is a 1958 Japanese ''
jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of H ...
''
adventure film directed by
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
. It tells the story of two peasants who agree to escort a man and a woman across enemy lines in return for gold without knowing that he is a general and the woman is a princess. The film stars
Toshiro Mifune
was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''The Hidden Fortress'', ''Throne of Blood'', and ' ...
as General Makabe Rokurōta and
Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki while the role of the peasants, Tahei and Matashichi, are portrayed by
Minoru Chiaki
was a Japanese actor who appeared in eleven of Akira Kurosawa's films, including ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''Throne of Blood'', and ''The Hidden Fortress''. He was also one of Kon Ichikawa's favorite actors.
He attended, but did not grad ...
and
Kamatari Fujiwara
was a Japanese actor.
Fujiwara worked regularly and extensively with Akira Kurosawa, and was known for both being adept at comic acting, as well as being able to take on serious roles.
Early life and career
Early life
Fujiwara was born on ...
respectively.
''The Hidden Fortress'' was the fourth highest-grossing film of the year in Japan, and Kurosawa's most successful film up to that point. It was a significant influence on the 1977 American film ''
Star Wars''.
Plot
Two bedraggled peasants, Tahei and Matashichi, sell their homes and leave to join the feudal
Yamana clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan which was one of the most powerful of the Muromachi period (1336-1467); at its peak, members of the family held the position of Constable (''shugo'') over eleven provinces. Originally from Kōzuke Province, and l ...
, hoping to make their fortunes as soldiers. Instead, they are mistaken for soldiers of the defeated
Akizuki clan
The Akizuki clan (秋月氏, ''Akizuki-shi'') is a Japanese noble family. In the Sengoku period, the Akizuki clan was led by a samurai lord (大名 ''daimyō'') in the Akizuki domain on the island of Kyūshū. From the Meiji period to the end of ...
, have their weapons confiscated, and are forced to help dig graves before being sent away without any food. After quarreling and splitting up, the two are both captured again and reunite when they are forced alongside dozens of other prisoners to dig through the ruins of the Akizuki castle for the clan's secret reserve of gold. After a prisoner uprising, Tahei and Matashichi go on the run, steal some rice, and make camp near a river.
While building a fire, they find a piece of gold marked with the crescent of the Akizuki clan. The peasants are then discovered by a mysterious man who takes them to a secret camp in the mountains. Unbeknownst to them, the man is a famous Akizuki general, Makabe Rokurōta. Although Rokurōta initially plans to kill the peasants, he changes his mind when they explain how they intend to escape Yamana territory: They will travel to Yamana itself and then pass into the neighboring state of Hayakawa through a different border. Rokurōta decides, without revealing anything to the peasants, to take Princess Yuki of the Akizuki clan to Hayakawa, whose lord has promised to protect them.
Rokurōta escorts Princess Yuki and what remains of her family's gold (hidden in hollowed-out logs of wood) to Hayakawa, with Matashichi and Tahei traveling with them. To protect Yuki, he has her pretend to be a
deaf-mute
Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...
and has a body double (who is Rokurōta's younger sister) sent to the Yamana to be executed so they will believe that she is dead. During their travels, Tahei and Matashichi get the group into dangerous situations several times due to their cowardice and greed. During a stop for the night at an inn, Yuki forces Rokurōta to buy the freedom of a young prostitute, who decides to follow them.
After losing their horses and obtaining a cart to move the gold, the group is spotted by a Yamana patrol, and Rokurōta is forced to kill them. While pursuing two stragglers, he accidentally rides into a Yamana camp, where the commanding officer, Rokurōta's old rival Hyoe Tadokoro, recognizes him.
Tadokoro states that he is sorry he didn't get to face Rokurōta in battle and challenges him to a lance duel. Rokurōta wins, but spares Tadokoro's life before stealing a horse and riding back to the group. Eventually, they are surrounded and captured by Yamana soldiers and detained at an outpost on the Hayakawa border. In the confusion, Matashichi and Tahei manage to hide. They decide to report Yuki for a reward, but the soldiers laugh at them and they leave with nothing.
Tadokoro comes to identify the prisoners the night before their execution. Tadokoro's face is now disfigured by a large scar and explains it as the result of a beating ordered by the lord of the Yamana clan as punishment for letting Rokurōta escape. Yuki proclaims that she has no fear of death and thanks Rokurōta for letting her see humanity's ugliness and beauty from a new perspective. The next day, as the soldiers start marching the prisoners to be executed, Tadokoro suddenly defects to the Akizuki side and frees Yuki, Rokurōta, and the prostitute before distracting the guards so they can ride off. The group manages to escape along with the horses carrying the gold, which wind up running in a different direction.
Matashichi and Tahei, both hungry and tired, stumble across the lost gold carried by the horses before being arrested by Hayakawa soldiers as thieves. The peasants are brought before a heavily armored samurai, who reveals that he is Rokurōta and the well-dressed noblewoman with him is Yuki. Thanking them for saving the gold (which will be used to restore her clan), the princess rewards Matashichi and Tahei with a single
ryō
The was a gold currency unit in the shakkanhō system in pre- Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the '' yen''.
Origins
The ''ryō'' was originally a unit of weight from China, the ''tael.'' It came into use in Jap ...
on the condition that they share it. As the two men walk back to their village, they begin to laugh upon realizing that they have finally made their fortunes.
Cast
*
Toshiro Mifune
was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''The Hidden Fortress'', ''Throne of Blood'', and ' ...
as
*
Minoru Chiaki
was a Japanese actor who appeared in eleven of Akira Kurosawa's films, including ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''Throne of Blood'', and ''The Hidden Fortress''. He was also one of Kon Ichikawa's favorite actors.
He attended, but did not grad ...
as Tahei
*
Kamatari Fujiwara
was a Japanese actor.
Fujiwara worked regularly and extensively with Akira Kurosawa, and was known for both being adept at comic acting, as well as being able to take on serious roles.
Early life and career
Early life
Fujiwara was born on ...
as Matashichi
*
Susumu Fujita
Susumu Fujita () (8 January 1912 – 23 March 1991) was a Japanese film and television actor. He played the lead role in Akira Kurosawa's first feature, '' Sanshiro Sugata'', and appeared in other Kurosawa films including ''The Men Who Tread O ...
as
*
Takashi Shimura
was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He appeared in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films (more than any other actor), including as a lead actor in '' Drunken Angel'' (1948), ''Rashomon'' (1950), ''Ikiru'' (1952) a ...
as General
*
Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki
*Eiko Miyoshi as Yuki's lady-in-waiting
*Toshiko Higuchi as a prostitute purchased by the group who chooses to accompany them
*
Yū Fujiki as a Yamana soldier
*
Sachio Sakai
, born , was a Japanese actor. In 1947, he made his film debut with Akira Kurosawa's ''One Wonderful Sunday''. He often worked with Akira Kurosawa and Kihachi Okamoto.
Filmography Films
* ''One Wonderful Sunday'' (1947) as Ticket seller
* '' Dr ...
as a samurai
*
Yoshio Tsuchiya as a Yamana samurai
*
Kokuten Kōdō
, real name Tanigawa Saichirō (谷川 佐市郎), was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1923 to 1959.
Career
Kōdō first began acting on the stage in 1901 in shinpa dramas. He joined the Teikine studio in 1923, ...
as an old villager who tells Matashichi about a reward for Yuki's capture
*
Kōji Mitsui
was a Japanese movie, TV, and stage actor. He appeared in more than 150 films from 1925 to 1975, including 29 of ''Kinema Junpo''’s annual Top-10 winners and three of its 10 best Japanese films of all time. In 2000 the magazine named him one ...
as a Yamana guard overseeing the excavation of Akizuki Castle
Production
This was Kurosawa's first feature filmed in a widescreen format,
Tohoscope, which he continued to use for the next decade. ''The Hidden Fortress'' was originally presented with
Perspecta directional sound, which was re-created for the
Criterion Blu-ray release.
Key parts of the film were shot in
Hōrai Valley in
Hyōgo and on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, where bad weather from the record-breaking
Kanagawa typhoon delayed the production.
Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
's frustration with Kurosawa's slow pace of shooting led to the director forming his own production company the following year, though he continued to distribute through Toho.
Music
The film has musical score by Masaru Sato. The soundtrack album comprises 65 tracks.
Tracks
# Titles
# Fallen Warrior's Death
# Peaceful Mountain Pass Road
# Yamana: Temporary Checkpoint
# War town ~ To the border
# Prisoner's loss of dignity
# Burnt Ruins of Autumn Moon Castle
# Flight
# Money!!!
# Mysterious Mountain Man 1
# Mysterious Mountain Man 2
# Good idea to go cross country
# Shining Extended Staff
# Road to the Hidden Fortress
# Woman on the Summit
# Useless Work
# Spring Woman
# Escaping Woman
# Reward Money
# Rokurota, to the Cave
# Princess Yuki's tears
# Horse and Princess
# Riding in the indicated direction
# Setting off
# Gestured Excuse
# Rokurota's Scouting
# Reliable Ally 1
# Reliable Ally 2
# Over the Black Smoke
# Bolder Trick
# Into the cheap lodgings
# Autumn Moon Woman
# Princess Yuki's Wish
# Adept on Horseback
# Spear March
# Departing Rokurota
# Party's true shape
# Daughter and Rokurota
# Sleeping Princess
# Line of Firefighters
# Surprising Rokurota (unused)
# Introduction to Firefighters
# Firefighters
# Highland Hauting
# Going Downhill
# Coming to the same conclusion
# To Hayawaka Territory
# Matashichi and Peace, In the checkpoint
# Firefighter's Song
# Execution Draws Near
# Treasonous Pardon ~ Pass Crossing
# Two Bad men in prison
# Reunion in a Castle
# Reward
# Ending
# Castle Town (ambient sounds 1)
# Castle Town (ambient sounds 2)
# Child Song
'' Alternative Takes ''
# Titles
# Escaping Woman
# Adept on Horseback
# Departing Rokurota (alt take 1)
# Departing Rokurota (alt take 2)
# To Hayawaka Territory
# Reunion in a Castle
Release
''The Hidden Fortress'' was released theatrically in Japan on December 28, 1958. The film was the highest-grossing film for Toho in 1958, ranking as the fourth highest-grossing film overall in Japan that year. In box-office terms, ''The Hidden Fortress'' was Kurosawa’s most successful film, until the 1961 release of ''
Yojimbo''.
The film was released theatrically in the United States by Toho International Col. with English subtitles. It was screened in San Francisco on November 1959 and received a wider release on October 6, 1960 with a 126-minute running time. The film was re-issued in the United States in 1962 with a 90-minute running time. The film was compared unfavorably to ''
Rashomon
is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura ...
'' (1950) and ''
Seven Samurai'' (1954), and performed poorly at the U.S. box office.
Critical reception
An article published in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' on January 24, 1962, had the film's review by prominent journalist
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
who called ''The Hidden Fortess'' a superficial film. He said
He mentioned that Kurosawa, for all his talent, is as prone to pot boiling as anyone else.
Writing for
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scho ...
in 1987,
David Ehrenstein
David Ehrenstein (born February 18, 1947) is an American critic who focuses primarily on gay issues in cinema.
Life and career
Ehrenstein was born in New York City. His father was a Jew with Polish ancestors, and his mother was half-black and ha ...
called it "one of the greatest action-adventure films ever made" and a "fast-paced, witty and visually stunning"
samurai film
, also commonly spelled "''chambara''", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. ''Chanbara'' is a sub-category of '' ...
. According to Ehrenstein:
The battle on the steps in Chapter 2 (anticipating the climax of '' Ran'') is as visually overwhelming as any of the similar scenes in Griffith's '' Intolerance''. The use of composition in depth in the fortress scene in Chapter 4 is likewise as arresting as the best of Eisenstein or David Lean. Toshiro Mifune's muscular demonstrations of heroic derring-do in the horse-charge scene (Chapter 11) and the scrupulously choreographed spear duel that follows it (Chapter 12) is in the finest tradition of Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...
. Overall, there’s a sense of sheer "movieness" to ''The Hidden Fortress'' that places it plainly in the ranks of such grand adventure entertainments as '' Gunga Din'', '' The Thief of Baghdad'', and Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
's celebrated diptych
A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, ''di'' "two" + '' ptychē'' "fold") is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world w ...
'' The Tiger of Eschnapur'' and '' The Hindu Tomb''.
David Parkinson of the ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' on a review posted on January 1, 2000, gave the film four out of five stars and wrote "Somewhat overshadowed by the likes of Seven Samurai, this is a vigorously placed, meticulously staged adventure. It's not top drawer, but still ranks among the best of Kurosawa's minor masterpieces."
Writing for
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scho ...
in 2001,
Armond White said "''The Hidden Fortress'' holds a place in cinema history comparable to
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
's ''
Stagecoach'': It lays out the plot and characters of an on-the-road epic of self-discovery and heroic action. In a now-familiar fashion, Rokurōta and Princess Yuki fight their way to allied territory, accompanied by a scheming, greedy comic duo who get surprised by their own good fortune. Kurosawa always balances valor and greed, seriousness and humor, while depicting the misfortunes of war."
Upon the film's UK re-release in 2002, Jamie Russell, reviewing the film for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, said it "effortlessly intertwines action, drama, and comedy", calling it "both cracking entertainment and a wonderful piece of cinema."
'' made a review on February 1, 2002. According to him:
'' called it "a long, interesting, humour-laden picture in medieval Japan". Performances of the lead actors, Kurosawa's direction and Ichio Yamazaki's camerawork were praised.
The film has an aggregate of 98% on
based on 49 critic reviews.
in 1959.
'' awarded Shinobu Hashimoto the award for Best Screenwriter for his work on the film and for
's ''Harikomi''.
has acknowledged the heavy influence of ''The Hidden Fortress'' on his 1977 film ''
particularly in the technique of telling the story from the perspective of the film's lowliest characters,
.
Almost all of the major characters from ''Star Wars'' have clear analogues in ''The Hidden Fortress'', including C-3PO and R2-D2 being based on Tahei and Matashichi,
on Hyoe Tadokoro; the only notable major characters who were not drawn from Kurosawa's film are
dog, Indiana. Lucas's original plot outline for ''Star Wars'' bore an even greater resemblance to the plot of ''The Hidden Fortress'' (and notably lacked any characters resembling Luke or Han); this draft would subsequently be reused as the basis for ''
''. The movie is referenced in ''
'', there is a flag written in Aurebesh, which translates to "Hidden Fortress".
A number of plot elements from ''The Hidden Fortress'' are used in the 2006 video game ''
''.
A loose remake entitled ''Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess'' was directed by
and released on May 10, 2008.