Mifune Toshiro once said of himself that he was only a great actor when being directed by Kurosawa.  It is undeniably true.  However, he was always a good actor, and even though only Kurosawa could pull the greatness from him, any Mifune performance is worth checking out.  His American-directed attempts are usually even poorer than his quickly-done super-samurai slugfests, but "Hell in the Pacific" is an exception to the rule.  This is good stuff.