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“Hide a stone among stones and a man among men.” – General Rokurota Makabe
Number of Times Seen – 1 (6 May 2021)
Brief Synopsis – Two peasants help a princess and her trusted general try and reclaim her throne.
My Take on it – This is a film that I’ve been meaning to see for most of my movie-watching life, but my lack of interest in Foreign language films was greater than my urge to see this.
This film is widely known for being quite influential in George Lucas’ Star Wars films and knowing that trivia tidbit has always still made me curious to try and check it out.
Darren’s choice this month for foreign films finally gave me the extra push that I needed to sit myself down a watch this film.
I was floored by the storytelling and really enjoyed the characters.
Yes, It’s quite easy to see the influence this film had on the Star Wars movies, but I wonder if I would have noticed it if I didn’t know this information beforehand.
The choice to have the story told from the point of view of two peasants works really well and has been used by many other storyteller besides Lucas and it helps give the story more weight because it’s seen from the perspective of someone who has less to gain from telling it.
The story itself is told in epic fashion by Director Akira Kurosawa and the battles are choreographed really well.
The fight on the steps is so enjoyable to watch unfold.
The story seems quite straightforward in the way that it’s being told, yet is still filled with some great surprises along the way that enhance the storytelling to even greater heights.
So glad that I finally got around to seeing this film!
Highly Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In an interview for the Criterion collection DVD, George Lucas stated that while this film is a story about a princess and her protectors that this was not the primary element that he employed in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). He stated that he was more concerned with the way that Hidden Fortress is told through the eyes of two lesser characters. In Hidden Fortress it is the two thieves; in Star Wars it is C3PO and R2D2. In both films the comical interplay between the two characters is a major theme.(From IMDB)
Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)
