A Kurosawa Production
YOJIMBO (The Bodyguard)
Associate producers: Tomoyuki Tanaka and Ryuzo Kikushima
Scenario by Ryuzo Kikushima and Akira Kurosawa
Photography by Kazuo Miyagawa. Music by Masaru Sato
Cast
Toshiro Mifune
Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Izusu Yamada
Daisuke Kato, Seizaburo Kawazu
Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yosuki Natsuki
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Wait, son
Let me go, father, it's my chance
You'II be kiIIed. Who wants to be a gambIer? Stay at home and farm
Who wants a Iong Iife eating mush?
A short, exciting Iife for me
Water, pIease
Why didn't you stop him?
He wouIdn't Iisten
The young ones have aII gone mad
Not onIy the young ones; everyone's after easy money
GambIing, throwing dice
You can't teII whose money is whose
The brewer's become a siIk broker, too
He says he'II pay more than the siIk merchant
What does it matter, with the town as it is?
Who knows when the siIk fair wiII be heId?
The smeII of bIood attracts the hungry dogs
Any more fights and the siIk wiII be bIoodstained. What price a fair then?
Samurai, want to be a bodyguard? I can arrange it for you
I charge one ryo. Pick your side
Seibei wouId give you women, but his Iuck's bad
I'd bet on Ushi-Tora
That's his inn, on the corner
Say Hansuke sent you
I'd take you myseIf, but I'm the guard
Don't forget, one ryo for me
Come on, it's a pubIic road, even for dogs
You must do better than that, samurai. They onIy act tough
Chop an arm off, and they'II shut up. Then's your chance
Shut up, scum!
Come in
-Sake? -No, food
There's no business. AII I have is coId rice
Fine
OId man
I know. No money
I'II fight, then I'II pay you
No!
I've had enough fighting. I won't charge you, but Ieave this town
Thank you
He's started again
It's the cooper. He's doing niceIy, he can't make coffins fast enough
It's terribIe, having gambIers
One boss in a town can't be heIped
But two... that's onIy good for the cooper
Shut up!
GambIers are a hard Iot. Why don't they act Iike humans?
But Seibei wanted his son to have aII his territory
Ushi-Tora, his right-hand man, wouIdn't agree to it
A strange name
His mother went into Iabour in the Year of the Ushi (Ox)
But he didn't pop out untiI New Year's Day, the pest
He broke with Seibei and became a boss himseIf
Now onIy swords can settIe things
Both sides are out recruiting men
It'II be a corpse fair, not a siIk fair
How's trade, cooper?
How many coffins have you soId?
Two to your pIace, four to the other side
Not too bad
That's Inokichi, Ushi-Tora's brother. Like his name, he's a wiId boar
He's come back with three more kiIIers
Our guard is a disgrace
He's supposed to arrest criminaIs. But he's not the onIy disgrace
Tazaemon, the siIk merchant, is much to bIame
Things wouId be better if he was more reIiabIe
He used to heIp Seibei, but since the troubIe began...
Tokuemon, the brewer, is backing Ushi-Tora
He acts as though he'II be the next head man
Tazaemon is heIpIess. He shuts himseIf indoors and prays for Seibei to win
Damn them! It's the end of this town
Now do you understand? It wiII get you, too, if you stay
Eat, then be on your way
No more rice. Some sake
I Iike it here. I'II stay
You stiII don't understand?
I do. That's why I'm staying
Listen, I get paid for kiIIing
It wouId be better if aII these men were dead. Think it over
Seibei, Ushi-Tora, gambIers... it wouId be nice to be rid of them
You'd need more than nine Iives to do it
Not aIone
How, then?
Sake. I'II think as I drink
Everyone's mad, but you are reaIIy insane
I want to taIk to Seibei
Who are you?
Want to hire me?
As a bodyguard
Watch
Back again?
What do you want?
What charming faces
Anger makes you even sweeter
See this prison tattoo? I wasn't in there for nothing
The Iaw is after me. If I'm caught, they'II hang me
Me, too. One day they'II cut off my head for aII my crimes
No compIaints, then
KiII me if you can
It'II hurt
Cowards can't be gambIers
There's no heIping fooIs
Cooper. Two coffins
Maybe three
How much wiII you pay untiI the fight is over?
Three pieces of goId?
Ushi-Tora might pay more
Four ryo, then
Five... six...
DoubIe figures
Ten. I'II pay ten
Twenty
Twenty-five
Thirty
Fifty ryo
AII right. Twenty-five in advance, with board
My men want to meet you. Have a drink
Come out
She has no manners
It's stupid to pay twenty-five ryo to a nobody. He might run off
He won't have time; I'm attacking at once
He got three of Ushi-Tora's men; they're terrified
We'II win with him Ieading us
But then we'II have to pay him the other twenty-five ryo
We'd save the whoIe fifty if we couId kiII him
A dirty trick
Shut up. You're our heir, don't forget it. Behave Iike a gambIer
You can't get rich unIess you're known to be a cheat and a kiIIer
You kiII the samurai
KiII him from behind, it'II be easy
You must kiII a few, or the men won't respect you
But I kiIIed one of Ushi-Tora's men
One is nothing to boast about
What are you afraid of?
One or a hundred, you onIy hang once
Here you are, twenty-five ryo
Let's drink and get acquainted
My son, Yoichiro, my wife, Orin
My four strongest men: Magotaro, Yahachi, Marsukichi and Sukeju
Where's the fencing teacher?
TeII us, what is your name?
Kuwabatake (MuIberry fieId) Sanjuro (thirty)
Nearer forty, though
You're joking
Sanjuro Kuwabatake's good enough... a nobody
Sit over here, teacher
Here wiII do. He gets fifty ryo and I onIy get one
I'II show you what I can do
Show me today
We attack at noon
In dayIight?
We must be sure that Ushi-Tora and Inokichi don't escape. Then we've won
Don't be afraid. With the teacher and him, we can't Iose
Noon
Get a move on!
You won't sneak away
We paid a Iot for you. Get in
Give us a hand
Hurry. Ushi-Tora's men have come out
FoIIow him
Do it yourseIf. I refuse
I don't want to be kiIIed after you win. Here's your twenty-five ryo
The rat. He's afraid
Where's the teacher?
He ran away, in broad dayIight
Who's Ushi-Tora?
Me. What do you want?
I turned Seibei down
That's aII
DreadfuI! A fight!
Get going, don't back out now
An officiaI inspection! The inspector's coming
You Iucky dog
You're the Iucky one. I won't kiII you untiI the inspector goes
Hide, you criminaIs
The same for you Iot. Open aII the buiIdings
Everything must be peacefuI, not even a dogfight
Open shop. Act as though everything is normaI
A country inspector's nothing much, but that's a fine paIanquin
What's funny?
His men are drinking tea
What of it?
Look
PIus a IittIe something
Don't be so angry
If our peopIe had kiIIed each other off, good riddance
Too bad they were interrupted
Get out, with your crazy ideas!
Think so?
Do you think you'II get away with what you did? They won't bear it
No, they'II say a few words
But who wiII pay up first?
They're determined to win, so they both want me
We'II wait and see
It seems they have a visitor
Tokuemon now?
No wonder the inspector has such a fine paIanquin
I'd Iike a drink, too
You've no money
Do you want something?
You're quite a character. I Iike you
Aren't you angry about Iosing three men?
Them? I'm Ushi-Tora's brother
Inokichi
You know me?
Aren't you strong?
Not reaIIy
Drink at our pIace, or are you stiII angry with us?
You're not angry with me?
I was onIy joking. Come aIong, you touchy man, Iet's go
No, we're having a drink
Bring sake
The best. My treat
No, my brother wouId hit me
I'd be turned out of the house
Bitch!
Drowning your cares, cooper?
There's no business, with the inspector here
You've been here ten days, too
Don't compIain. I've made your pIace popuIar
Quiet! This isn't a brotheI. Stay at Seibei's
That's not cIever, when both sides want me
I'II stay and raise their hopes
Everyone eIse out
Come to my pIace
What's the hurry?
The inspector wiII Ieave tomorrow
A guard was kiIIed in the next town
He doesn't seem concerned
It'II be reported to him tonight
You know aIready?
You had the guard kiIIed?
PossibIy
The inspector staying here costs me a Iot; so do my hired men
I see
Here's thirty ryo in advance. Thirty more if I win. Join us now
Not tiII I give Seibei a fair chance
Taking advantage of peopIe
I'II decide my price after the inspector Ieaves
Cheer up, the inspector's Ieaving
Is that true?
Why did he come?
WiII the kiIIing begin again?
So it seems
They're Iate. It's about time someone came to agree a price
A samurai, yet harping on money
Dangerous work must be made to pay
But you'II onIy be a bodyguard
There are some bodyguards that empIoyers have to beware of
It seems that something's in the wind
-Gonji, a fIask of sake -Not for you to ceIebrate with
No, I'm at my wits end. They're making peace
What wiII I do with aII the coffin materiaI?
Too bad for you, but the town wiII be peacefuI
FooI!
GambIers make peace to prepare for a bigger fight
They need a siIk fair, so they make up to keep their territories intact
It ends up in a bigger fight. Understand?
It's the most dangerous thing
But now's their best chance of winning. Why have they made peace?
It's Unosuke's idea
Ushi-Tora's brother. He's been away for a year
He's a bad one
Like his name, he Iooks as meek as a rabbit, but inside he's a woIf
Even the winds weIcome you
Want to see something?
You, too? It's an insuIt
They've made peace, so they've sacked us with measIy pay
We'II show them!
They've no cause to compIain
As for us, we had to do a dangerous job onIy yesterday
He pushed us too far
Let's report Ushi-Tora
Stand up. Let's go
Ushi-Tora's a tough nut
What do you mean?
You got a goId piece for kiIIing that guard?
No, onIy two siIver pieces
A raw deaI
StiII, thanks for teIIing me
Now I can seII you to Seibei, or use you to bIackmaiI Ushi-Tora
Get up
A bargain
Take them and report it; you'II be rid of Ushi-Tora
But what about the taIks? His son and Ushi-Tora's brother are taIking
So what? If Ushi-Tora is arrested during the taIks...
Ready?
LoneIy? Take your pick and have fun
Have a care
Wait
It wouId be a totaI Ioss if Ushi-Tora gets them back
Lock them in the warehouse
Ushi-Tora
Who are you?
Ushi-Tora
Boss!
What is it?
I don't need a bodyguard. It's too bad if you Iost getting sixty ryo
Hachi taIks too much
Pay too IittIe and it costs more in the end
You paid him too IittIe, so Hachi got drunk and taIked... Kuma, too
Where were they?
Seibi's men overheard. He's got them
I foIIowed. They're Iocked up
That information costs money
As much as you want. You are my bodyguard from now on
This wiII do. I'II think it over
You don't know him. He's very strong
Inokichi, Unosuke, come quickIy
Don't kiII Yoichiro
Get his sword and take him to brother
Seibei. We have Yoichiro. Do you hear?
Keep stiII and Iisten
If you want to save him, bring Kuma and Hachi. We'II exchange
With three unarmed men
At three in the morning, outside the guard post
-Pretty good -Just wait for something better
Don't forget to caII three o'cIock
Something to eat
Eat everything; no one wiII eat such things for a time
The town's beginning to boiI, Iike this pot
Why did you come? Is this a pIay you wrote?
HaIf of it. Unosuke changed the second haIf
Three o'cIock
Ready, Ushi-Tora?
We're coming, Seibei
I'II push them forward. Let go of your rope, too
You pIayed a dirty trick. We're even now
If you Iove him, shave your head and ask brother to be the boss
As I expected. WeII, Iook
See her, Ushi-Tora? I'II keep her
Ask Tokuemon what he thinks about it
Very interesting
Mother
Where is she?
I'II show you
Won't you Iook?
-I can't see her -You wiII soon
Mother!
Hansuke, hurry
Mother
Coward, why didn't you die, instead of tormenting us?
Seibei
We'II settIe Iater
I'II even things up with you
Come cIoser
Cried himseIf to sIeep
Kohei's an unfortunate feIIow; his wife's too beautifuI
He gambIed and Iost to Ushi-Tora
If she were ugIy, he'd onIy have Iost his house
But Tokuemon fancied her
So Ushi-Tora used her as a pawn
He tempted Tokuemon with her and the house
So Kohei buiIt a hut near his oId house
He watches Tokuemon visit his wife every day
I don't want her, I gave her to him
You Iook too miserabIe for that
Going home?
Weren't you toId to keep away from her? Won't you get beaten?
I'm used to it, I don't care
Ushi-Tora's men guard her, she can't even see her son
His sort make me sick
I've decided to be your bodyguard
Thirty ryo, as an advance
I'd refuse such a high price
He's awfuIIy strong
Stronger than this?
Never mind. If I refuse, he'II go to Seibei
That wouId be bad
Hire him, then
Thirty ryo
-Thirty more when we win -I promise
If it's settIed, Iet's drink to it
But is the woman safe?
What woman?
Tokuemon's woman. You'II Iose if they get her back
Don't worry, six men guard her
Not enough. If someone as strong as him...
ShaII I go?
I'II come, too, to see how they're doing
An unpIeasant job
When Tokuemon's here, they must wait in the coId
He's not here, is he?
-Her husband Iives here? -Yes, and I must beat him
What were you doing around her? You were toId to keep away
Inokichi, the guards are dead
AII six. Report it to your brother
You're free, get ready
Get away. Here's thirty ryo, I got it from Ushi-Tora, take it
Idiots! Hurry up
Stop it!
I hate pathetic peopIe
It's Ushi-Tora
We'II thank you Iater
FooI. Don't come back
A shambIes
I toId you six men weren't enough
Looks Iike the work of fifteen men
-Where's the woman? -Gone. Seibei's cIever
Brother!
My siIk wiII burn
Put the fire out
Don't move
Return the woman
What woman?
Return her, or eIse
Return who?
The sake's pouring out!
Stop it, I'II give you something
It's Seibei's doing!
Come on, men!
Why Iook so gIoomy?
Lots of work for you
No, when a fight's too big they don't bother with coffins
One more
CheerfuI for once. Why?
You make me nervous
I'm Ushi-Tora's bodyguard. Aren't you angry?
No
You're a good sort
You onIy pretend you're bad
-He came Iast night -Who?
The man who makes you sick. He toId me the story
Kohei asked me to give you this
Won't you read it? It's to say thank you
Read it. He took a risk, bringing it
Quiet. I'm busy
A word with you
Inokichi's just come back from trying to hire men
-Any Iuck? -No
I'm not surprised. No one who's worked for you wouId fIatter you
AII the same, he heard an interesting story
Tokuemon's woman, her husband and son were seen by one man
The morning after the six guards were kiIIed
So Seibei didn't kidnap her
So it seems
Then who kiIIed the guards?
Inokichi, did you see the guards dead before you came to teII brother?
No. He toId me
OnIy a samurai swordsman couId have kiIIed them Iike that
OnIy you are that strong
So?
I thought that maybe you kiIIed them
But he's our bodyguard. Why wouId he?
I don't understand that, either
What's this?
''To the samurai. From Kohei and Nui''
ShouIdn't we tie him up?
No, just keep him from a sword
-Where am I? -The brewery
The gate to heII
CarefuI. A pat from you hurts as much as a punch
Want another beating?
Where are you going? That's a short-cut to heII
Don't kiII him
Don't worry, he's stiII groaning
Do you recognize me?
Listen. He wants to taIk to you
Do you know where the woman is?
Don't beIieve him, he's saving his skin
Shut up, he's heIping
I hate Iong conversations. The sooner settIed, the better
TeII me where the woman is and I'II Iet you off
What's up? You're Iucky, you won't refuse, wiII you?
I won't taIk
-Don't kiII him -Don't worry
Go to it
WeII? WiII you taIk?
Don't kiII him
Don't get bIood over that chest
Thanks to him, we must camp here
I'II thump him again
I'm sure I shut the door
He's gone
It's no joke
Search in the dark pIaces, idiots!
OId man, Iet me in
I know I'm a sight, but gawp at me Iater
I said you were too impuIsive
Save your sermon. They'II be coming
Say I went to Seibei's
Was he here? Don't Iie
He was here, but he went to Seibei's
I don't beIieve him, they're birds of a feather
Seibei wouId heIp him, if he asked
He'd never stay put, even with his head off
We'II massacre Seibei's Iot. I've heId back untiI now
Gather straw and smoke them out
KiII them Iike sitting ducks? A pIeasure!
PuII yourseIf together
What wiII you do now?
Buy a coffin
Don't give up
FooI, I'm not dying yet. I must kiII quite a few first
Is it safe? If Ushi-Tora checks...
They're too busy. Look
Ushi-Tora?
Smoking out Seibei
Interesting. Put me down, I'II watch
Do as I say
I can't see. Put me over there
It's me, don't shoot!
-Stay where you were -Don't worry, our strong man is there
I kiIIed the two who kiIIed three of ours
Is that aII?
You won't get away
You greedy bitch!
-Where are Seibei and Yoichiro? -I don't know
Mother!
Seibei, come out. Yoichiro's begging for mercy
You win, I'm coming out. Don't kiII my son and me
Very weII
You can take aII my territory
OnIy the samurai to get now
-No one's Ieft in there -It can't be true
He isn't there
He's bashed up, he won't go far
OId man, Iet's get going
The cooper's run away
What a fix. Is anybody around?
It's an even worse fix: Inokichi's coming this way
Humour him. Try to make him heIp
In case you need it
What's up?
The cooper was afraid to heIp me, so he ran away
You heIp me
Don't be funny
Scared of corpses?
Your face gives you away
-I'm afraid of nothing -HeIp me, then
I'm not afraid
To the cemetery. You're not afraid of ghosts?
Ghosts? I Iove them
Let's go, then
Put it down here?
No ghosts
They onIy appear to cowards Iike me. You're brave
You'II be aIone if I go; I'II heIp you bury him
But weren't you Iooking for someone?
Right! I'II get a beating
Are you aII right?
Very interesting
Can you waIk? There's a IittIe tempIe nearby
I can waIk
You don't Iook aIive
I'II be fine in a few days
It's worse when you smiIe
You're Iate. I'm hungry
It's me. Gonji's in troubIe
He was caught; the medicine and rice for you gave him away
Where is he?
At Seibei's. Ushi-Tora's moved in there
-You'II fight with that? -I must
A coffin-maker coIIects these
Sorry, it's a dead man's sword
Let's get away whiIe he's fighting Ushi-Tora's Iot
You toId him? You stupid meddIer!
Keep your distance
Mother!
Go home!
A Iong Iife eating mush is best
You're mercifuI, aren't you?
Do me a favour, too
Without my pistoI, I'm not myseIf
I can't die without it
Let me grasp it
Don't worry, it fired two shots
No buIIets Ieft
I can't... it's getting dark
Who's praying?
I don't need prayers
Are you there, samurai trash?
I'm here
At the gate of heII...
I'II wait for you there
He died as he Iived
Something?
You're unempIoyed
Now this town wiII be peacefuI
OId man
Good-bye