The Hidden Fortress (1958) on Netflix
Two peasants, Tahei and Matashichi, find gold inside a stick and follow a stranger who promises more. He brings them to a camp in the mountains, where a princess is hiding.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb8.0/1046,435 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes96%
Featurette
Plot summary
Tahei and Matashichi are peasants who sell their homes to enlist with the Yamana clan, hoping to make a fortune in its war against the Akizuki. Taken for enemy soldiers, they lose their weapons and are put to digging graves, then set to work with other prisoners clearing the ruined Akizuki castle in search of its gold. The two slip away, make camp by a river, and find a piece of gold inside a hollow stick. A stranger finds them looking for more and brings them to a camp in the mountains, where the Akizuki general Rokurota Makabe is hiding Princess Yuki. He adopts the peasants' plan to carry the clan's gold to Hayakawa, and has the princess pass as a deaf-mute.
Cast
- Takeo Oikawaas Guard (uncredited)
Show all 20 cast
- Haruya Sakamotoas Horseman (uncredited)
- Toshiko Higuchias Farmer's Daughter bought from slave trader
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- George Lucas acknowledged the heavy influence of The Hidden Fortress on Star Wars: C-3PO and R2-D2 are based on the peasants Tahei and Matashichi, Princess Leia on Princess Yuki, and Lucas's original Star Wars outline was later reused as the basis for The Phantom Menace.
- The Hidden Fortress was Akira Kurosawa's first feature shot in widescreen, using the Tohoscope format, which he continued to use for the next decade.
- Bad weather from the record-breaking Kanagawa typhoon delayed filming of The Hidden Fortress, parts of which were shot in Hōrai Valley in Hyōgo and on the slopes of Mt. Fuji.
- Toho's frustration with Akira Kurosawa's slow pace of shooting The Hidden Fortress led the director to form his own production company the following year, though he continued to distribute through Toho.
