A Fortaleza Escondida

Any Kurosawa film is worth watching, but the focus of interest shifts from project to project. This time around, his concern is the new aspect ratio of 'cinemascope' copied and renamed by Toho. Kurosawa is first a visual storyteller who scripts in pictures, each one dramatically framed. All his life until here, that frame was the same, but all of a sudden it changed.

It is a matter of there being three territories where there was formally one. The new territories are on the left and right, which in the original cinerama were actually two additional cameras. One really needs to study his framing in the old format to understand how significant this challenge was. He was master -- indeed largely the creator -- of a visual grammar and the rules had changed.

As with all his scripts, the story reflects his own challenges. So we have a story about three territories and a journey that spans them all. The 'middle' territory is under attack, and our characters must leave their fortress and go all the way from left to right to survive. (Notice the symbols he uses for these three klans.) The two hapless peasants represent to the story what actors represent to the 'real' enterprise of film-making: relatively ignorant, gold-chasers, likely to turn on each other, and liable to go where they are not supposed to. The story is told from their perspective. The gold in the story is hidden in sticks. The gold in the film is hidden in similar harvesting of nature by the eye.

(Mifune's pride and Kurosawa's control were much like that shown here between Mifune's samurai and the peasants. Mifune would eventually run away from Kurosawa's -- probably much needed -- overbearing command. Mifune would end up wealthy and celebrated in Japan. Kurosawa not so.)

At the end of the story, the peasant-actors are on a grand stair that mirrors a similar stair we saw earlier which was the scene of a huge conflict (in turn mirroring the battle on Eisenstein's Odessa steps in 'Potemkin'). But this second time, we are at peace, the frame is serene. Kurosawa has wrestled this new eye and mastered it.

Kurosawa did not respond to the wide format like his American peers who preferred awesome panoramas. His approach to framing had always been layered, usually three layers of activity in fore, middle and background. Here, he was able to relax the axis so that the layers did not have be so much on top of one another. And he reinvented his strategy of panning of motion: compare a running sequence here to the famous woodcutter's running in the beginning of 'Rashomon.' Look at how he panned the General's attack on horseback. He still does diagonals, but fewer, less steep and with less static import. He now has more natural horizontals in his greytone/greystone arrangements so has to create more artificial verticals.

Obligatory Star Wars comment:

I am sure Lucas' film school professors would have explained the relationship of story and visual challenge this way. So that is the real template Lucas took in conceiving his project. His goal was a similar marriage of the visual (space) with story (Joseph Campbell inspired myth). His hidden gold is that miraculous alchemical element in Jedi blood.

Legendary director Akira Kurosawa has made a lot of great films, many of which have gone on to inspire whole areas of cinema. While Hidden Fortress doesn't represent his best, most influential or most important work; it's definitely an important movie in film history in it's own right, and besides that, it's a damn good movie to boot. I was most surprised at the amount of comic relief present in the movie. When watching a Kurosawa film, I always expect it to be a serious affair; so the comedy in this movie made for a surprise, which was, on the whole, a good surprise as like most things in Kurosawa's films; it works. The film has become most famous recently for the many parallels that it has with the masterpiece 'Star Wars', and it has become well documented that this film was a major influence on said movie, which is shown most clearly by the fact that a lot of the story is shown through the eyes of two bumbling people that aren't all that relevant to the central plot, and the style of editing; which George Lucas adopted many times in his epic trilogy.

The plot follows a princess who must be escorted across enemy lines by her general. Two greedy peasants join the escort on the promise of a reward of gold. Like Star Wars, the plot here is relatively simple; and it's the way that the story is portrayed, not the story itself, that makes this movie great. Despite it's simplicity, Kurosawa gives it the style of an epic; and it really feels like one. Kurosawa regular, Toshirô Mifune heads a great ensemble cast; all of which do well in their roles. Kurosawa had a great talent for pulling great performances out of everyone in his films, and he shows that talent excellently here. The cinematography is excellent, and the master director has managed to capture some truly stunning landscapes, which serve in adding beauty to the picture. This film is, of course, in black and white; and that is Kurosawa at his best in my opinion. While I loved 'Ran' and it's vibrant colours, black and white allows Kurosawa to blend atmosphere into his films, and they're always the better for it. On the whole, Kurosawa is a genius - and this is one of his best films.

Those who think that Kurosawa could only direct dramatic films need to see The Hidden Fortress. It is an exiting, funny, and extremely entertaining adventure film. George Lucas cites The Hidden Fortress as the prime inspiration for the Star Wars films.

Two cowardly soldiers Tahei (Minoru Chiaki) and Matashichi (Kamatari Fujiwara) flee from a battle. The two then set up camp for the night, but soon they discover a bar of gold next to their camp. The two begin fighting over it, but before they can decide who gets it, a mysterious man called Rokurota (Toshiro Mifune) appears. He asks the two to help him transport a wagon full of gold and the Lady Yukihime (Misa Uehara) across enemy lines so that they can establish their kingdom again.

This film is a blast and is filled with plenty of action and humor. A departure from Kurosawa's usual dramatic films, but excellent cinema nonetheless.

This is one of the most hilarious movies I have ever seen. There is just too much to write about, so just rent it, or better yet, buy it! Toshiro Mifune's performance as Rokorota alone is worth it. His "duel scene" in which he battles general Hoye is fantastic. I guess George Lucas based Star Wars on this wonderful movie. I've already watched this movie 6 times, Star Wars 3. I just can't recommend it enough. Hidden Fortress & Rashomon are 2 of my favorite Kurasawa/Mifune collaborations. Rent them both & have fun!

The Hidden Fortress is a fine movie that deserves better than to be remembered as the inspiration for Star Wars. Two more dissimilar movies would hard to be imagined. The peasants bear a striking resemblance to Vladimir and Estragon in their infighting, negotiable affection for each other and their seeming inability to make any real progress toward any goal whatsoever. They are truly a venal pair, loveable only in their humanity and humor.

I saw The Hidden Fortress on the Criterion DVD. Beautiful print but no commentary outside of a brief interview with George Lucas distancing himself from the film's alleged influence on Star Wars. It would have been nice to hear interviews with surviving cast and crew or a knowledgeable historian. Criterion also made a terrible choice in not translating more of the credits. Only Kurosawa and Mifuni had the honor of an English translation. Surely Misa Uehara, Minoru Chaiki and Kamatari Fujiwara deserve to have their names known to we who lack basic Japanese. The Princess and the peasants help make this movie what it is. I gripe too much though. Without Criterion (and Netflix)I would not have been able to see this movie at all.

Again, The Hidden Fortress is a great movie that also happens to be great fun. Highly recommended