- Mount Olympus (summitpost.org)
Mount Olympus is the highest point of the Olympic Mountains, and as such could be considered the crown jewel of that range. The peak has major significance to mountaineers, both locally and nationally. The mountain is attempted by many summit parties each year, yet the average success rate is considered low largely due to the peak being located in the most precipitous region of Washington, having a long approach, and having a variety of difficult terrain to traverse. Despite these aspects, or perhaps because of them, those who successfully summit Mount Olympus know it is a major accomplishment to be proud of.
- The Hidden Fortress: Three Good Men and a Princess (criterion.com)
The Hidden Fortress was Akira Kurosawa’s first hit after 1954’s Seven Samurai, four years and four films earlier. It won even bigger at the box office and scooped up a handful of Japanese and international awards, proving that its director was not merely an art-house auteur but could fill theaters as well. The film’s popularity in Japan was instrumental in securing financial guarantees for Kurosawa’s own production company, which supported all his subsequent films up to 1970. The pacing and characters of The Hidden Fortress, its landscapes and epic feel, make it a great action film, and as Kurosawa’s first use of widescreen, it is one of his most stylish movies. With this film, the director’s artistry and humanist ideology spectacularly fused with the entertainment values of adventure films and comedies.