Customer Reviews

Essential Art House: Hidden Fortress

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4 star:		(24)
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2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to confess my bias at the start: Akira Kurosawa is easily one of my two or three favorite directors. If forced to sit down and do a list of my 25 favorite films, SEVEN SAMURAI would be in a tie for first, and two or three others would join it on the list.

This was the first movie that Kurosawa made that was widescreen, and therefore the first that will derive maximum benefit from DVD. (Read through the early reviews of the DVD of SEVEN SAMURAI to see some of the confusion over this.) His use of the wider angle is magnificent, presenting the view with extraordinary vistas again and again. Kurosawa never seemed to struggle with the technical aspects of filmmaking, and would later make a similarly effortless transition to color.

This is one of Kurosawa's finest films. It is difficult to say that it is his best, since his very best films are among the greatest ever made. Suffice it to say, that the film bears in every way the mark of greatness. The camera work is flawless. Though black and white, the film is gorgeous to look at every moment. The acting is impeccable, with Mifune giving a somewhat difference performance in this one. If we are more accustomed to think of him as a more fiery character, as in RASHOMON or SEVEN SAMURAI or THRONE OF BLOOD, in this one he is magisterial and aristocratic.

I think the parallels to STAR WARS are rather overblown, and anyone coming to this film looking for tones of George Lucas rather than Akira Kurosawa just may find themselves disappointed. Yes, there is a princess, and yes, there are some very small plot parallels, and yes, there are two comic characters included to provide light entertainment and to move the plot along. But none of these are crucial elements of THE HIDDEN FORTRESS.

But I do think the STAR WARS references bring up a very interesting point about Kurosawa: more than anyother foreign filmmaker in history, Kurosawa is the one with the easist relationship with American culture. People who normally dislike foregin film can respond powerfully to his films. I once showed SEVEN SAMURAI to a group of high school boys. These kids were almost in a state of mutiny, because 1) the film was black and white and 2) it was subtitled. But by the end of the evening they were all entranced and had become fans of the film.

I think the reason they responded so easily was partly because Kurosawa was a cinematic genius, but also because he had absorbed so much of American culture and film technique in his films. Just as many American films have borrowed directly from his work, so he borrowed from American sources. Many of his films bear evidence of extensive exposure to film noir and American Westerns, and several of his plots are borrowed from American and Western sources. One example: much has been made of the fact that A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS was based on Kurosawa's YOJIMBO, but it is not as often noted that YOJIMBO was based on Dashiell Hammett's RED HARVEST, in which the Continental Op goes to the town of Personville (or, as a Brooklyn-accented character in the book pronounces it, Poisonville) and turns two warring criminal factions against each other.

But if you haven't seen this film, do so. Without any question one of Kurosawa's very finest films.

Of all the directing masters Akira Kurosawa is arguably the greatest. No matter how much praise and hyperbole is shoveled onto his films they always surprise me by how good they are. Not good in a, "this was phenomenal for the 1950's," but good as in, "this is better than just about anything we're seeing today." While watching this movie I was trying to think of an American director who even comes close, but no one quite matches Kurosawa. If Akira Kurosawa and Stanley Kubrick had a street fight in Heaven I gurantee you Kurosawa would kick Kubrick in the nuts and decapitate him inside of a minute.

This film is often described as the impetus for Star Wars. After seeing the prequel trilogy I half expected The Hidden Fortress to be an exact blueprint for Episode IV, but they're really not that similar. It turns out that George Lucas was talented back in the day. If you're looking for simularities you'll find them, but if Lucas himself hadn't mentioned how much this film influenced him I doubt anyone would be drawing parallels. For example, the two peasant characters, Tahei and Matakishi, are supposed to be the inpirations for R2-D2 and C-3PO, but they're not similar in the least. Tahei and Matakishi are slow, bumbling, greedy, and selfish. They're a far cry from Lucas' creations. R2-D2 is the butch in the relationship while C-3PO is his more feminine partner. (I have to give Lucas credit for having the guts to put a gay robot couple in a film way back in the 70's, and it's even more amazing because no one has had the guts to do it a second time. Perhaps one day gay robots will get the screen time they deserve.)

The story involves a princess and her general who are trapped behind enemy lines and must make it back to their own land. Of all the Kurosawa films I've seen this is the most commercial, and should satisfy fans of old action and adventure. Of particular interest is Toshiro Mifune who is a Kurosawa regular. He plays General Rokurota - an all around badass. When his party gets stopped by soldiers trying to hunt them down he quickly kills a couple of them, and then grabs a horse to go hunt down the two trying to escape, all the while letting out a warrior's cry. This action sequence ends in a duel between Rokurota and an opposing general he has a competitive but friendly relationship with. The duel is one of the greatest fight scenes in cinema, and not just because of the fine choreography (although that too), but because of how interesting these two characters are. They respect each other, but if they met on a battlefield then duty would prevail.

This is much more of an action adventure film than something like Roshomon, but Kurosawa still manages to throw in a lot of themes. The princess has a slight epiphony while walking among the peasants, and decides to save a girl before she becomes a sex slave; Tahei and Matakishi are both morally bankrupt but they still seem to serve a purpose in society; and General Rokurota and his rival both seem to say something about the merits and limits of honor. These themes are great and add some depth, but are subservient to sheer adventure of the film, which is how it should be.

This is a great swashbuckling film that is hands down better than any action film made in the last twenty years. Some have come close, but I think most will agree that nothing beats The Hidden Fortress. It is absolutely incredible that with all of the technical achievements over the years Kurosawa's action-adventure piece still holds up so well over the years. Incredible.

This is Kurosawa's fist use of widescreen, and it looks glorious. While he managed to simulate wider shots in his past films with an academy aspect ratio, this, rife with innumerable extras and an epic landscape, is just awesome spectacle. Like all good Kurosawa though, the story is simple, elemental, yet definitive. The two peasants/thieves are an absolute riot, and Mifune comes across with amazing presence... as fantastically usual.

Criterion does the film justice with an excellent transfer, but with little in the way of supplementary material, especially when compared to recent releases --the introduction by George Lucas on this disk is great though. For the price of this disk, the lack of audio commentary, etc... is unfortunate.

Truly a character driven story, the film boasts of people that are crass, yet lovable. Not concerned with the apocalypse like Kurosawa is in some previous and later works, Hidden fortress offers a rousing adventure, which encapsulates classic story telling at its stylistic best. As such, this is one of the favorites in my personal Kurosawa collection.

Just letting you guys know, Criterion will be releasing the definitive version of this film on DVD in a few months!

I'd heard about THE HIDDEN FORTRESS as a young man whenever the roots of STAR WARS were discussed. FORTRESS is always mentioned as the film that influenced George Lucas the most in crafting his STAR WARS films. It wasn't until last year that I actually decided to rent it and see what it and its director Akira Kurosawa were all about. THE HIDDEN FORTRESS was my first introduction to the incredible direction of Akira Kurosawa. I've gone on to watch several of his other films and am now a huge fan. I also discovered that quite a few Hollywood movies have their roots in Kurosawa films. Interestingly enough, an interview with George Lucas has been included on the disk as a bonus, which completes the HIDDEN FORTRESS/STAR WARS connection.

FORTRESS is a fast-moving film. It's story is reminiscent of the serials of the 1930's (including "wipes" to transition from scene to scene -- again, another technique that Lucas borrowed for STAR WARS). Our heroes leap out of frying pan into fire on several occasions.

The Japanese style of acting (at least in 1958 when this film was made) is very stylized and little over the top or "stagey". However, the stylized performances only add to the wonderful, other-worldly atmosphere of HIDDEN FORTRESS. That's one thing that I enjoyed about this Kurosawa film: it definitely takes the viewer to a world he has not seen before ... a weird, ancient and savage old-Japan.

Those are my thoughts on this film. This was the first Kurosawa I ever saw and I was very impressed. Immediately I rented YOJIMBO and HIGH AND LOW and SEVEN SAMURAI and went on to be a fan.

Most people have only heard of The Hidden Fortress through association with Star Wars. It is quite common for reviewers to say that Lucas owed The Hidden Fortress a great debt. However, you should not go into this movie thinking you are going to see some martial arts version of America's most sucessful trilogy (if you want that take a look at Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). The Hidden Fortress is all Kurosawa and you are better off anticipating something like Yojimbo or 7 Samurai. The main similarity to Star Wars is that the tale is told from the two most insignifigant characters. The film follows two useless pesants around (much like Star wars follows around R2-D2 and C-3P0) while the action happens surrounding them. There are other similarities, but this is the most striking. As always in Kurosawa movies, there are shots that are angled a certain way to provoke a certain effect that you will probably recognize as having seen a thousand times in modern movies, but the thing that is remarkable here is that chances are this is the first time they were used. Mifune gives a typically great performance so this movie is definately worth checking out, just don't take the Star Wars comparisons too seriously. The influence is there, but if you bend over backward trying to make connections you'll miss the best that both movies have to offer.

A number of people, when they discuss this Kurosawa film along with The Seven Samurai and his other films, treat it like a bastard at a family reunion. Apparently, they were expecting a "HIGH DRAMA" or "BADASS" movie. If they were, then they deserve to be disappointed.

The Hidden Fortress is NOT an epic that gives great insight into the code of the samurai or other such nonsense. It's a fun romp through the misadventures of several bungling "heroes": Two greedy, cowardly peasants, a knight very similar to the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a bitchy, aloof Princess Yuki of Akizuki (a name that sounds like something from Dr. Seuss). They are trying to smuggle the Akizuki treasury (gold bars hidden in firewood) and the princess to safety. But greed, lust and stupidity keep getting in the way.

This movie is more of an old-style caper film than a samurai epic. The dumb, double-dealing characters are more from The Lavender Hill Mob than MacBeth. What makes the characters more interesting is that the two peasants don't hold a monopoly on greed and harebrained "cunning plans" that would make Baldric from The Black Adder proud, and the knight and the princess don't hold all the courage and nobility cards, either. In fact, the two peasants come up with a plan that literally saves their necks.

The way the film is told from the point of view of the two lowliest characters was quite novel and an obvious influence on George Lucas when he made the first Star Wars. The Hidden Fortress is a great movie in its own right, though. One shot in particular will stick in your mind. At the beginning you see a wounded samurai on foot getting cut down by horsemen. It is stark, shocking and weirdly beautiful.

To people with open minds without preconceived notions of what should and should not be in a Kurosawa film, The Hidden Fortress is a great movie.

...although you can hardly see the influence. There exists 2 comical farmers thrown into adventures against their will, or two great swordsmen who duel in a show of skill and honor. There is a chase through a gigantic fortress (basically an entire country!) in disguise to rescue a princess.

Amazingly enough, Akira Kurosawa created the plot for Hidden Fortress by simply asking his crew to create some interesting characters, then come up with strange adventures for them to go through. The result is a masterpiece. Kurosawa draws more humanity from simply 5 minute stories than most 90 minute movies! Plenty of action, great dialog, and amazing acting all make for one of my favorite movies. Time to buy another copy, because I've worn out my first!

I saw 'Seven Samurai' several years before this film, whereas I think watching them the other way round would have been better. This film is a rousing action adventure with few pretensions to great art, while Seven Samurai, although containing breathtaking battle scenes, is a more profound work. I'd recommend this film first, especially as it seeem to have had a larger budget with many spectacular sequences.

The film itself is marvellously entertaining, with classic characterisations from the entire cast, especially the two bickering peasants who accompany the General (Toshiro Mifune, brilliant as always) and the young princess into enemy territory.

Criterion's anamorphic DVD transfer is quite simply flawless, much finer than 'Seven Samurai', decent though that is. No nicks or scars at all, and the subtletly of varying grays is marvellous. In fact I can't think of *any* black and white film I've seen which looks better on DVD, and I've seen quite a few, like the great 1959 courtroom drama 'Anatomy Of A Murder' (James Stewart), which looks excellent (I recommend it).

Woody Allen's 'Manhattan' and Scorsese's 'Raging Bull' (which date from 1979 and 1980) don't look any finer. This 1958 transfer is that good!

The sound is decent mono (there is also an unusual 3 channel fake stereo version if you want to try it, it sounds good), and decent extras, including an interview with George Lucas, who was of course influenced by this film when he made Star Wars.

Do not miss this excellent film on this outstanding DVD. Then sample the Kurosawa/Mifune symbiosis in 'High & Low', and 'Seven Samurai' (perhaps in that order). The former's Criterion transfer is excellent, the latter less so, but still good.

In Brief

Protected by her closest general but trapped in enemy territory, a young princess is aided by two hapless farmers. Their journey takes them across a dangerous 16th Century feudal Japan, as they transport both princess and her gold to safety.

Review

This was Kurosawa's last film for Toho studios, and his first using the widescreen techniques that he developed into a recognised style of his own in later films such as Ran and Yojimbo. As part of the celebrative retrospective at the NFT in London, The Hidden Fortress has been given a new print and extended run, and should definitely not be missed.

Overshadowed by his more popular texts, Kurosawa takes the `chambara' genre to new heights; this is not merely teatime viewing, or a swashbuckling fantasy, but a beautifully executed examination of the human condition and its relationship to the environment it exists in. We open with a wide shot of the two foolish farmers walking towards a distant horizon that is highlighted with rows of trees and high mountains. They should be happy as they leave the battered war zone behind them for the lush hills ahead, but instead they argue over the petty nature of their relationship. This is something they continue to do throughout the film - as they are later driven by the greed of transporting gold concealed within driftwood - not taking into account their effect upon each other, environment, or companions.
Indeed it is the metaphorical idea of these hidden riches within dead wood that is one of the major driving forces behind the text. Though the story is essentially told from their point of view, they are never aware of their help in transporting the princess to safety, nor that the man who commands them is a famous general.

There is a strong sense of the effect of nature upon man, which can be as unnoticed as it can striking: An argument between the two farmers uses the scope of widescreen to its full advantage, as they are distanced by a gully they had just dug in a futile attempt to discover gold. But for me the fog closing in around the general as he is told of the death of his sister, and the subsequent track into his eyes as he controls his emotions in realising the tactical advantage is captivating. Finally it should be noted that the effect of the incongruous princess, who holds her body as a man after being brought up as a son, takes the narrative journey as a personal discovery of the self; the perfectly edited montage whirl of the fire ceremony and a glimpse of her contact with others and freeing of hidden spirit is truly special: Life comes at a price:
"Kindle your life in the bonfire's flames," the dancers sing. But be careful as, "Moths singe their wings in the flame..."

The Verdict

This film is a pure classic, and if you have a stigma about black and white foreign films, I implore you to put that to one side. Take a chance to see the director who has inspired everyone from Spielberg to Tarantino. Speaking of which this is the film a certain Mr Lucas lifted the plot of to create Star Wars. Though I must say after the recent effort of Episode One, he definitely took all the humour for Episode Four from The Hidden Fortress and has very little of his own! This film is a golden text from one of the greatest auteurs of the 20th Century - enjoy!