Did You Know?
Akira Kurosawa made this commercial and accessible film as a way to repay Toho Studios for allowing him to make riskier, more artistic fare such as Rashomon. It was later one of the greatest inspirations for George Lucas' first Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope film.
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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.
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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."
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This was Kurosawa's first film recorded in stereo, and his first filmed in Toho Scope, which was their studio's version of the American anamorphic wide-screen Cinema Scope.
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Misa Uehara, the actress who played the princess, described her first makeup session involving Kurosawa walking into the dressing room with a picture of Elizabeth Taylor, using it to explain what he was looking for in his princess with regards to makeup.
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