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:

In an interview for the Criterion collection DVD, George Lucas stated that while this film is a story about a princess and her protectors that this was not the primary element that he employed in Star Wars. He stated that he was more concerned with the way that Hidden Fortress is told through the eyes of two lesser characters. In Hidden Fortress it is the two thieves; in Star Wars it is C3PO and R2D2. In both films the comical interplay between the two characters is a major theme.

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)

Yes, yes, I've seen Star Wars. Now see the original.

Such a fine film maker can hardly help but make a fine movie like this one. It seemed odd to me only in the fact that the plot seemed so UN-Japan like. The most interesting thinks to look for are the similarities to Sergio Leone films: A man who obviously was greatly influenced by Kurosawa. What Leone may not have known, is that those long shots of unmoving fighting men waiting to make a thrust or cut with a sword is very true to the actual way that Samurai fought. Cowboys on the other hand generally shot from behind trees and rocks. For an interesting comparison, watch "Hidden Fortress" followed by "The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly". It will be be an enlightening experience.