Hidden Fortress, The (1958)

Sleeping Beauty, Man on Duty, Choking Snooty, Skinny Fruity

Genre: Period Samurai Action Adventure Comedy (Japan)

Starring: Minoru Chiaki (I Live In Fear • Throne Of Blood), Kamatari Fujiwara (Ikiru • The Lower Depths)

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa (Dreams • Ran)

Overview: Two farmers find gold near a hidden fortress. When they meet a third man who plans to use them to cross enemy lines to deliver it home, their journey is rife with peril and double-cross.

Yes, have no fear, Toshirô Mifune is indeed in this one as well, however the two oafish peasant characters, played by those credited above do something for Kurosawan film that has never been done before: comic relief.

Toshirô's uncouth role in Seven Samurai might be occasionally considered comic relief, but in The Hidden Fortress, the characters of Tahei and Matakishi are constantly fumbling their way through the story, and rather than helping the expedition move along, they're the one's interfering with what could otherwise have been be a fairly simple adventure story.

This is, thus far, Kurosawa's funniest film, namely because of these poor pathetic farmers. So influential were these characters to George Lucas that they inspired him to create R2D2 and C-3PO for a little art film you might know by the name of Star Wars.

The Hidden Fortress is set in a war-torn medieval Japan, on the wrong side of the border. General Rokurota Makabe (Mifune) is tasked to bring gold and a fleeing Princess Yuki back through to their homeland without being captured by the army of enemy soldiers searching for them.

The Hidden Fortress is a classic adventure tale, with each chapter presenting us with a new challenge, be it steep climbs across unyielding terrain, bonfire festivals or scores of armies. The visual spectacle of this film is as good as any other of this director's work, and though the incessant whining of our peons is hilarious, the tale has enough dramatic bite to keep it serious.

"When do you think she'll show her Hidden Fortress, Bill?"

Performance: 8 Cinematography: 8 Script: 8 Plot: 8 Mood: 8

Overall Rating: 80% (Spill The Beans)

Aftertaste:

Once upon a time I polled people at my office to settle a bet. I said that most people did in fact know who The Emperor, Akira Kurosawa was, and those who didn't were uncultured dummies. Turns out I had to apologize to the first person I called a dummy because only around 10% of the people I asked knew who this famous director was.

Guess why I don't work there any more?