Akira Kurosawa’s (1910-1998)
THE HIDDEN
FORTRESS
1958
Starring Toshiro Mifune (General Rokurota Makabe), Minoru Chiaki (Tahei), Kamitari Fujiwara (Matashichi),
Susumu Fujita (General Hyoe Tadokoro), Misa Uehara (Princess Yuki of Akizuki), with Takashi Shimura
Music composed by Masaru Sato
The Hidden Fortress, also known as Three Rascals in the Hidden
Fortress, is one of the greatest and most entertaining adventure films ever
made. It is also a morally complex drama
of choice, loyalty, and pursuit which combines fairy tale plot elements with
naturalistically modern motivation and behavior. Kurosawa had written and filmed Those Who
Tread on the Tiger's Tail in 1945.
The source material was a classic Noh drama of mistaken identity and
samurai loyalty. Because the film
glorified loyalty in a medieval military setting, the occupation government
perceived it as promoting obedience to the military government which had
approved its production during World War II, and prevented its release until
1950. It was Takashi Shimura's and
Masayuki Mori's first film for Kurosawa.
Made in wartime conditions, the project was completed entirely on
location, saving the cost of sets, and used no horses, because none were
available for filming. The Hidden
Fortress is an elaborate remake of this earlier film. It was Kurosawa's first widescreen film, made
in Tohoscope with Perspecta sound, a simulated stereo. It was the most expensive film made in Japan
and every yen is clearly evident on the screen.
The Hidden Fortress was the principal inspiration for George
Lucas's Star Wars. Kurosawa often sets his action in or around ruined
structures to suggest parallels between historical action and modern
Plot Synopsis
Two peasants, disillusioned by a recent war in which the Yamana clan has defeated the Akizuki clan, stuggle to return to their home in neighboring Hayakawa. Leadership of the remnants of the Akizuki clan has devolved on sixteen-year-old Princess Yuki. The Akizuki treasure of 200 gold ryo has been hidden by loyal vassals led by legendary samurai general Rokurota Makabe. Rokurota encounters the peasants after they discover some of the gold hidden in firewood. He tricks them into searching for the gold in the hidden fortress, a secret hiding place in the mountains. With the gold disguised as firewood, and Princess Yuki impersonating a mute, the group passes through hostile Yamana checkpoints into enemy Yamana territory, from which it will be easier to cross into friendly Hayakawa.
The Cast
Toshiro Mifune [1920-1997] (General Rokurota Makabe) starred in many of Kurosawa's films, including Drunken Angel (1948) as a gangster, The Quiet Duel (1949) as Takashi Shimura's son, Stray Dog (1949) as the police officer who loses his gun, an artist in Scandal (1950), the bandit Tajomaru in Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954) as a farmer who impersonates a samurai, Record of a Living Being (I Live in Fear) (1955) as a man motivated by fear of nuclear war, The Throne of Blood (1957) as the Macbeth character, The Lower Depths (1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958) as the samurai general which inspired Han Solo in Star Wars, The Bad Sleep Well (1960) as the hero, Yojimbo (1961) and its sequel Sanjuro (1962) as a character inspiring Clint Eastwood's character in a series of Westerns, High and Low (1963), and Red Beard (1965). An international star, he has been in many English-language films, including Storm over the Pacific (1960), Retreat from Kiska (1964), Grand Prix (1967), Midway (1976) as Admiral Yamamoto, and 1941 (1980). He normally played vigorous, morally-driven heroes, but could also play complex villains, as in The Throne of Blood. By the late fifties he had largely supplanted the older Takashi Shimura as the performer on which Kurosawa most depended. Mifune and Kurosowa fell out during the two-year long production of Red Beard, where Mifune played the wise elder doctor role, a type often depicted by Takashi Shimura in the early fifties. Kurosawa and Mifune never spoke again. The great director also fired composer Masaro Sato after Red Beard. Kurosawa retired from filmmaking after Red Beard and attempted suicide, but recovered and made two of his finest and most spectacular films without Mifune, Kagemusha (1980) and the Shakespearean Ran (1985), based on King Lear, as well as the more intimate Dreams (1990) and Rhapsody in August (1991) with Richard Gere. Kagemusha in particular proved to be nearly as troublesome for Kurosawa as Red Beard. Though production was not unduly extended, the director was forced to replace his lead performer on the first day of shooting, with the incomparable Tatsuya Nakadai, who later starred in Ran.
Takashi Shimura [1905-1982] (the old samurai), one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century, starred in Kurosawa's The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945) (remade first by Kurosawa as The Hidden Fortress, and later by George Lucas as Star Wars), Those Who Make Tomorrow (1946), No Regrets for Our Youth (1946), Drunken Angel (1948) as a doctor who tries to reform yakuza Toshiro Mifune, The Quiet Duel (1949), Stray Dog (1949) as Mifune's boss, Scandal (1950) as Mifune's lawyer, Rashomon (1950) as the woodcutter, The Idiot (1951) from the novel by Fyodor Dosoevsky, Ikiru (1952), his lifetime performance, as the bureaucrat dying of stomach cancer, Seven Samurai (1954) as the head samurai, Record of a Living Being (1955), The Throne of Blood (1957) as the character corresponding to Macduff, The Hidden Fortress (1958), The Bad Sleep Well (1960) as the second villain, Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962), High and Low (1963), Red Beard (1965), and finally, in Kagemusha (1980). A Toho contract actor, he notably starred as Dr Yamane the paleontologist in Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla's Counterattack (1955), as well as appearing in The Mysterians (Earth Defense Forces) (1957), Mothra (1961), Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (1964), and most kaiju eigan films until his death. He also had a small role as a priest in Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan (1964), based on short stories by Lafcadio Hearn. Shimura’s characters are generally the moral center of the Kurosawan universe, often providing guidance to the less experienced character played by Mifune. After 1957, when Shimura played a supporting role in The Throne of Blood, a retelling of Macbeth, his parts became increasingly brief but continued to be highly memorable.
Minoru Chiaki [1917-1999] (Tahei, the
tall peasant) debuted in Kurosawa’s Stray Dog (1949) and starred as one
of the samurai in Seven Samurai (1954). He also appeared with
Takashi Shimura in Ikiru (1952), and Record of a Living Being (I Live in
Fear) (1955), and played
the character corresponding to Banquo in The Throne of Blood (1957).
His performance in The Hidden Fortress (1958) inspired the character of
R2D2 in Star Wars. He also starred in Godzilla’s Counterattack
(1955).
Kamatari Fujiwara
[1905-1985] (Matashichi, the short peasant) starred
in Kurosawa's Ikiru (1952), The Seven
Samurai (1954), Record of a Living Being (1955), The Lower Depths
(1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958), The
Bad Sleep Well (1960), Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962), Red Beard (1965), and Kagemusha (1980).
Susumu Fujita [1912-1991] (General Hyoe
Tadokoro) was a major star from 1939 to his retirement in 1983. He played the title role in Kurosawa's first film
Sanshiro Sugata (1943,
also known as Judo Saga) and its 1945 sequel.
He also starred in The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945), Those
Who Make Tomorrow (1946), The Bad
Sleep Well (1960), and Yojimbo (1961). He also appeared in many kaiju eiga.
He played regular roles on several TV series, including the first Ultraman.
Misa Uehara [1937-] (Princess Yuki of Akizuki)
was only 21 when she debuted in The
Hidden Fortress. She never worked
for Kurosawa again, but starred exclusively in top Toho productions until
retiring from the screen at the top of the profession in 1961. To some extent
her performance in this film resulted in her being typecast as a princess,
though generally not as a tomboy.
Our initial audience with Princess Yuki reveals her as a young, idealistic, though inexperienced leader. She mercilessly castigates Rokurota for sacrificing his sister, who has been executed by the Yamanas in place of the real princess. She makes it clear that she values her subjects' welfare ahead of her own. When Rokurota enters the audience, he is a cardboard historical figure who will serve his lord to his death because that is what noble samurai do. This two-dimensional impression is perfectly acceptable given the plot, and there is no reason for the audience to question it. By the end of the audience, we see Rokurota become a bigger person. The princess has to be restrained by servants from beating her loyal general across the face with a staff, but this harsh scolding both enables Rokurota to handle his guilt and grief over the loss of his sister, and it makes him more truly and humanly loyal to the princess. The princess views her social station as public service, much like the postwar role of Emperor Hirohito. Kurosawa editorializes that the government is only justified if, by its actions, it serves the general good of the nation. In Kurosawa's view, the government should serve the people rather than the other way around.
When
Rokurota duels his rival Hyoe, a legendary Yamana general, it is made clear
that these are two matchless warriors.
None of the other samurai in Hyoe's camp would stand a chance against
either of them. Rokurota's respect and
affection for Hyoe is evident, and it is clear that he only challenges Hyoe in
the first place because that is the only way out of the enemy camp. Hyoe faces an even more dramatic moral choice
when he has to choose between the blind, instinctive loyalty of a samurai for
his lord, which comes as naturally to him as it formerly did to Rokurota, and
the more evolved loyalty to Rokurota and Princess Yuki, who both display the
example of moral values.
Masaru
Sato's [1928-1999] stirring score alternates between lush, fully orchestrated
classical music, typified by the fanfares of the main title and Wagnerian lietmotivs for Princess Yuki and Rokurota,
and traditional Japanese music for the peasants and the duel between the two
samurai. The Japanese music evokes the
highly stylized Noh and Kabuki drama which inspired both The Men who Tread on the Tiger's Tail and The Hidden Fortress. Sato's Western classical music may have
inspired John William's Star Wars
music, which is generally similar in mood.
Sato scored most of Kurosawa's
films until 1965. He also composed the scores for Ishiro
Honda's Godzilla's Counterattack (1955), The H Man (1958), and the
brilliantly jazz-inspired Son of Godzilla (1967).
Monetary note: The Akizuki treasure
consists of 200 gold ryo. The gold weight and fineness of the ryo varied from time to time and by location, but seems to
have been generally about 15 grams of fine gold. At $400 to the ounce, the treasure would be
worth only $40,000.00 today. Because medieval
Japan was a closed economy, the actual exchange value may have been much
higher. [Bank of Japan Monetary and
Economic Studies] http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english_htmls/feature_gra.htm
Note on court etiquette: The princess, her father, and the enemy Lord
of Yamana, are addressed and referred to as "great
lord," because they are sovereign rulers with no overlord. The two generals and other nobles are
addressed and referred to as "lord" as sort of a courtesy title. They may or may not have domains of their own,
but if they do, they only hold them under a great lord. We do not learn how Princess Yuki's father
died. The Yamanas
may have attacked after he died of natural causes, he may have been killed in
battle, or he may have been murdered.
Rokurota spends most of the film in disguise, but like all samurai, he would normally be identified by the two swords which only samurai may carry. This is a long sword which comes nearly up to the owner's shoulder, and a short sword like a large dagger.