The Hidden Fortress

"Get away from me! You stink of dead bodies!"

Hello, lately I've been watching a lot of Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ran) films, and he has lately become my favourite director, because the way he does his films, the story they follow are all something that interests me. I decided to check this film out in particular after I found out it was a huge inspiration for George Lucas' Original Star Wars and in particular, R2D2 & C3P0.

• Title: Hidden Fortress
• Year of release: 1958
• Director: Akira Kurosawa
• Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy
• Rating: 8.5/10

The story follows two characters, Tahei & Matakishi, who are very poor and greedy, after they discover some gold in a piece of wood they meet a man named Rokurota Makabe, he then leads them on a journey to Hayakawa (sorry If I'm wrong there, I cannot quite remember the name) where the princess also on the journey must rebuild her clan.

Simply put in my opinion, no Hidden Fortress, no Star Wars, I'm sure many will argue against that, but even if Star Wars was made it wouldn't be the legendary film it is, today. I feel personally this is Akira Kurosawa's most underrated film, a lot of people who have seen his movies will talk about Rashomon, Seven Samurai or Ran, they are his most famous, and among his greatest success'. This film probably would be even less cared about if there wasn't a Star Wars film (I know I need to stop with Star Wars).

For those who haven't seen a Kurosawa film, or if you've mainly seen his serious films, this film is a great treat. Though I wouldn't call it an incredibly serious film, I also wouldn't just call it a Comedy, it mixes drama, action and comedy perfectly. The drama in the film is that surrounding Princess Yuki, that she is the only one left to recreate her clan, and that she isn't no stupid woman, she is not some posh "I'm better than you" sort of person, she is a real person, who actually has a chance of rebuilding the clan. The action is of course shown by Toshiro Mifune's character, Rokurota Makabe, throughout the movie you will see him swing his sword with brilliant precision and strength, one scene in particular which involves him chasing down some soldiers on a horse is particularly great. The action doesn't feel fake, and choreographed, it's more realistic than that of sword fighting you may see in the likes of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (don't get me wrong, I love CTHD too). Lastly, the comedy of the film mainly comes from the two peasants, Tahei and Matakishi, these two guys need each other, but their greed will cause them to have some hilarious and outrageous arguments.

To sum up this relatively short review, if your a fan of Akira Kurosaa or Toshiro Mifune, watch this film, if your a fan of Star Wars, watch this film, if your a fan of Samurai's and that time period, watch this film. If you have any sense, WATCH THIS FILM!