THE STANFORD THEATRE
The Hidden Fortress poster

The Hidden Fortress

1958 ★ 139 min
Starring: Toshirō Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writer: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
Producer: Akira Kurosawa

The Hidden Fortress (Japanese: 隠し砦の三悪人, Hepburn: Kakushi Toride no San Akunin; lit. 'The Three Villains of the Hidden Fortress') is a 1958 Japanese epic jidaigeki adventure film directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It tells the story of two peasants who agree to escort a man and a woman across enemy lines in return for gold, without knowing that he is a general and she is a princess.

Trivia

  • Won the Silver Bear for Best Director.
  • Won the FIPRESCI Prize at Berlinale.
  • The film was originally presented with Perspecta directional sound, which was re-created for the Criterion Blu-ray release.
  • Toho's frustration with Kurosawa's slow pace of shooting led to the director forming his own production company the following year, though he continued to distribute through Toho.
  • The film's musical score was composed by Masaru Sato.

Filming Locations

  • Japan
  • Key parts of the film were shot in Hōrai Valley in Hyōgo and on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, where bad weather from the record-breaking Kanagawa typhoon delayed the production.

Previous Showings

5 Runs • 4 Festivals

4,162 tickets sold

All runs on record (5):

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