting sound effect?

Accepted Answer

Sound engineer Ichirô Minawa found the perfect sword-cutting sound by putting two wooden chopsticks inside a raw chicken and hacking it with a sword.

Question 4

What was composer Masaru Sato instructed to avoid when creating the film's music?

Accepted Answer

Kurosawa told Sato to write 'whatever you like' as long as it wasn't the usual period samurai film music commonly used by major studios at the time.

Question 5

What does the title 'Yôjinbô' literally mean and what are its possible interpretations?

Accepted Answer

The most common meaning is 'bodyguard', but it can also mean a stick or pole for self-defense, a bar or bolt, or 'security', 'guard', or 'watchman' as a protector.

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Yojimbo

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