HIDDEN FORTRESS (DVD/CRITERION COLLECTION) DVD

The Hidden Fortress
Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (original Japanese title: Kakushi Toride No San Akunin) stars Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara as a pair of misfit soldiers. Running from the enemy after a disastrous defeat, the two soldiers fall in with general Toshiro Mifune, who is in search of a huge cache of gold. Mifune is also desirous of freeing princess-in-exile Misa Uehara from the clutches of the evil victorious army. Several large and small battles ensue before Mifune can realize his goal. If the plot of Hidden Fortress sounds vaguely familiar to you, try this exercise: substitute two robots for Chiaki and Fujiwara, Mark Hamill for Mifune, and Carrie Fisher for Uehara. George Lucas himself admitted that Hidden Fortress was a principal inspiration for his Star Wars saga; stretching the point farther, both Hidden Fortress and Star Wars had their roots in John Ford's The Searchers. Originally released in a 137-minute form, The Hidden Fortress was sliced to ribbons by its American distributors, and years later received extensive restoration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Toshiro Mifune as Gen. Rokurota Makabe Misa Uehara as Lady Yukihime Kamatari Fujiwara as Matashichi Minoru Chiaki as Tahei Susumu Fujita as Gen. Hyoe Tadokoro Takashi Shimura as The Old General, Izumi Nagakura Eiko Miyoshi as Lady-in-Waiting

Crew Akira Kurosawa - Director Akira Kurosawa - Editor Masaru Sato - Composer (Music Score) Yoshiro Muraki - Production Designer Kazuo Yamazaki - Cinematographer Akira Kurosawa - Producer Masumi Fujimoto - Producer Fumio Yanoguchi - Sound/Sound Designer Hideo Oguni - Screenwriter Akira Kurosawa - Screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto - Screenwriter Ryuzo Kikushima - Screenwriter

The Hidden Fortress
Kurosawa's light adventure is probably best known as one of the primary inspirations for George Lucas' Star Wars (1977), but it's a masterful entertainment in its own right. Toshiro Mifune stars as a famous general who uses a couple of clownish peasants to help him transport a gold shipment and a volatile young princess through enemy territory. The film was the pioneering effort of the Japanese film industry in the use of the widescreen ratio, and, in a sense, Kurosawa's brilliantly supple deployment of the process is the star of the film. Especially in the early sequences in the prison and the quarry, the director achieves extraordinary effects of mass and scale as he suggests the smallness of the squabbling peasants and the stature of General Rokurota. He also uses the available space to spread the characters as far as he can, expressing the common distrust that is, at times, the only emotion these four very differently motivated characters share. Kurosawa has often suggested to his actors that they imagine themselves as various animals in an effort to elicit a more overtly physical performance, and that seems to be the case here, as the slightly exaggerated ensemble acting style enhances the humor of a film that is sometimes reminiscent of an early silent. Mifune, a virtuoso of physical acting, did all his own stunts, the most impressive being a horse-mounted pursuit while swinging a sword. Like Star Wars, the film has something of the quality of a fairy tale, one which can be appreciated both by children and adults. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
 

Akira Kurosawa: Berlin International Film Festival, Silver Bear for Best Director (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: Japanese Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono DD3.0: Dolby Digital w/ 3 discrete audio channels. Includes 2 for the front speakers & 1 mono channel for the surround Additional Features: New 16x9 transfer, with digitally restored image and sound Exclusive video interview with George Lucas about "The Hidden Fortress" Optional Dolby Digital 3.0 soundtrack, preserving the original perspect-a-sound simulated-stereo effects Original theatrical trailer New and improved English subtitle translation Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition In Japanese with optional English subtitles 2.35:1 aspect ratio DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 139 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Lost [:09] 2. Wanted [4:51] 3. Capture & Escape [4:01] 4. "find The Princess" [5:35] 5. Followed [4:35] 6. The General [1:40] 7. "a Hidden Fortress?" [5:59] 8. Rokurota Makabe [4:15] 9. "it's A Girl" [5:17] 10. Princess Yuki [4:34] 11. Doubting A General [4:01] 12. The Truth [2:27] 13. Trusting Fools [4:29] 14. Leaving The Fortress [5:10] 15. Running Away [3:53] 16. Botched Escape [4:04] 17. Tricking The Guards [5:30] 18. Blending In [4:22] 19. A Woman's Worth [2:04] 20. Princess Yuki's Command [3:52] 21. Rokurota In Action [3:07] 22. Duel [:53] 23. In The Rain [2:00] 24. Perfect Cover [8:10] 25. Fire Festival [5:52] 26. Fools' Gold [2:47] 27. Pressing Onwards [5:02] 28. Drawing Fire [4:02] 29. The Price Of Friendship [2:18] 30. A Change Of Heart [4:07] 31. "lucky To Have Our Heads" [6:27] 32. Arrested & Rewarded [5:16]