MovieChat Forums > Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (1960) Discussion > 'lesser masterpiece'?

'lesser masterpiece'?

posted 17 years ago by Don_Farshido
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When they asked Ford about "The Searchers", he told them it was "only a Western and nothing more", when they asked Hawks about his by that time much interpreted films, afaik he said something like "All I ever wanted to do was to entertain the audience", Keaton said just the same.
Well, I personally don't give a *beep* about what Kurosawa says about his own movie, if his actual purpose was only to make money or to make art, this one is for me one of his very greatest films. Incredibly funny, brillant characters, full of social commentary, but all in the shape of "entertainment" - that's what Hawks and Hitchcock are famous for. When Yuki starts singing by the end I'm melting away... I love this film.

[–] Big G-2 17 years ago

If I recall, after doing movies with serious tones (like IKIRU and I LIVE IN FEAR), Kurosawa wanted to make this as a fun, escapist picture, and even as a "thank you" to his studio, Toho Co. Ltd, which stood by him during that difficult SEVEN SAMURAI shoot. THE HIDDEN FORTRESS ended up becoming one of Kurosawa's favorites.

Ironically at the same time, Alfred Hitchcock himself took this similar route. After a couple of years of doing serious movies like THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH and VERTIGO, Hitchcock made the fun, escapist NORTH BY NORTHWEST.

[–] Don_Farshido 16 years ago

Nice comparison. "North by Northwest" is one of my favourites of the director's oeuvre as well, but many people share that opinion with me, which is not the case with "The Hidden Fortress". Especially Kurosawa was imo at his greatest when his tone was not too serious, as it was for example in all of his later works, which do not really work for me the way this one does. This is, next to "Seven Samurai" and the extremely underrated "The Lower Depths" to me Kurosawa at his finest.