Hidden Fortress

So after Seven Samurai, I thought I had seen the best of Kurosawa; I was wrong. Seven Samurai is still my favorite movie of his, but this film gives it a run for it's money. An interesting fact about this film is that it was a major inspiration for the original Star Wars trilogy, and after watching the characters and their personalities, I can definitely see the resemblance.
     The two central characters, Tahei and Matashichi, are a comedy duo that get the laughs from their constant bickering, the way they fight with each other is very reminiscent of the interplay between Star War's comedy duo, C3PO and R2-D2, although the language in Star Wars is much more mild. The story of Hidden Fortress is also very evocative of the hero's journey structure, the same structure used by Star Wars (and countless other movies that have followed). The similarities even go so far that nearly the entire first Act of Episode IV shares blatant similarities with the first Act of Hidden Fortress; Hidden Fortress starts off with Tahei and Matashichi walking through a desert until finally they part ways after a dispute, only to be captured separately and wind up in the same place together again, sound familiar? The movie is complete with its own Obi-wan (Makabe Rokurōta) and Darth Vader as well.

      This movie was excellent and worthwhile experience, I mean really, if it inspired one of the most widely renown movie trilogies ever, how could it not be?