On the flight up I got a chance to check out the Mac’s DVD playback capabilities. In a nutshell, they rock! I watched The Hidden Fortress, one of the Kurosawa boxed set 4 Samurai Classics. It’s pretty clear that George Lucas borrowed pretty heavily from the story line when he created Star Wars. The movie is a classic. It doesn’t have the high production values of American movies also shot in 1958, there are some rough edits and shaky cameras, but the story line is great and the actors really bring it to life.

The story follows two peasants, Tahei and Matashichi and their search for some gold. Along the way they run in to Rokurota Makabe, played by Toshiro Mifune, who is protecting Princess Yuki the last noble of the Akizuki clan. The group travels through enemy territory tring to get the princess and her gold to safety, hunted by enemies and the pesants greed.

If you like classic cinema, samurai movies, or Star Wars, check it out because it’s an important part of all of them.