The Hidden Fortress (1958) (Criterion Collection, Blu-ray + DVD)

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A story of rival clans, hidden gold and a princess in distress, The Hidden Fortress is a thrilling mix of fairy story and samurai action movie. It was Kurosawa's first film shot in the widescreen process of Tohoscope, and he exploited this to the full in the film's rich variety of landscape locations, including the slopes of Mount Fuji.

The Hidden Fortress became Kurosawa's biggest box office hit to date and won several awards, including the Golden Bear at the1959 Berlin Film Festival. Some twenty years on, the film's influence would have even greater impact on the world’s box office, when George Lucas borrowed elements of its plot for the first of his Star Wars series.

A general and a princess must dodge enemy clans while smuggling the royal treasure out of hostile territory with two bumbling, conniving peasants at their sides; it`s a spirited adventure that only Akira Kurosawa could create. Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas` Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa`s inimitably deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action and humanist compassion on an epic scale. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this landmark motion picture in a stunning, newly-restored Tohoscope edition.