The Hidden Fortress (1958) Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (original title)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Ryûzô Kikushima (written by) &
Hideo Oguni (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 October 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Plot:

Lured by gold, two greedy peasants escort a man and woman across enemy lines. However, they do not realize that their companions are actually a princess and her general.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Princess | Fortress | Mute | Combat

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Toshirô Mifune	...	General Rokurota Makabe
Minoru Chiaki	...	Tahei
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Matashichi
Susumu Fujita	...	General Hyoe Tadokoro
Takashi Shimura	...	The Old General, Izumi Nagakura
Misa Uehara	...	Princess Yuki
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Old Lady-in-Waiting
Toshiko Higuchi	...	Farmer's Daughter bought from slave trader
Yû Fujiki	...	Barrier guard
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Samurai on horse
Kokuten Kôdô	...	Old man in front of sign
Takeshi Katô	...	Fleeing, bloody samurai
Kôji Mitsui	...	Guard
Toranosuke Ogawa	...	Magistrate of the bridge barrier
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Slave Trader
Nakajirô Tomita	...	Potential slave buyer
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Potential slave buyer
Ikio Sawamura	...	Gambler
Senkichi Ômura	...	Soldier
Sachio Sakai	...	Captured foot soldier
Makoto Satô	...	Yamada foot soldier
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Akisuki soldier
Akira Tani	...	Captured foot soldier
Yutaka Sada	...	Guard at bridge barrier
Takeo Oikawa	...	Guard at pass barrier
Tadao Nakamaru	...	Young Man
Takuzô Kumagai	...	Yamana foot soldier (as Jirô Kumagai)
Shôichi Hirose	...	Yamana soldier
Etsurô Saijô	...	Yamana samurai
Masayoshi Nagashima	...	Yamana samurai
Fuminori Ôhashi	...	Samurai
Shin Ôtomo	...	Samurai on horseback
Minoru Itô	...	Samurai on horseback
Haruo Suzuki	...	Samurai on horseback
Shigekatsu Kanazawa	...	Samurai on horseback
Kazuo Higata
Haruo Nakajima	...	Akisuki soldier
Ryû Kuze	...	Akitsuki soldier
Ichirô Chiba	...	Yamana foot soldier
Shigemi Sunagawa
Rinsaku Ogata	...	Second Young Man
Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi	...	Samurai on horseback
Haruya Sakamoto	...	Samurai on horseback

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits
Ryûzô Kikushima		(written by) &
Hideo Oguni		(written by) &
Shinobu Hashimoto		(written by) &
Akira Kurosawa		(written by)

Produced by
Sanezumi Fujimoto	....	producer
Akira Kurosawa	....	producer

Original Music by
Masaru Satô

Cinematography by
Kazuo Yamasaki		(as Ichio Yamazeki)

Film Editing by
Akira Kurosawa

Production Design by
Yoshirô Muraki

Costume Design by
Masahiro Katô

Makeup Department
Yoshiko Matsumoto	....	hair stylist
Junjirô Yamada	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Hiroshi Nezu	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yoshimitsu Banno	....	assistant director (as Yoshimitsu Sakano)
Yôichi Matsue	....	assistant director
Samaji Nonagase	....	chief assistant director
Ken Sano	....	assistant director
Yasuyoshi Tajitsu	....	assistant director
Masahiro Takase	....	assistant director

Art Department
Kôhei Ezaki	....	art supervisor
Kôichi Hamamura	....	property master
Shinko Kato	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Yoshiro Miyamoto	....	sound assistant
Hisashi Shimonaga	....	sound mixer
Fumio Yanoguchi	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Sei Arai	....	assistant lighting technician
Masao Fukuda	....	still photographer
Ichirô Inohara	....	lighting technician
Takao Saitô	....	assistant camera
Daisaku Kimura	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Chozo Kobata	....	negative cutter

Other crew
Shigeru Endo	....	horseback riding instructor
Takuyuki Inoue	....	production assistant
Ienori Kaneko	....	horseback riding instructor
Yoji Ken	....	choreographer
Teruyo Nogami	....	script supervisor
Kôichi Noguchi	....	accountant
Yoshio Sugino	....	swordplay instructor
Yûichi Yoshitake	....	acting office

Production Companies

• Toho Company

Distributors

• Toho Company (1958) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Albex (1960) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Cowboy Pictures (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Meridian-Films (1961) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1960) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2012) (Austria) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2012) (Germany) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2012) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Media Home Entertainment (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome International (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2003) (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Toho Video (2009) (Japan) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• WoWow (2012) (Japan) (TV)
• trigon-film (2012) (Germany) (DVD) (special edition)
• trigon-film (2012) (Switzerland) (DVD) (special edition)

Special Effects

• Toho Special Effects Group

Other Companies

• Kyoto Costumes  costumes
• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

"Kakushi-toride no san-akunin" - Japan (original title)
"Three Bad Men in a Hidden Fortress" - International (English title) (literal title)
"Three Rascals in the Hidden Fortress" - International (English title)

Runtime:

139 min | USA:126 min | Finland:114 min (1959) | Sweden:110 min (cut version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Spain:13 | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:Not Rated | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Harima, Hyogo, Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

A bit distraught from the lack of success of his last two films which he deemed heavy and tragic, he took a new tone with this film, stating "I want to make a 100% entertainment film, full of thrills and fun."

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the opening sequence the two villagers see a soldier killed by cavalry. Within moments the soldier is stiffened with a hand in the air, despite the fact that it takes hours for rigor mortis to set in.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tahei:Get away from me! You stink of dead bodies!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Characters of 'Star Wars' (2004) (V)

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.