The Hidden Fortress 4K 1958 Ultra HD 2160p

Storyline
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.

User Review

In my opinion, this is one of the most exquisite treats in Akira's oeuvre. Finally, he did not include any 'socially acute' context in his film and got rid of 'neo-realistic' borrowings. The result is a truly entertaining film in which the theme of feudal Japan and exotic samurai is 'exploited' solely for the viewer's enjoyment. Having dispensed with moralizing overtones, Akira added a healthy dose of humor to his cinematic treat.

The travels of two rogues who, by chance, find themselves next to the hiding princess Yuki and her guardian commander Rokurota Makabe turn out to be not just interesting, but exciting. The director's discovery of a hidden fortress and lake is beyond praise—unexpected, skillful, and intriguing.

In general, the film is definitely a success, and Mifune, who played the brutal commander, is its real highlight.

And yet... All the parallels drawn with Star Wars seem far-fetched to me. Lucas was indeed inspired by this film when creating his masterpiece. But with the same success, one could put Kurosawa's masterpiece on a par with the adventure films about Conan the Barbarian. Still, I tend to regard this film by Kurosawa as a standalone work, one of the best films of 1958.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (60.0 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Info Audio

#Japanese: FLAC 1.0
#Japanese: FLAC 1.0
#Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0
#English: Dolby Digital 1.0 (Commentary by film historian and Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince)

Info Subtitles