In chronological order I'll list the Anti-Heroes that then came after as a result of this movie:
Watch this video I made on youtube and you'll my answer: http://youtu.be/aUDxZeEBeBo
Does anyone agree or disagree?
What would be your picks then?
"There's No Cure For Fools"
It is hard to say. Some think John Wayne in THE SEARCHERS was something of an anti-hero.
One might make an argument for Gregory Peck in 12 O'CLOCK HIGH, but in that one, he really is a hero, even if he rubs everyone the wrong way.
It is an interesting topic though. What defines an anti-hero for me is someone whom does give a *beep* about whether people like him/her or not, is absolutely ruthless, and to quote Hugh Laurie regarding his character House says, "He's on the side of the angels without having to be one".
What defines an anti-hero for you?
I guess there are many variations on the "anti-hero". Some will say that they represent a true bad guy, but somehow, someway, the audience is cheering for them. Case in point, Humphrey Bogart as Roy Earle in HIGH SIERRA. He is a notorious bank robber who has just been released from prison, but is hired to pull off one last job and if successful, can retire for good. But when the heist goes wrong (through no fault of his own), and the police are in pursuit, one cannot help to root for the Bogart character. It is almost as if the police become the villains from that point on.
Then we those who are not good guys, but end up doing good things, though they don't realize it. THE HIDDEN FORTRESS is a great example. Both Tahei and Matashichi are despicable characters - selfish, greedy, etc. Yet, they play a part in helping both General Makabe and Princess Yuki escape from enemy territory, even if that was not their intention. At the end though, we do see an atonement on the part of both.
I do think however, that Mifune's YOJIMBO character, did became the prototype on what was to follow. The anti-hero, but who was cool and fun to watch! Not the most well-mannered and sometimes even downright rude, but unlike John Wayne in THE SEARCHERS, one very much liked him.
Thank you for your detailed response.
Yeah I completely understand what you're communicating here. One could even ask is Rick Blane from "Casablanca" is one of the first examples of the anti-hero or at least a prototype when it would later develop into.
I re-watched "The Searchers" today and found Wayne's character to have more of a vendetta when it came to "Indians" than either Mifune's Yojimbo or my most recent example Dr. Gregory House would have against any particular group so I guess then I would amend my definition of what an anti-hero is to include someone whom has a non-specific bias towards any particular group on the basis that, to quote "Yojimbo" '...and this town is full of men who deserve to die'. I suppose the anti-hero is defined as an anti-hero on a case by case basis.
Consider the wonderful Errol Flynn in "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" (1938). That is what I would define as romantic-hero and not necessarily the anti-hero archetype. The definition would also have to be based on the genre of film you're watching. Kurosawa thought of "Yojimbo" the film as a black comedy. Paul Verhoeven, as well as the writers, thought of the film "Robocop" as a black comedy too.
Know what I mean?
In terms of back comedy, yes, YOJIMBO is definitely one, and that is an argument that seems to get lost when discussing this with other movies of the same nature, especially A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS.
I could see John Wayne in THE SEARCHERS having a vendetta or an obsession, more so than him actually being a good guy. His character starts out bigoted towards Indians, and remains so throughout and in the end. There does not seem to be any redeeming qualities, other than not killing his niece because he believed she had "converted" to being an Indian and excepting their way of life.
In terms of YOJIMBO, to me, it almost seems that the character was sort of a cross between Mifune's Kikuchiyo and Seiji Miyachuchi's Kyuzo from SEVEN SAMURAI. A no holds barred guy, but a master swordsman at the same time. But that is just me. I think Kurosawa and company approached it differently.
Oh absolutely! I have a book on Kurosawa called "The Films of Akira Kurosawa, Third Edition, Expanded and Updated on Kurosawa" which quotes him as saying (with regards to "Yojimbo" and I'm paraphrasing here) : "I wanted to create a film whose charter would look at the absurdity of the world and laugh at it. Therefore, the black-comedy that 'Yojimbo' is associated with I would represent as a kind of an anti-hero. Someone who looks at the world pragmatically and then decides how to act. With the absurdity of the world one can only laugh at how screwed up it really is, and the only answer is to laugh at it with the knowledge of that absurdity. That's why I wanted to make this film; for the youth of Japan".
shareBirth? In 61? Hm... I dont know about that. Remember Johnny Strabler of the famous line “What are you rebelling against?” “Whaddya got?” He was about as anti-hero as it got back in 1953 in The Wild One.
And lets not forget the most famous anti-hero of the 50's, James Dean's character in Rebel Without A Cause. Jim Stark is still basically the poster child of the rebellious teen antihero figure.
I think this archetype has been with us for thousands of years honestly. Sure, Kurosawa's take on it was enormously influential but not completely unique.
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Using words to describe art is like using a screw driver to cut roast beef.
Good argument, I find many figures from film noir qualifies the criteria. Yojimbo is a great exemple.
shareHey thanks a bunch zhu_bernard. I think the user blakkdog was missing my point entirely. His quote wasn't really getting at the heart of what an anti-hero is. Especially as cinema has defined it today. He writes:
Birth? In 61? Hm... I dont know about that. Remember Johnny Strabler of the famous line “What are you rebelling against?” “Whaddya got?” He was about as anti-hero as it got back in 1953 in The Wild One.
And lets not forget the most famous anti-hero of the 50's, James Dean's character in Rebel Without A Cause. Jim Stark is still basically the poster child of the rebellious teen antihero figure.
I think this archetype has been with us for thousands of years honestly. Sure, Kurosawa's take on it was enormously influential but not completely unique.
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But is Yojimbo's protagonist really an anti-hero? Unlike Eastwood in Fistful of Dollars whose main motivation is money, the samurai's primary intention is to free the town and his seemingly morally grey demeanor is just a facade.
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