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.

Extras:
Newly restored in 4K and presented in High Definition
Newly recorded audio commentary by Japanese-cinema expert Tony Rayns
Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – Hidden Fortress (2002)
Interview with George Lucas(2001, 8 mins)
Original trailer

Product details

Director	Akira Kurosawa
Actor	Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Susumi Fujita, Takashi Shimura, Eiko Miyoshi, Toshiko Higuchi
Label	BFI

Genre	Action Adventure Drama History
Content	Blu-ray
Publication date	18.08.2025
Region code	B
Edition	b/w, Restored
Version	UK Version
Original title	Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (Japanese)
Year of production	1958
Length	140 Minutes
Audio	Japanese
Subtitles	English

Cast & Crew

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Production & Studios

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Customer reviews

Grossartig!

Written on 02. January 2009 by spacecowboy.
This customer review refers to a alternative version.

Ein weiteres Meisterwerk von Kurosawa. Kann mit Filmen wie Sieben Samurai, Sanjuro, Yojimbo etc. locker mithalten. Unbedingt anschauen!