The Hidden Fortress (1960)

Basic premise: brave samurai general must get young princess through enemy territory safely, despite being "helped" along the way by two selfish peasants interested only in the monetary gain they'll enjoy if successful.

There's much to like here. The covert escape story is classic (George Lucas used it as inspiration for Star Wars) and Toshiro Mifune is reliably captivating as the general -- he's charismatic and believably frightening. Gary walked through the room at one point and said "easy to see why he was such a huge star."

But, despite the strong story and exciting escapes, the good is nearly undone completely by the speaking voice of the princess (awesome idea to have her masquerade as a mute peasant girl -- wonder if that was in the original script or just a necessary tweak to save the production thousands in aspirin costs) and the annoying hamming of the peasants.

B