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| Toshiro Mifune looks fierce on a horseback in a dramatic mountain landscape on this text-filled painted poster for Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress |
A pair of fools crossing a mountain ridge find a bit of gold and are joined by a general who, without their knowing it, use them to help him get his princess to safety.
The Hidden Fortress is written by Shinobu Hashimoto (The Murderer Must Die (1959)), Hideo Oguni (Edokko matsuri (1958)), Ryûzô Kikushima (Shag/Inubue (1978)) and Japanese master filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director/editor Akira Kurosawa (Sanshiro Sugata/Sugata Sanshirô (1943)). It was his 19th feature. The original title translates to, 'the three villains of the hidden fortress'.
It is a curious mix of suspense, drama and fun, personified in the two very lively and foolish characters who lead the story. Toshirô Mifune (Winter Kills (1979)) seems natural as the strong and pompous general. Visually resplendent, The Hidden Fortress is a true adventure pictorially speaking, (Kurosawa's first use of widescreen Tohoscope with cinematography by Kazuo Yamazaki (Botchan (1953))) packed with mountains, landscapes, gardens, showdowns, big scenes with many extras and so on.
Fans of Japanese cinema will especially cherish this wonderful film, which nevertheless does become a bit long towards the end.
Watch a modern-made trailer for the film here
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[The Hidden Fortress was released 28 December (Japan) and runs 139 minutes. Shooting took place from May - December 1958 in Japan, including in Tokyo. Toho were so frustrated with Kurosawa's slow shooting pace that he subsequently formed his own production company, (but continued distributing his films through Toho.) The film was Toho's biggest hit of the year and the 4th highest-grossing in Japan over-all for the year. It was also Kurosawa's highest-grossing film until Yojimbo (1961). In North America, the film was unsuccessful, reportedly grossing 46k $. It was also released in many other markets, but gross numbers are regrettably not reported online, and without cost and gross numbers the film's theatrical success status cannot be determined. George Lucas has openly admitted that the plot of The Hidden Fortress inspired Star Wars (1977). Kurosawa returned with The Bad Sleep Well/Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (1960). Mifune returned in Ankokugai no kaoyaku (1959); Misa Uehara (Storm Over the Pacific/Hawai Middowei daikaikûsen: Taiheiyô no arashi (1960)) in Daigaku no nijuhachin (1959). The Hidden Fortress is fresh at 97 % with an 8.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The Hidden Fortress?
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