HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Hidden Fortress, The A long time ago in a Japanese kingdom far, far away
Year: 1958
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Susumu Fujita, Takashi Shimura, Misa Uehara, Eiko Miyoshi, Toshiko Higuchi, Yu Fujiki, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kokuten Kodo
Genre: Action, Martial Arts, Historical, AdventureBuy from Amazon
Rating:  9 (from 3 votes)
Review: Cowardly, self-serving peasants Tahei (Minoru Chiaki) and Matashichi (Kamatari Fujiwara) are on the run amidst a civil war in sixteenth century Japan. Stumbling across a cache of gold, the squabbling twosome think they’ve struck it rich and hatch a plan to smuggle these riches into Hayakawa. But the treasure belongs to the fallen Akizuki clan whose last remaining heir is being protected by courageous samurai general, Rokurota Makabe (Toshirô Mifune). Impressed with their plan, Rokurota coerces Tahei and Matashichi into helping him escort both the gold and feisty Princess Yuki (Misa Uehara) across enemy territory so they can build a new kingdom.

Of all the classic chanbara films the great Akira Kurosawa made, The Hidden Fortress was his own personal favourite. Which makes it all the stranger so-called serious cinephiles these days routinely dismiss it as one of his most inconsequential films. Some of this might be down to residual snobbery given George Lucas famously incorporated aspects of its plot into Star Wars (1977) (which, lest we forget, was the film that ruined cinema forever, right folks?), though even admirers of the film often describe it as an example of Kurosawa the entertainer, not the artist, or simply action for action’s sake. Far from it. In fact, The Hidden Fortress eloquently expresses his political ideals and humanism, not least through his decision to tell this sweeping adventure yarn through the point of view of its “lowliest” characters - the bickering, greedy yet essentially lovable losers, Tahei and Matashichi. While the iconic Toshirô Mifune draws our admiration as the unflappable samurai superhero, Kurosawa keeps our sympathies with the peasants who are foolish and fallible yet profoundly human.

At the heart of the story rests the beautiful idea that humanity begets humanity, decency begets decency. Throughout the course of the film, snooty Princess Yuki has her eyes opened to the spirit and suffering of ordinary, hard-working people, which leads her to buy back the freedom of a captive peasant girl (Toshiko Higuchi) who devotes herself to protecting the princess. Having glimpsed this newfound love of humanity when the princess sings an old folk song, enemy samurai Hiyoei Tadokoro (Susumu Fujita) flouts the rigid code of bushido, listens to his heart and switches sides. This in turn inspires Rokurota, who has hitherto been somewhat of a bully towards Tahei and Matashichi, into an act of kindness that in the concluding scene leads the squabbling pair to start treating each other nicely. Ultimately, The Hidden Fortress tells a very human story concealed within a fairytale.

The one performance most viewers seem to complain about these days is that of Misa Uehara as snappy, sharp-tongued Princess Misa. This was Uehara’s only notable role in a brief screen career and while her character admittedly has less of an arc than successor Masami Nagasawa in the recent remake Hidden Fortress - The Last Princess (2008) she maintains a fantastically fiery and spirited presence throughout. Her stoicism and occasional impassive nature certainly rings true of a royal personage in feudal Japan. Nevertheless, the idea that a highborn noble could be profoundly affected by their exposure to peasant life (“I have seen people as they really are", gasps Yuki towards the climax) had a dramatic impact upon cinemagoers in Japan, where class distinctions were more rigid than in Europe or the United States. The film’s grand centrepiece isn’t one of its many rousing samurai battles but the traditional Fire Festival, which Kurosawa stages like a lavish musical number. It is a tremendously cathartic sequence with our heroes at first forced to join in the communal celebration then actually start to enjoy themselves.

Whilst some impatient modern viewers may find the pace slower and talkier than they are used to, there remains a tremendous cinematic verve to Kurosawa’s storytelling that thrills to this day. His bravura editing, painterly use of the scope format (his first film in widescreen), and the sheer force of his arresting imagery add up to a style of cinema that stimulates on a visceral, emotional and intellectual level.

Reviewer: Andrew Pragasam

 

This review has been viewed 5396 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 

Akira Kurosawa  (1910 - 1998)

Japanese director and writer, and one of the most important figures in 20th century cinema. Kurosawa was greatly influenced by Hollywood - John Ford being his idol - but more than any other film-maker was responsible for introducing Japanese films to West. He originally trained as an artist and worked as a studio scriptwriter, before directing his first film in 1943, the martial arts drama Judo Saga. Kurosawa's next few films were made during World War II and had to adhere to strict state guidelines; it was 1948's gangster movie Drunken Angel that first saw the director's emerging personal vision, and was his first film to star regular leading man Toshirô Mifune.

Rashomon was the film that brought Kurosawa acclaim in the West, winning top prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1951, and a string of classics followed - Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Seven Samurai - all set in Feudal Japan and combining incredible cinematography and thrilling action with humour, sadness and deep insights into human behaviour. The director also turned in some superb non-period film around this time too, such as the thrillers The Bad Sleep Well and High and Low.

The following decade proved a frustrating one for Kurosawa, as he struggled to get projects off the ground, culminating with the box office failure of Dodesukaden and a suicide attempt in 1970. The director's fortunes turned when 1975's Russian epic Dersu Uzala won the Best Foreign Language Oscar, while his next two films were among his very best - the beautifully shot Kagemusha and 1985's spectacular, hugely successful King Lear adaptation, Ran. Kurosawa's final films were smaller and more personal - Dreams, Rhapsody in August and Not Yet. He died of a stroke in 1998, aged 88.

 
Review Comments (2)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
Enoch Sneed
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Mary Sibley
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: