Hidari was good as a comic relief character in Seven Samurai and I don't remember him in Ikiru. But WOW! He was amazing in Lower Depths. At first I was annoyed because I thought Takashi Shimura would have been better in the part but Hidari's performance really won me over. What did you guys think of him in this movie?
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I liked him as the pilgrim too! I didn't always get along with his whimpering farmer in Seven Samurai, but I loved him in the drunken wake scene in Ikiru. He excels in lower depths, it's probably his best role. Shimura would have been good, but I don't think he would have been quite right compared to Hidari, who has the right build and look-- shimura seems to me to maybe be a bit big physically for the role, and maybe even a little formidable as such-- there's no chance with thin, emaciated hidari. I think the pilgrim needs to be so unnassuming as to not draw attention to himself, allowing his ideas to be introduced almost unchallenged, and it looks like Hidari pulled it off magnificently...
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