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The Hidden Fortress

Kakushi-toride no san-akunin

Japan

1958

139 Min
Black and White
2.35:1
Japanese
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
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DIR Akira Kurosawa

SCR Ryûzô Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa

DP Ichio Yamazaki

CAST Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Susumu Fujita, Misa Uehara

MUSIC Masaru Satô

Synopsis

A general and a princess must dodge enemy clans while smuggling the royal treasure out of hostile territory with two bumbling, conniving peasants at their sides; it’s a spirited adventure that only Akira Kurosawa could create. Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s inimitably deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action and humanist compassion on an epic scale. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Original

Akira Kurosawa

The son of an army officer, Kurosawa studied art before gravitating to film as a means of supporting himself. He served seven years as an assistant to director Kajiro Yamamoto before he began his own directorial career with Sanshiro Sugata (1943), a film about the 19th century struggle for supremacy between adherents of judo and jujitsu that so impressed the military government, he was prevailed upon to make a sequel (Sanshiro Sugata Part Two). Following the end of World War II, Kurosawa’s career gathered speed with a series of films that cut across all genres, from crime thrillers to period dramas. Among the latter, his Rashomon (1951) became the first postwar Japanese film to find wide favor with Western audiences. It was Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai (1954), however, that made the largest impact of any of his movies outside of Japan. Although heavily cut for its original release, this three-hour-plus medieval action drama, shot with painstaking… read more

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Zachary George Najarian-Najafi

9Feb12

Another Kurosawa masterpiece; this guy pretty much invented the modern action/adventure film. The Hidden Fortress is both the best place to start for a Kurosawa neophyte and a great watch for those already inducted. It's warm, humorous, suspenseful, and features some memorable characters. As usual the cinematography and battle scenes are thrilling, and there's never a dull moment to be had.

Jeremy Ashlyn

26Sep11

Favorite Kurosawa, along with Drunken Angel and One Wonderful Sunday.

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myersc

1Sep11

Kurosawa's most entertaining film.

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Blake Barrington Ellis

12Jun11

Finally saw the Hidden Fortress... Much different than I expected. Beautifully shot though and really powerful characterizations. 4.5/5

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Akira Kurosawa’s “Hidden Fortress” (1958)

By Katia Baghai on August 10, 2010

Akira Kurosawa’s “Hidden Fortress” (1958) – a duel episode between two generals. Only one of the generals is fighting to kill – the other one is using the fight not in order to kill or wound or humiliate…  read review

On Being Human

By Lopezz on June 3, 2010

An amazing film, one of Kurosawa’s best. Despite some minor plot flaws, “The Hidden Fortress” is a great film, filled with great acting, great characters, a great story and great cinematography/direction…  read review

Untitled

By asuraf on December 5, 2008

The closest Akira Kurosawa ever came to pure comedy, this blockbuster samurai adventure starring Toshiro Mifune escorting his clan’s disguised princess through enemy lines, is made all the more memorable…  read review

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DVD

Buy the DVD from The Criterion Collection.