95 - Yojimbo - 4 stars
I have to love a film that features a scene where a dog scampers past with a human hand in its mouth. Mainly because the lead character had a look on his face that exactly mirrored my own feelings at that point... of WTF?!
Yojimbo is probably best known for inspiring Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Western A Fistful Of Dollars, but this is the most Western Eastern I have ever seen, if that is even a proper sentence!
A lone Ronin known as The Bodyguard (aka Yojimbo), who is an absolute badass played by Toshiro Mifune, plays two rival gangs against each other until they have wiped each other out.
Most of the action takes place in the main street with dust and leaves blowing by, as the gangs and The Bodyguard have face-off after face-off with samurai swords, until one gang member reveals that he has a pistol, changing the course of the battle.
The soundtrack is also ahead of its time, feeling very jazzy combined with traditional Asian percussion.
Hugely influential in terms of filmmaking style, particularly on George Lucas, and story (its been remade twice but in different styles).
It appears I have made a miscalculation somewhere along the line and having triple checked my Empire magazine and the films I have watched it appears I only have 228 films left to watch when I thought it was 229. Seems that I've mistyped a number somewhere as I haven't missed out a review. Oh well, one less to go!
Days remaining - 177 Films remaining - 228
Hey, you could be super anal about it like me and actual make a checklist and tick them off as you go.
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