R E V I E W :   The Hidden Fortress  

Reviewed 7/2/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Background 

Criterion / 1958 / 139 minutes
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Written by Ryuzo Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa is one of the acknowledged masters of world cinema. I've been seen less than a handful of his films (due to limited time and opportunity), but each one (Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, Kagemusha) has left an indelible impression.

This film was released in 1958. The previous year saw the release of Throne of Blood and The Lower Depths. His subsequent three films were The Bad Sleep Well, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Plot: Two greedy, cowardly, and constantly bickering peasants provide the comic relief as a general attempts to bring a runaway princess safely home.

Performances: Toshiro Mifune is strong and subtle (and displays a dazzling smile at one point) as General Rokurota Makabe. Misa Uehara at first appears quite restrained as Princess Yuki; over the course of the film, however, it became clear that she perfectly embodies a young woman in her time and place. The bumbling idiot peasants are played with recognizable emotions by Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara; they avoid lapsing readily into broad slapstick and are touching because of the openness of their characters.

Production: Director Kurosawa uses sweeping landscapes and subtly revealed intimate details to equally good effect. By not clobbering the audience over the head, he allows the rhythms of the story to take hold and embrace the viewer. The music by Masaru Sato is atmospheric without providing any especially memorable melodies. The black and white cinematography by Ichio Yamazaki looks especially good in the many woodland scenes.

Rating: Probably equivalent to Category I or perhaps II-A. A few profanities, some non-explicit violence.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Look: The letterboxed (2.35:1) presentation looks very good. The image was restored digitally and the black-and-white images look solid. The source material has been cleaned up and betrays only very occasional imperfections.

Sound: I listened to the DD 3.0 Japanese audio track, which is said to preserve "the original Perspect-a-Sound Simulated-Stereo Effects." Whatever. It sounded fine, but nothing extraordinary — as good as you could expect from a 1958 release. A mono audio track is also available.

Subtitles: The removable white English subtitles are very easy to read and well timed. No other subtitles are provided.

Features: You can select 32 chapters from a text menu with minimalist descriptions ("Followed," "The Truth"). The original theatrical trailer is included, as is a five-minute interview with director George Lucas. Lucas contradicts what is stated on the back of the DVD box ("Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas' Star Wars"); he claims that the only direct correlation was his decision to tell the story primarily through the point of view of two lowly characters who don't really know what's going on.

Buy, rent, or pass?

Rent. Highly recommended. An epic and entertaining story with suprising depth.

 

---

corrections? broken links? criticism? praise? please e-mail webmaster

this site is a non-commercial resource for region 1
original content copyright 2001 peter a. martin all rights reserved