What a shame that the edited version of this is the only one that exists. 166 minutes might sound like a long film, but apparently the original cut for this was almost four and a half hours long, and while such an epic would be a challenging sit, I'd imagine it would have made for a stronger film.
There are some inter-titles used to explain parts of the plot that otherwise get brushed over really quickly, and some weird moments when it comes to pacing, with things happening a little too abruptly and awkwardly throughout the second half.
The acting is fantastic from the four leads (not that Toshiro Mifune isn't great, but it's unusual to see him get out-acted in a movie, and I think it arguably happens here), and it holds up visually, seeing as Kurosawa's basically incapable of directing a bad movie.
But it's still not a great movie because of those edits and the pacing; if a full cut ever resurfaced by some miracle (hey, it happened to Metropolis 80 years after release), I would watch it in a heartbeat.
There are some inter-titles used to explain parts of the plot that otherwise get brushed over really quickly, and some weird moments when it comes to pacing, with things happening a little too abruptly and awkwardly throughout the second half.
The acting is fantastic from the four leads (not that Toshiro Mifune isn't great, but it's unusual to see him get out-acted in a movie, and I think it arguably happens here), and it holds up visually, seeing as Kurosawa's basically incapable of directing a bad movie.
But it's still not a great movie because of those edits and the pacing; if a full cut ever resurfaced by some miracle (hey, it happened to Metropolis 80 years after release), I would watch it in a heartbeat.