I am glad that Netflix uses a five-star rating system. It is probably because of the very many films that I think deserve 4 stars; somehow, 3 out of 4 stars doesn't seem quite high enough.

I almost never give a film a rating of 2 stars, and I can't remember ever rating a film as 1 star. To do so would reflect badly on me, I think. The filmmaker spent at least a year working on the film and I spent perhaps two hours. If I think it is really bad, isn't it more likely that I just don't get it? Even a film as sophomoric as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead is still worth at least 3 stars. And perhaps more, because the film really doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't. Would I have rewritten it? Sure. Could it have been so much better for me? Absolutely. Would doing so have reduced its potential audience by 90%? Probably.

One of the greatest films ever made is Yojimbo. It tells the story of a ronin who saves a town by setting its two controlling gangs against each other. This may sound familiar because it's been made at least twice since then in the form of A Fist Full of Dollars and Last Man Standing. And I can think of no three films that better illustrate the difference between 3, 4, and 5 star ratings. Just so you know what I'm talking about, I rate them thusly:


All of these films are good. I've watched them all many times. But why is Yojimbo better than A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing? There are a few reasons. First, on its storytelling merits, it is better. It is funnier and more exciting. But that in itself wouldn't cause me to put it into the 5-star category. Yojimbo is also at base a serious film with real characters.

This is not true of the other two film, which are at base comic books. Joe[1] and Rojo in A Fistful of Dollars are superheroes. All the characters are stereotypes. The same thing goes for Last Man Standing. The argument can be made that Sanjuro[2] is a superhero. I don't think it is very strong, but it doesn't matter. The people who occupy the town are very real, and the film is mostly about them.

The final thing that makes Yojimbo great is that it is beautifully shot. A Fistful of Dollars really falls down here. In particular, I am thinking of the day-for-night graveyard sequence. Last Man Standing, on the other hand is easily as beautiful as Yojimbo. This is one of the best things about it.

So why is A Fistful of Dollars better than Last Man Standing? One reason: Bruce Willis. I don't generally mind Willis as an actor. In particular, he was excellent in the great film 12 Monkeys. But here, his performance is bad enough to almost destroy this film. Otherwise, I would likely thing Last Man Standing the better of the two.

In general, I will only give a film five stars if I think the filmmakers' intent was serious. But there are exceptions. I don't think of His Girl Friday as anything more than a romp. But, you know: Rosalind Russell. The truth is, other than for the purposes of getting Netflix to suggest films you will like, film ratings aren't that useful. Anyway, most people don't agree with my overall impression of a film. When I write in depth about a film, I think it at least adds something to the conversation. Like, you know: Rosalind Russell.

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[1] Note: he has a name. He is not "The Man With No Name." The fact that people know him by this moniker is indicative of the mythic nature of the character.

[2] I believe that Sanjuro means "30-year-old" based upon the translations in Yojimbo and the almost equally wonderful Sanjuro.