The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Front Cover Actor Back Cover
Toshiro Mifune Gen. Rokurota Makabe
Misa Uehara Lady Yukihime
Kamatari Fujiwara Matashichi
Minoru Chiaki Tahei
Susumu Fujita Gen. Hyoe Tadokoro
Takashi Shimura The Old General, Izumi Nagakura
Eiko Miyoshi Lady-in-Waiting
Kichijiro Ueda Girl-Dealer
Toshiko Higuchi The Farmer's Daughter
Koji Mitsui Soldier
Toshirô Mifune
Movie Details
Director Akira Kurosawa
Producer Johanna Schiller
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto; Ryuzo Kikushima
Studio Criterion
Language English
Audience Rating NR (Not Rated)
Running Time 139 mins
Country USA
Color Color
Plot
Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (original Japanese title: Kakushi Toride No San Akunin) stars Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara as a pair of misfit soldiers. Running from the enemy after a disastrous defeat, the two soldiers fall in with general Toshiro Mifune, who is in search of a huge cache of gold. Mifune is also desirous of freeing princess-in-exile Misa Uehara from the clutches of the evil victorious army. Several large and small battles ensue before Mifune can realize his goal. If the plot of Hidden Fortress sounds vaguely familiar to you, try this exercise: substitute two robots for Chiaki and Fujiwara, Mark Hamill for Mifune, and Carrie Fisher for Uehara. George Lucas himself admitted that Hidden Fortress was a principal inspiration for his Star Wars saga; stretching the point farther, both Hidden Fortress and Star Wars had their roots in John Ford's The Searchers. Originally released in a 137-minute form, The Hidden Fortress was sliced to ribbons by its American distributors, and only recently has been completely restored. — Hal Erickson
Personal Details
My Rating 8
Seen It Yes
Index 73
In Collection Yes
Links All Movie Guide
Amazon US
Amazon UK
DVD Empire
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DVD Fr
Product Details
Format Divx
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio Widescreen 2.35:1 B&W (Anamorphic)
Layers Single side, Dual layer
UPC 037429135129
Chapters 32
Release Date 2005
Subtitles English
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks JAPANESE: Dolby Digital Mono
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
Black & White Widescreen