The Hidden Fortress Review

Before Star Wars and before men wearing ridiculously short pants was a thing you had Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. Released in Kurosawa's hay day this is probably the most commercial film in his filmography. However this doesn't mean a reduction in quality. Kurosawa hints at some of his skills that were made more famous by Yojimbo, especially the use of the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

What this movies is probably most famous for is how it influenced Star Wars. While this may not be a 'Samurai Opera' the way Star Wars was a 'Space Opera' it did help Star Wars find its voice that has become so iconic. In no way is this more noticeable on the characters R2-D2 and C-3PO. In The Hidden Fortress we have the characters Tahei and Matashichi. Two peasants who are trying to get to their home province. What follows includes smuggling gold, helping princesses and a bit of humour.

I don't think you can talk about The Hidden Fortress without acknowledging the use of widescreen and the cinematography. Right from the first shot Kurosawa makes use of the widescreen by the positioning of the actors. Throughout the film we are given shots with great depth and scope. Like other Kurosawa films he brilliantly directs large scenes with plenty of actors (Ran in particular).

Like every Kurosawa film between 1948 and 1965 (except Ikiru) the movie stars Toshiro Mifune (General Rokurota Makabe), one of the all-time great actors. Here is no exception. While his performance may seem different to what he usually turns out for Kurosawa, it perfectly suits the film. Minoru Chiaki (Tahei), Kamatari Fujiwara (Matashichi), Susumu Fujita (General Hyoe) and Takashi Shimura (The Old General) round of the Kurosawa regulars in the film. A major cast member in the movie is Misa Uehara (Princess Yuki), in her feature debut none the less. Uehara only starred in 8 more movies after and none of them were any big and it's a disappointment as she turned out a great performance even though she was mute for a large part of the movie.

One thing that always impresses in Kurosawa's films are the costumes, each one of his movies bring in new costumes unlike the last movie no matter the time period. Each costume here, even for the extras, represents characters and their class and situation really well.

While this may not be Kurosawa's best film it is up there among his best (even if all his films are) it is a must see for ever Kurosawa, Japanese cinema or Star Wars fan.

Overall Score: 8.7/10

What did you think of the movie? Did it make you want to rescue princesses and look for gold?

#Japan #Kurosawa #ToshiroMifune #StarWars #Samurai