6 of the BEST Samurai Movies for Ghost of Tsushima (and Shogun) Fans
3. Sanjuro (1962)
Next up we go directly into the sequel of Yojimbo, named after the titular character from Yojimbo. I must also point out his name was made up on the spot in the first film, which means “30 year old” and then he adds the closest plants or flowers on as his surname (Mulberry bushes in Yojimbo and Camilla flowers in Sanjuro).
Sanjuro sees our hero-non-hero mixed up in the middle of things once more. This time around he finds himself in the middle of a political conspiracy and once again gets swept up in a story that he’d rather not be a part of (or so he puts on). Sanjuro shows a different side of Japan to Yojimbo, and really lets you enjoy watching the hero outsmart the enemies and hide the fact that he cares about the good guys. The comedy is great too.
A specific scene at the end made a big impression on cinema, as well as Ghost of Tsushima. A quick-draw duel comes to a very abrupt conclusion, and ushered in the first time a film used effects to make blood spray out of someone like a sprinkler. So any film, anime or other instance you’ve seen where someone gets slashed and a ton of blood comes shooting out… this is where it all began.
