A brilliant film. One of Kurosawa's best

Only Hitchcock could make masterpieces more entertaining than Kurosawa. Both of these artists were masters at soaking their great entertainment with deep humanity and vice versa. Hidden Fortress is one of Kurosawa's most entertaining films a tiny step below Yojimbo. The serious issues are small, but there. Class issues are prevalent, although nowhere near as in depth as in The Seven Samurai. Everyone in the film is wonderful.

This film contains Kurosawa's best cinematography in black and white, competing with The Bad Sleep Well. The new Criterion DVD is so outstandingly gorgeous it just blew me away. I wish I could afford it to own for myself! 10/10

10/10