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Hidden Fortress (1958) - 8/10
The film doesnt have as much to say as the deeper films in the Kurwasawa catalog but its not voiceless. Visually its very interesting. The framing is perfect nearly always. Thats been a big treat for me watching his films the last month or so is this lost art of wide shots not overly edited.
Another common strand is his use of perspective. Most of his films toys with it in some fashion. With Rashomon its the central narrative and with Ikiru its through multiple perspectives that the third act is laid out. Yojimbo and Sanjuro both use it in similar ways. Yojimbo allows you to piece together the towns politics through infiltration of both sides. Sanjuro twists that slightly but its very similar in concept. With Hidden Fortress we have a zeppo story that has us follow characters that the story isnt about.
That said this is up there for me with Seven Samurai and Yojimbo/Sanjuro. It doesnt break through the bar set by his more serious pictures but its still outstanding and worth seeing for anyone who loves the medium of film.
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