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The Hidden Fortress

Original title: Kakushi-toride no san-akunin
  • 1958
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 6m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
44K
YOUR RATING
Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, and Misa Uehara in The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Action EpicAdventure EpicQuestAdventureDrama

Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.

  • Director
    • Akira Kurosawa
  • Writers
    • Ryûzô Kikushima
    • Hideo Oguni
    • Shinobu Hashimoto
  • Stars
    • Toshirô Mifune
    • Misa Uehara
    • Minoru Chiaki
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    44K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Akira Kurosawa
    • Writers
      • Ryûzô Kikushima
      • Hideo Oguni
      • Shinobu Hashimoto
    • Stars
      • Toshirô Mifune
      • Misa Uehara
      • Minoru Chiaki
    • 144User reviews
    • 107Critic reviews
    • 89Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 1 nomination total

    Photos117

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    Top cast43

    Edit
    Toshirô Mifune
    Toshirô Mifune
    • General Rokurota Makabe
    Misa Uehara
    Misa Uehara
    • Princess Yuki
    Minoru Chiaki
    Minoru Chiaki
    • Tahei
    Kamatari Fujiwara
    Kamatari Fujiwara
    • Matashichi
    Susumu Fujita
    Susumu Fujita
    • General Hyoe Tadokoro
    Takashi Shimura
    Takashi Shimura
    • The Old General, Izumi Nagakura
    Eiko Miyoshi
    Eiko Miyoshi
    • Old Lady-in-Waiting
    Toshiko Higuchi
    • Farmer's Daughter bought from slave trader
    Yû Fujiki
    • Barrier guard
    Yoshio Tsuchiya
    Yoshio Tsuchiya
    • Samurai on horse
    Kokuten Kôdô
    Kokuten Kôdô
    • Old man in front of sign
    Takeshi Katô
    Takeshi Katô
    • Fleeing, bloody samurai
    Kôji Mitsui
    Kôji Mitsui
    • Guard
    Toranosuke Ogawa
    Toranosuke Ogawa
    • Magistrate of the bridge barrier
    Kichijirô Ueda
    Kichijirô Ueda
    • Slave Trader
    Nakajirô Tomita
    • Potential slave buyer
    Yoshifumi Tajima
    Yoshifumi Tajima
    • Potential slave buyer
    Ikio Sawamura
    Ikio Sawamura
    • Gambler
    • Director
      • Akira Kurosawa
    • Writers
      • Ryûzô Kikushima
      • Hideo Oguni
      • Shinobu Hashimoto
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews144

    8.044.4K
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    Featured reviews

    tedg

    Toho Vision

    Any Kurosawa film is worth watching, but the focus of interest shifts from project to project. This time around, his concern is the new aspect ratio of 'cinemascope' copied and renamed by Toho. Kurosawa is first a visual storyteller who scripts in pictures, each one dramatically framed. All his life until here, that frame was the same, but all of a sudden it changed.

    It is a matter of there being three territories where there was formally one. The new territories are on the left and right, which in the original cinerama were actually two additional cameras. One really needs to study his framing in the old format to understand how significant this challenge was. He was master -- indeed largely the creator -- of a visual grammar and the rules had changed.

    As with all his scripts, the story reflects his own challenges. So we have a story about three territories and a journey that spans them all. The 'middle' territory is under attack, and our characters must leave their fortress and go all the way from left to right to survive. (Notice the symbols he uses for these three klans.) The two hapless peasants represent to the story what actors represent to the 'real' enterprise of film-making: relatively ignorant, gold-chasers, likely to turn on each other, and liable to go where they are not supposed to. The story is told from their perspective. The gold in the story is hidden in sticks. The gold in the film is hidden in similar harvesting of nature by the eye.

    (Mifune's pride and Kurosawa's control were much like that shown here between Mifune's samurai and the peasants. Mifune would eventually run away from Kurosawa's -- probably much needed -- overbearing command. Mifune would end up wealthy and celebrated in Japan. Kurosawa not so.)

    At the end of the story, the peasant-actors are on a grand stair that mirrors a similar stair we saw earlier which was the scene of a huge conflict (in turn mirroring the battle on Eisenstein's Odessa steps in 'Potemkin'). But this second time, we are at peace, the frame is serene. Kurosawa has wrestled this new eye and mastered it.

    Kurosawa did not respond to the wide format like his American peers who preferred awesome panoramas. His approach to framing had always been layered, usually three layers of activity in fore, middle and background. Here, he was able to relax the axis so that the layers did not have be so much on top of one another. And he reinvented his strategy of panning of motion: compare a running sequence here to the famous woodcutter's running in the beginning of 'Rashomon.' Look at how he panned the General's attack on horseback. He still does diagonals, but fewer, less steep and with less static import. He now has more natural horizontals in his greytone/greystone arrangements so has to create more artificial verticals.

    Obligatory Star Wars comment:

    I am sure Lucas' film school professors would have explained the relationship of story and visual challenge this way. So that is the real template Lucas took in conceiving his project. His goal was a similar marriage of the visual (space) with story (Joseph Campbell inspired myth). His hidden gold is that miraculous alchemical element in Jedi blood.
    kinume

    I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!

    This is one of the most hilarious movies I have ever seen. There is just too much to write about, so just rent it, or better yet, buy it! Toshiro Mifune's performance as Rokorota alone is worth it. His "duel scene" in which he battles general Hoye is fantastic. I guess George Lucas based Star Wars on this wonderful movie. I've already watched this movie 6 times, Star Wars 3. I just can't recommend it enough. Hidden Fortress & Rashomon are 2 of my favorite Kurasawa/Mifune collaborations. Rent them both & have fun!
    10unbend_5440

    The Director that could do no wrong

    The Hidden Fortress is the Kurosawa film with the lightest tone. It's almost the most mainstream and entertaining. So for those who may have found other Kurosawa films to be too deep and poetic (if this applies to you, you're a fool) you'll be more likely to enjoy this. Even though there's a lot of comedy, mostly provided by the peasants, The Hidden Fortress still has all the power and uniqueness that all Kurosawa films have.

    There are some amazing locations used. The rock slide provided for some real amusement. Toshiro Mifune gives a much more toned down and subtle performance than we normally see from him. What Mifune offers in Hidden Fortress is true screen presence. Without even saying a word he has your full attention. I love how Kurosawa plays the characters as well. The Princess is not a damsel in distress. In any American or British film of the 50s, she would have been nothing more than that. In this she's quiet for most of the movie, but then she'll come out of nowhere and show more power and confidence than The General. The peasant characters of Tahei and Matakishi are more than comic relief. They are primarily used for a laugh, but I thought there characters were unique as well. The story is told from their point of view, and they are essentially heroes, yet they do nothing but complain. They're greedy and selfish. These aren't characteristics that would normally be used for heroes, but Kurosawa makes them likeable to the audience. Some people have said this movie needed more action. I think the action it has is more than enough. The chase scene that leads into The General's encounter with his nemesis remains one of the best sequences Kurosawa ever Directed. The choreography in the swordfight holds up against most of The Seven Samurai's fight scenes, and it still tops the type of fights that have become tedious and repetitive in modern day movies. That fight is a great example of how to nail the Hero vs. Villain energy. Akira Kurosawa can do no wrong.
    8lastliberal

    Hide a stone among stones and a man among men.

    George Lucas declared that this film was an inspiration for Star Wars. The similarities are very obvious.

    There is a hero, actually a General undercover, and two bumbling fools that stumble upon the Hidden Fortress in the title. You can consider these two fools to be the robots in Star Wars. They certainly provide a lot of laughs. They are constantly being fooled as they help the general.

    The fools, played brilliantly by Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara do manage to survive at the end and walk off together as friends. They are the most interesting part of Akira Kurosawa's film that relies more on characters than most of his other Samurai pictures.

    Of course, there is the pleasure of seeing Toshiro Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe, whose mission it is to save the Princess, no, not Leia, but Princess Yuki (Misa Uehara), who has the same spirit that Lucas used in Princess Leia.

    The rebel forces are, of course, fooled and the Princess and the gold they are carrying gets to a friendly province.

    Another fantastic adventure by Kurosawa and Mifune.
    9docraven

    The Hidden Fortress, Star Wars Connection

    I'm not sure that it is helpful knowing that George Lucas found inspiration for his `Star Wars' films in Kurosawa's historical epic, `The Hidden Fortress' (1958). Oh, there are a number of matters of content that seem quite similar. Though Kurosawa's story takes place in sixteenth century Japan and Lucas sets his in space in the future, the basic struggles are the same-the restoration of power to a princess and her clan. Some would compare Toshiro Mifune's General Rokurota Makabe to Harrison Ford's Hans Solo in `Star Wars' (1977), though there may be more commonality shared with Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker. And the two peasant farmers, pawns in the turmoil of sixteenth century Japanese civil wars, are easily identified as precursors of the `Star Wars' droids, R2-D2 and C3PO.

    However, when all is said and done, the comparisons are only superficial. It may be more constructive to note some aspects of humor and character that are utilized in general. Kurosawa has always been willing to develop exaggerated characters. The peasant farmers, with their quick shifts between cowardice, bickering , and thievery are good examples of this. Certainly the first two of these traits were incorporated in the character of C3PO (the mechanical humanoid), but R2-D2 shows none of these characteristics. There is, however, an overall sense of humor that permeates both `The Hidden Fortress' and the `Star Wars' films-as well as a strong sense of nobility in the central characters, Rokurota and Skywalker.

    That said, `The Hidden Fortress' seems to me to have clearly been made by a superior filmmaker. Both are good at telling the story. The `Star Wars' films rely heavily on special effects, to the extent, I think, that these are the central features of the films. `The Hidden Fortress,' while a relatively light weight work for Kurosawa, involves much more subtle character development achieved by means of acting skill revealed through visual composition and unenhanced camera work.

    This was Kurosawa's first use of Tohoscope, a Japanese widescreen process. And he uses the screen frequently to develop character. Over and over again he uses the wide screen to develop and reveal character. The peasant farmers are certainly more complex than the droids, though they are simplistically exaggerated. Kurosawa chose to explore the situation of these piteous beings, buffeted about in the feudal wars of sixteenth century Japan, in visually reinforced wide screen long shots in those final scenes on the plains.

    The code of the samurai is central to an understanding of `The Seven Samurai' (1954), `Yojimbo' (1961), and `Sanjuro' (1962), and even `Rashomon' (1954). These are all great films centered around the samurai class in Japan's past. From the ninth century, samurai warriors followed a strict code of ethical behavior known as `bushido,' which remained orally transmitted for generations. Briefly it is a way of life in which the warrior's honor and purpose are tied closely to the needs of his master. In this respect, he was to be selfless. His was not to understand or concern himself with politics-only to defend with honor the family or clan he served. For such a man the ideal was to be without fear-to always move forward in his employer's interest-without fear of death-only fear of dishonor. Toshiro Mifune's character in `The Hidden Fortress' is a military general, but his devotion to the creed and to his princess can be explained relative to this code. His daring, too, extends from that. So, too, his reputation reflects that of an accomplished samurai. An especially strong scene in this regard is the duel scene in which Rokurota's skill and bravery are what are prized and respected by his opponent.

    Above all, The Hidden Fortress remains a great adventure permeated with humor and nobility. While the force in the `Star Wars' sense is never mentioned, it remains a tacit part of Rokurota's nobility.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Akira Kurosawa's first Tohoscope (widescreen) film.
    • Goofs
      Whenever a character is shot at behind cover, bullets hit the cover and kick up dust. The dust vanishes when the character appears because two separate takes were used.
    • Quotes

      General Rokurota Makabe: Hide a stone among stones and a man among men.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: What's Wrong with Home Video (1988)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 6, 1960 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Hidden Fortress
    • Filming locations
      • Harima, Hyogo, Japan
    • Production company
      • Toho
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $46,808
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $15,942
      • Jul 28, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $57,691
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 6 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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