Hidden Fortress

Pros: Toshiro Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Kurosawa's film-making, and the story

Cons: Pacing for first time viewers

The Bottom Line: This movie is pure entertainment. It fits for any audience, anywhere, anytime. A much better film than STAR WARS!

Review: This is another classic Japanese film, made into a DVD by the Criterion Collection. It is widely thought to have been a direct influence on George Lucas for Star Wars. If that were its only claim to fame, I wouldn’t be writing this review. Because...

Pros: Acting, cinematography, genuinely funny.

Cons: erm.

The Bottom Line: With the new cleanup this disk has gone through, I recommend film fans get it in fast.

Review: Acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa is often credited in the film industry for the the impact his movies have had on the world of cinema, particularly in the western genre. Without his work on the movie Seven Samurai there would have been no The M ...

Pros: Every technical facet of the direction is flawless! Moments of surprising humor.

Cons: The two leaders are really sidekicks and it's tough to build a film around them.

The Bottom Line: Kurosawa and Mifune are one of the greatest director/actor teams in cinema history. This is one of their lighter, more minor collaborations, but it's still great!

Review: Hidden Fortress is Akira Kurosawa's slightly odd mix of samurai epic and slapstick comedy. It's an excellent film, but compared to many of Kurosawa's other samurai films — Ran, Throne of Blood, Seven Samurai, or Yojimbo...

Pros: Kurosawa's Direction, Script, Editing, Music, Cinematography, & Cast.

Cons: None.

The Bottom Line: The Hidden Fortress is an Adventurous Yet Comical Masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa. 

Review: In the 1950s, Akira Kurosawa was clearly becoming Japan's premier auteur with films like Rashomon, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, The Lower Depths, and most of all, The Seven Samurai. Taking the samurai films to new ...

Pros: Outstanding direction (as usual), beautiful cinematography, splendid acting.

Cons: Editing is a bit unbalanced, with some pacing problems.

The Bottom Line: If you enjoyed Star Wars, give this film a peak. It's the story that Lucas unwittingly stole and pawned as his own.

Review: For those of you who are a fan of the Star Wars trilogy and all things George Lucas, prepare to digest some points in this coming review that will not go down smoothly. Lucas states that, "This film is the inspiration for the original Star Wars." If this...

Pros: Beautiful. Kurosawa, Mifune, everything.

Cons: Ripped off by George Lucas

The Bottom Line: A great film which George Lucas ripped off.

Review: This is the seventh installment in my ongoing series of reviews called The Samurai Papers. The previous reviews in this series are: Yojimbo, Seven Samurai,

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Pros: Outstanding screenplay, direction and acting. Very fast-paced.

Cons: -

The Bottom Line: The Hidden Fortress is a classic. I highly recommend this movie to all.

Review: The Hidden Fortress [1958], directed by Akira Kurosawa, is considered to be the primal influence for George Lucas’ Star Wars. The movie is big in every sense of the term, and that probably justifies the five years this movie took to ...

Pros: One of the best movies by one of the best directors ever.

Cons: Peasants' knee-jerk bickering may seem a bit hackneyed, but the movie was made in 1958, so you've gotta cut it some slack!

Review: You may or may not have heard that George Lucas drew on Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress as his primary inspiration for Star Wars, but despite a few noteworthy similarities, Star Wars is a substantial departure from this movie....

Pros: Great cinematography, outstanding performance by Mifune, solid storyline, some good action sequences

Cons: Much of the comedy is feeble slapstick

The Bottom Line: Highly recommended Kurosawa offering, just below his best masterworks; very entertaining.

Review: This floating world’s a dream; so burn in mad abandon! . . . . from the song at the fire festival. Everybody loves a story about a princess in distress and the dashing heroes that come to her aid, saving her from the evil-ones. ...

Pros: Tohoscope, even a lesser Kurosawa picture is still a treasure

Cons: Not enough Mifune, some moments drag

The Bottom Line: Not an achievement in perfection, like Seven Samurai, but still worth seeing for fans of Kurosawa (Lucas fans, not as much as you've heard).

Review: According the official rulebook of movie reviewing, section 8.05h (an amendment added May 25, 1977), "all discussions of Akira Kurosawa's 'The Hidden Fortress' must commence with a detailed analysis of said movie's influence on George Lucas' 'Star...