Country
France
Date
Apr 25, 1961
Certification
U
Kill one or a hundred... you only hang once
1h 50min
Overall average
5.0/10
Trailer
Videos
Plot
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Main cast
Full cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Hiroshi Tachikawa | Yoichiro |
| Yōsuke Natsuki | Kohei's Son |
| Eijirō Tōno | Gonji, Tavern Keeper |
| Kamatari Fujiwara | Tazaemon |
| Ikio Sawamura | Hansuke |
| Atsushi Watanabe | The Cooper (Coffin-Maker) |
| Susumu Fujita | Homma, Instructor Who Skips Town |
| Kyū Sazanka | Ushitora |
| Kō Nishimura | Kuma |
| Takeshi Katō | Ronin Kobuhachi |
| Ichirō Nakatani | First Samurai |
| Sachio Sakai | First Foot Soldier |
| Akira Tani | Kame |
| Namigoro Rashomon | Kannuki the Giant |
| Yoshio Tsuchiya | Kohei |
| Gen Shimizu | Magotaro |
| Jerry Fujio | Roku - Samurai Whose Arm is Cut |
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| Yutaka Sada | Matsukichi |
| Shin Ōtomo | Kumosuke |
| Shōichi Hirose | Ushitora Follower |
| Hideyo Amamoto | Yahachi |
| Shōji Ōki | Sukeju |
| Fuminori Ōhashi | Second Samurai |
| Hiroshi Kiyama | Farmer |
| Senkichi Ōmura | Traveler |
| Noriko Honma | Farmer's Ex-wife |
| Ryusuke Nishio | Seibei Follower |
| Naoya Kusakawa | Seibei Follower |
| Nadao Kirino | Seibei Follower |
| Mitsuo Tsuda | |
| Shinpei Takagi | Ushitora Follower |
| Jun Ōtomo | Seibei Follower |
| Akio Kusama | Ushitora Follower |
| Yasuzō Ogawa | Ushitora Follower |
| Hiroshi Takagi | Ushitora Follower |
| Jun'ichirō Mukai | Seibei Follower |
| Takuzō Kumagai | |
| Ichirō Chiba | Second Foot Soldier |
| Haruya Sakamoto | Ushitora Follower |
| Rinsaku Ogata | Seibei Follower |
| Takeo Ogushi | Ushitora Follower |
| Yoko Terui | Woman at Seibei's House |
| Hiromi Mineoka | Woman at Seibei's House |
| Michiko Kawa | Woman at Seibei's House |
Genres
DramaThriller
Technical details
| Dettaglio | Valore |
|---|---|
| Titolo originale | 用心棒 |
| Lingua originale | 日本語 (JA) |
| Lingue parlate | 日本語 |
| Paesi di produzione | Japan |
| Stato | Released |
| Compagnie di produzione | TOHO |
| Data di uscita | 25 aprile 1961 |
| Exec. Producer | Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ryuzo Kikushima |
| Producer | Akira Kurosawa |
| Writer | Ryuzo Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa |
| Editors | Akira Kurosawa, Reiko Kaneko |
| Cinematography | Kazuo Miyagawa, Takao Saitō, Daisaku Kimura |
| Asst. Directors | Masanobu Deme, Shirō Moritani, Akira Kurosawa, Teruyo Nogami |
| Lighting | Chōshirō Ishii |
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| Camera Operators | Kazuo Miyagawa, Takao Saitō, Daisaku Kimura |
| Add. Photography | Kazuo Miyagawa, Takao Saitō, Daisaku Kimura |
| Production Design | Yoshirō Muraki, Yoshifumi Honda, Kôichi Hamamura |
| Art Direction | Yoshifumi Honda, Yoshirō Muraki, Kôichi Hamamura |
| Set Decoration | Yoshirō Muraki, Yoshifumi Honda, Kôichi Hamamura |
| Composer | Masaru Satō, Masanobu Miyazaki, Ichirô Minawa, Chôshichirô Mikami, Hisashi Shimonaga |
| Sound | Masaru Satō, Masanobu Miyazaki, Ichirô Minawa, Chôshichirô Mikami, Hisashi Shimonaga |
| Costume Design | Yoshirō Muraki, Junjirō Yamada, Yoshiko Matsumoto |
| Makeup | Yoshirō Muraki, Junjirō Yamada, Yoshiko Matsumoto |
| Hairstyling | Yoshirō Muraki, Junjirō Yamada, Yoshiko Matsumoto |
| Collezione | Sanjuro Collection |
Release dates
Premiere
Country
Italy
Date
Aug 20, 1961
Note
Venice Film Festival
Limited release
Country
Australia
Date
Oct 26, 2024
Certification
M
Note
Re-Release
Theatrical release
Country
Japan
Date
Apr 25, 1961
Country
United States
Date
Sep 13, 1961
Certification
NR
Country
Finland
Date
Mar 15, 1963
Country
Brazil
Date
May 09, 1963
Certification
L
Note
IMDB
Show more (9)Show less
Country
Mexico
Date
May 09, 1963
Country
Italy
Date
Jun 28, 1963
Country
Sweden
Date
Oct 28, 1964
Country
Denmark
Date
Mar 29, 1965
Country
United Kingdom
Date
Nov 09, 1967
Certification
PG
Country
France
Date
Sep 12, 1979
Certification
U
Country
Germany
Date
May 21, 1982
Certification
12
Country
Netherlands
Date
Jan 13, 1983
Certification
12
Note
Re-release
Country
South Korea
Date
Apr 16, 2004
Certification
15
Digital
Country
Netherlands
Date
Jun 26, 2025
Certification
16
Note
Eye Film Player
Physical media
Country
United States
Date
Jan 01, 1999
Certification
NR
Note
VHS
Country
Australia
Date
Jan 01, 2000
Certification
PG
Note
DVD
Country
Spain
Date
May 16, 2001
Certification
A
Country
Netherlands
Date
Sep 07, 2004
Certification
12
Note
DVD
Show more (3)Show less
Country
Czechia
Date
Apr 20, 2006
Note
DVD
Country
France
Date
Jan 25, 2017
Country
United Kingdom
Date
Mar 17, 2025
Note
Blu-ray & 4K UHD
TV
Country
Czechia
Date
Dec 07, 2008
Note
ČT2
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