The Hidden Fortress - Criterion Collection

Rating:
Summary: How to tell a story
Review: Kurasawa spins one heck of a great yarn.

He loves to use contrasts: heat and a dry, gravelly landscape contrast with a spring of cool, fresh water. Two bumbling, hilariously-sketched peasants contrast with the dignity of the Princess and Mifune.

I cannot believe how amazingly beautiful and memorable some of the scenes are! Mifune, galloping on horseback after the officials, with his arms raised, and his sword perpendicular to the saddle...his body unmoving, not a budge...and the horse beneath him galloping, exploding in movement..racing full-tilt....the trees and bush in the background a blur, the horse's movements a blur, but Mifune is like a still shot in the midst of this speed...Kurasawa cuts and pans the scene. And, Mifune, solid, fierce, intent to kill ...that raised sword of vengeance. Wow. Blows me away. I cannot even begin to describe it well enough.
Then, good old Chiaki, when he is so defeated by all the ill-fortune, sleeping on the ground, he wakes up and is crying to his buddy, "Let's be friends forever." I actually laugh out loud.
There are so many memorable scenes: When Mifune laughs as he enters the secret passage in the mountains surrounding the hidden fortress, he is such an heroic figure, he's almost frightening. When he tells of his sister's sacrifice..he is humble, and in pain, but careful not to show it. How can a guy communicate so much? I love Mifune dancing around the bonfire, and I love the cart scene, too. The young woman who becomes the princess' protector..isn't that also a wonderful transformation? Such good stuff! What about the relationship between the two opposing samurai: Mifune and his opponent? Isn't that awesome? It's really quite funny when Mifune, after murdering the two horsemen rides directly into the midst of the opposing army's camp! Like...hello! But, then, the verbal exchange between Mifune and his opponent is so surprising and cool. The spear fight is my least favorite fight of all Mifune's battles. But, I love the ending, where he jumps on his horse and smiles as he leaves.

The film is an absolute pleasure to watch, and worth viewing many times, for the landscapes, variety of scene settings, humor, compassion, and for thrill of it .


Rating:
Summary: Inmensely entertaining !
Review: A strong-willed princess is supported by his wise , his Pygmalion , and sword -wielding protector (Toshiro Mifune).
George Lucas has admmited this film influenced him in his famous Stars Wars trilogy.
Kurosawa once more is overwhelming with this haunting story . There is violence but the weight of the script in itself justifies by far this element ; the camera work , the ralentis , and arresting images make of this film another classical issue of this radiant genius of the cinema


Rating:
Summary: a great Japanese classic
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

The Hidden Fortress, released in Japan as "Kakushi toride no san akunin" literaly translating to "3 Bad Guys in a Hidden Fortress" is a great film and a primary influence for George Lucas' Star Wars. The film is about two inept peasants who help escort a man and woman across enemy territory with a promise that they will be awarded gold. Little do they know that the man and woman are a general and a princess.
The film has a lot of humor in it and has many of Kurosawa's trademarks also. The film like many Japanese films of the time has scenes which have been imitated many times.

There are some good action sequences and good scenery also.

The special features arre a theatrical trailer and an exclusive interview with George Lucas.

The George Lucas interview is a great feature where he talks about having seen and loved the film. He talks about how the plot of the film being shown through the perspective of two characters of low significance inspired his ideas for C3PO and R2D2 in his Star Wars films. The interview also contains a few screen shots from the Star Wars films and several scenes from the movie.

Fans of Japanese cinema and Star Wars fans will probably both like this movie.