A Fistful of Koban*

I was sick all week, but not sick enough to stay home. I was sick Monday to Thursday, but I was sick sick on Friday and Saturday. Just wiped out. Saturday consisted of getting up briefly for some important function, then it was back to my comfy chair. Maybe I should have stayed home earlier in the week, then I could have done something this weekend out in the glorious weather. I’m sure the dog would have came out and supervised and been very happy. Being sick was not all bad though, I left work on time each day in mostly beautiful spring weather and watched Yojimbo by Akira Kurosawa on Thursday. Yojimbo is a samurai movie in which the lone Ronin (independent contractor) plays two feuding families in a small town against each other. Short synopsis: Things go Mulberry’s way, things don’t go his way, then things go his way. Some of Kurosawa movies were remade, this one was remade by Sergio Leone, starred Clint Eastwood and was titled A Fistful of Dollars. So how happy was I, when trolling through the TV channels that I came across “A Fistful of Dollars”. Yee Haw! It was very interesting to compare the two films and see how closely A Fistful of Dollars followed Yojimbo. Clint plays two families in a small Mexican town against each other. Short synopsis: Things go Mulberry’s Clints’s way, things don’t go his way, then things go his way. So much alike, no wonder the lawsuit against Leone was successful.

I had also watched 2 other western themed films Saturday, Support your Local Sheriff and Support your Local Gun Fighter. Both staring James Garner. Not serious movies, just very entertaining. And remarkably, I watched each movie in its entirety.

I have no problem starting to watch a movie at any point, or stopping at any point. I’ll just catch the beginning or end some other time. Plus each scene in a good movie should be enjoyable in itself, like a mini movie. I think I enjoy the interactions between the characters, rather than where the story is going or the big picture. Big pictures are usually over my head. I’m not a big picture kind of guy.

* I don’t recall what unit the Ronin was given in the movie Yojimbo and had no luck searching for the information. The Koban gold coin was first introduced in the 1600s, well before the setting of the movie.