Amazon.com essential video: In one of the many classic collaborations between director Akira Kurosawa and his leading man Toshirô Mifune, this 1958 film tells the story of a warrior and a princess trying against all odds to return to their homeland with their fortune. Along the way, they are simultaneously assisted and thwarted by two itinerant and not too bright farmers with their own designs on the treasure, giving the story a subtle comic bent. The Hidden Fortress combines an epic tale of struggle and honor with modern comic sensibilities, creating a masterful addition to world cinema. --Robert Lane
Description: 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' 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 is proud to present this landmark motion picture in a stunning, newly-restored Tohoscope edition.
They Can't All Be Seven Samurai Though it is a step below Kurosawa's bonafide masterpieces, The Hidden Fortress is a clever and exciting comedy-adventure film and solidly entertaining in its own right. Toshiro Mifune is in top form and he is ably helped by Misa Uehara as a princess & Minoru Chiaki & Kamatari Fujiwara as the bumbling, greedy, cowardly peasants who unwittingly help restore a princess to her throne.
Kurosawa keeps the tone light by keeping the action and eye-candy plentiful and not concerning himself with character development or the insights into human nature and the trials of life indicative of his best work. The plot is a little inane and the pace a little frantic at times to be very thoughtful. More of a fun romp than a searing drama.
Kurosawa tells a good story but overstays the movie's welcome at nearly two hours and twenty minutes. I don't think much would have been lost by bringing the movie in under two hours. The cinematography in Kurosawa's movies are routinely excellent and The Hidden Fortress is no exception.
If it weren't for the fact that it heavily influenced George Lucas in crafting a galaxy far, far away, I think The Hidden Fortress would be rarely watched and regarded as one of many very good but not great movies on Kurosawa's resume.
The Hidden Fortress - Criterion Collection by Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara "The Hidden Fortress" is interesting primarily because it gave George Lucas ideas for "Star Wars". which is why I got it, the influence is obvious. An interesting combat scenes with Toshirô Mifune (mounted & dismounted w/spear).
Although Not Quite Among Kurosawa's Masterpieces, An Extremely Fine Film Nonetheless According to film lore, director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) wished to make a distinctly commercial film for Toho Studios in order to thank the company for backing his earlier, riskier fare. Considering that the fare in question, however, had generated at least major international hits, it would seem the studio had been already been thanked and then some. No, I suspect that this story was put forth by Kurosawa fans who wanted to find a tangible reason for the fact that THE HIDDEN FORTRESS was not quite in the same league as such films RASHOMON, SEVEN SAMURAI, and THRONE OF BLOOD. If so, they needn't have bothered. It is true that THE HIDDEN FORTRESS lacks the same intense focus and the same visual power as Kurosawa's masterworks, but it is no less a fine film for that, and it should be judged on its own merits.
The story begins with two foolish peasants Tahei (Minoru Chiaki) and Matashichi (Kamatari Fujiwara) who squandered their savings to go to war--only to find themselves beset by both armies. Having at last escaped, they discover a piece of gold belonging to the defeated army, begin to search for more, and fall into the hands of General Rokurota Makabe (Toshiro Mifune), who seeks to get both the gold and the only surviving ruler of his clan, Princess Yuki (Misa Uehara), out enemy territory. Makabe decides he can make use of the peasants--and quite soon the party is underway, the gold cleverly concealed, the peasants really more hinderance than help, and the Princess every bit as strong willed as her general.
As you might expect from Kurosawa, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS is a highly visual film, and indeed it contains sequences every bit as exciting as the best of his best. The opening shots, which track the peasants across what seems to be a completely empty landscape that is suddenly disrupted by sudden death; the rebellion of the prisoners in the camp; the moments in which Princess Yuki explores a brothel; the fire dance--all offer Kurosawa's meticulous eye at its most penetrating. The performances are excellent and the whole thing is extremely entertaining.
Most critical complaints about the film center on Chiaki and Fujiwara's performances as the peasants, and it is quite true that--to Western eyes at least--they seem excessive, almost as if two of the Three Stooges had been suddenly dropped into a Eugene O'Neill drama. Ideas about comedy vary considerably from culture to culture, and this may be an instance in which we should chalk up the experience to evidence of that; even so, and although I found them occasionally wearing, they frequently manage to transcend the cultural barrier to become laugh-out-loud funny.
The Criterion DVD release is quite fine in terms of sound and picture and offers extremely legible subtitles. The only "bonus feature" is an eight minute interview with George Lucas, who briefly discusses the influence of Kurosawa in general and THE HIDDEN FORTRESS in particular on his film STAR WARS. The best I can say for the clip is that it has obviously been quite some time since Lucas saw THE HIDDEN FORTRESS; he seems oblivious to many of the parallels. That said, quite frankly I find the comparison somewhat overblown. THE HIDDEN FORTRESS does well enough on its own.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
The Hidden Fortress In this bristling adventure with a leavening dose of humor, Kurosawa created one of his most indelible, influential early films, inspiring George Lucas to conceive "Star Wars." (Think of the peasants as distant ancestors of R2D2 and C3PO). Kazuo Yamazaki's evocative black-and-white photography is enhanced by the widescreen format, which Kurosawa used here for the first time, lending the action a dazzling visual sweep. Meanwhile, Mifune plays at the top of his game as Makabe, while Uehara makes a feisty, bewitching princess well worth saving. Whatever you do, don't keep this "Fortress" hidden.
Lucasfilms started here!! This is a masterpiece... take away that George Lucas completely ravaged this film to "create" Star Wars... & you have an adventure unlike any other... editing techniques that were scarcely employed at the time... which are now novelty efx... This criterion collection even has a foreword by George Lucas where he both admits to, and lies profusely about, using this film as a basis of his Star Wars.
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