Directed by the legend that was Akira Kurosawa this is another of his samurai epics, but not his finest work.
It tells the story of two peasants who find themselves teaming with a princess and her general who are actively being sought by the military. With copious amounts of gold on the line they are motivated to stick with them despite the dangers.
Well shot, well acted and with all the usual quality you'd expect from a Toho/Kurosawa movie it's an enjoyable journey that runs into more than a few bumps.
The film has an alarming amount of comedy to it which is an odd fit, the content is very tame and the entire movie could pass for a U rating and some of the characters intended to be protagonists are less than likeable.
Toshirô Mifune leads and is great as always, Takashi Shimura is totally wasted, Kamatari Fujiwara plays the fool SO well it's always entertaining and Misa Uehara makes me wish she'd had a better career.
This is certainly a Kurosawa epic and I'd never try to take away from that, I just have a few gropes that I cannot get over.
The Good:
Wells scored
Strong performances
Perfectly directed
The Bad:
Some unlikeable characters
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Back in those days gold was considerably lighter
A pirouette is a common motion after being shot
It tells the story of two peasants who find themselves teaming with a princess and her general who are actively being sought by the military. With copious amounts of gold on the line they are motivated to stick with them despite the dangers.
Well shot, well acted and with all the usual quality you'd expect from a Toho/Kurosawa movie it's an enjoyable journey that runs into more than a few bumps.
The film has an alarming amount of comedy to it which is an odd fit, the content is very tame and the entire movie could pass for a U rating and some of the characters intended to be protagonists are less than likeable.
Toshirô Mifune leads and is great as always, Takashi Shimura is totally wasted, Kamatari Fujiwara plays the fool SO well it's always entertaining and Misa Uehara makes me wish she'd had a better career.
This is certainly a Kurosawa epic and I'd never try to take away from that, I just have a few gropes that I cannot get over.
The Good:
Wells scored
Strong performances
Perfectly directed
The Bad:
Some unlikeable characters
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Back in those days gold was considerably lighter
A pirouette is a common motion after being shot