The Hidden Fortress
1958  NR  DRAMA  2h 19min
CAST— Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara
MUSIC— Masaru Sato  DIRECTOR— Akira Kurosawa

     A beautifully directed tale of feudal Japan. Two greedy nincompoop peasants just can’t get ahead in life; if they’re not being enslaved by warring clans then they’re running for their lives from someone or other. When they run across gold pieces hidden in firewood they believe their fortune has been made. They reluctantly partner with a mysterious stranger who leads them to a fortress hidden in the mountains, where it’s revealed the stranger is actually a samurai warrior, a general protecting his princess (who is wanted by the local warlords, by the by). Behind enemy lines with a price on her head, the princess and the general begin the arduous trek back home, the two peasants close behind. As the group tries to transport themselves plus two hundred gold pieces through enemy territory, the princess sees humanity, its beauty and its ugliness, for the first time; the general leads the pack with wisdom and honor; and the peasants… well, they stay pretty much the same throughout. With memorable characters and scenes of epic proportions the film captures the eye and reaches the heart. Exciting, funny, suspenseful, just plain entertaining, this proves to be a classic. Reportedly one of the main sources of inspiration for the original Star Wars (1977). In Japanese with English subtitles.
OUR RATING— ***