The extended, more exhilarating version of THE MEN WHO TREAD ON THE TIGER'S TALE (1952). And not only that, but the template for STAR WARS! We got the distressed princess (Leia), the rogue general (Han), and the two bickering clowns of the desert (R2D2 + C3PO) making their way through epic landscapes and well-guarded checkpoints. The horizontal wipes are in full effect and the overall mood feels right out of Tatooine. It's a treacherous, desolate world for the hero's journey to unfold, and I love that the focus is pulled towards those at the bottom of the caste, like Skywalker.

Tahei and Matakishi are like Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy. Two slap-sticking, quarreling fools looking for gold who happen to cross paths with guarded royalty, sucking them into a great-escape plot that takes them across enemy lines in feudal Japan. This film is a lot of fun. Great action, tension and suspense. That horse chase sequence is unreal, sorta like watching the speeder chase between the Rebels and the Empire in ROTJ. Mifune looked like a total badass sporting that saber. And the landscapes (especially in the first half's mountain locations) are to die for. 

What's really funny to think about is how this —a delightful comedy adventure—followed the miserablism of THE LOWER DEPTHS (1957). Like, no two films could be more diametrically opposed lol. The story wears out its welcome but overall it's a fun, entertaining road movie.

Kurosawa Ranked