A general and a princess must dodge enemy clans while smuggling the royal treasure out of hostile territory with two bumbling, conniving peasants at their sides; it’s a spirited adventure that only Akira Kurosawa could create. Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s inimitably deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action and humanist compassion on an epic scale. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this landmark motion picture in a stunning, newly restored Tohoscope edition.
Cast
| General Rokurota Makabe | Toshiro Mifune |
| Tahei | Minoru Chiaki |
| Matashichi | Kamatari Fujiwara |
| Hyoe Tadokoro | Susumu Fujita |
| Princess Yuki | Misa Uehara |
Credits
| Director | Akira Kurosawa |
| Executive producers | Sanezumi Fujimoto and Akira Kurosawa |
| Screenplay | Ryuzo Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto and Akira Kurosawa |
| Music | Masaru Sato |
| Art direction | Yoshiro Muraki |
| Cinematography | Ichio Yamazaki |
by Armond White
May 21, 2001
Best known as the major influence on George Lucas’ Star Wars, Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 The Hidden Fortress deserves recognition as a definitive cultural expression of Japan’s master filmmaker. After the international success of Rashomon (1952) and Seven...
by David Ehrenstein
Oct 12, 1987
One of the greatest action-adventure films ever made, The Hidden Fortress stands alongside the finest achievements of its creator—Japanese film master Akira Kurosawa. Produced in 1958, this thrilling Cinemascope epic—starring Kurosawa’s favorite actor Toshiro Mifune—is set squarely within...