Seeing as I'm watching most of Akira Kurosawa's work for the first time here on Hulu, my opinion of his stuff is fresh and somewhat unbalanced. I don't have the frame of reference to see any of his movies in the light of his entire body of work or the other contemporary films of their time.I will say though, that there is always one or two scenes in these early films where it's quite magic. I'm hoping that his (slightly) more recent films will continue to show more of these flashes of brilliance.
In this film, there is a scene where a chorus girl tries on a dress and dances to the crash of thunderclaps... and it's magic! It emotionally conveys something about mankind that is at once immediate, potent and complex. In Scandal, there was a lengthened New Years bar scene that blew my mind too.. I guess what I'm saying is, if you're willing to sit through various cliches and dated character displays in order to find those nuggets of Kurosawa genius at work.. you will find them, and they'll make you smile. =)