Episode 11: THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958)

Comparisons to STAR WARS aren't necessarily a bad way to look at THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958), but they won't add much to your viewing experience. Yes, Akira Kurosawa's feudal epic (featuring Toshiro Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki) lives in a cleverly-built world of deposed princesses and disgraced swordsmen, but it's also a picaresque grounded in people of the lower class – a hallmark of the best Kurosawa. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters.