Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

The Hidden Fortress (1958) Directed by Kurasawa Akira.

The life of a man
Burn it with fire
The life of an insect
Throw it into the fire
Ponder and you will see
The world is dark
and this floating world
is a dream. The song of the Fire Festival.

This movie is titled Kakushi-toride no san-akunin in Japanese and can best be translated as Three Bad Men in a Hidden Fortress.

The Yamani Clan has attacked the Akizuki Clan, and virtually wiped them out. Princess Akizuki Yuri must try to reach the allied Hayakawa Clan with the hidden treasury if they are to retake her ancestral lands. With very few retainers left, her hopes are pinned on General Rokurota Makabe, a very crafty fellow.

Rokurota needs help though, and he finds it in an unusual place…

As the movie opens two peasants, Matakishi and Tahei are bemoaning their fates; they came late to the war, were mistaken for the loosing side, and made to bury the dead. They stink, they’re tired, and looking for someone to blame, and they only have each other. They separate, and are independently recaptured, and put to slave labor, digging up the Akizuki castle, looking for the hidden treasury. But when there is a revolt, they are able to slip away, steal some rice, and make a getaway.

Then, while arguing over what to do next, they make an amazing discovery; inside some of their fire wood, they find a gold bar! They search until they find another, and then immediately fall to bickering over whom owns them….

However, they are not alone, and Rokurota makes his presence known. They are suspicious and rude, until Rokurota lets them know he found one too.

He takes them back to the Hidden Fortress of the Akizuki, and puts them to work. At every turn they prove that they are totally motivated by greed, and totally without moral fiber. But you fight the war with the army you have, not the army you want, as was said by someone else totally lacking in moral fiber…. Rokurota figures he can use the idiots to carry the gold. They will do anything for money. The other problem he has is the princess. She is head strong and aristocratic, and willful, and she would be spotted at once if she went out in public with her authoritative manner. So it is decided she must play mute. The deception is aided because Rokurota turned in his sister as the Princess, and she was beheaded. This infuriated the Princess, who can’t even see how this hurt her loyal retainer.

However, they now have their plan, and they travel as firewood merchants, three men, three horses, and a mute girl.

There are many hazards along the way; if it is not alert soldiers, it is the idiots Matakishi and Tahei’s attempts to steal the gold or do something the easy way. Even the Princess’ beauty causes them problems…though her compassion yields an unexpected benefit. While at an inn, she sees a woman from Akizuki lands, sold into slavery. She demands that Rokurota buy her. At the same time, a Samurai “buys” the horses from the group, as they are far to fine for beasts of burden. (And this is true) So they have to buy a cart, and now Matakishi and Tahei are the horses. But just down the road they discover that they are looking for three men, three horses, and a girl. They are three men and a pair of women, and thus they escape.

However, the enemy forces are closing in, and for every problem they avoid, Matakishi and Tahei find a way to make a new one. For instance, the get the bright idea of joining the procession going to the fire festival because there are many people traveling with wood. But when they join the line, they find themselves trapped because of increased security. They end up burning the cart with all the wood, and the next day, they dig through the ashes and divide up the gold. There is more than they can carry, but it is not in the two idiots to leave as much as a single coin.

But the net is closing ever tighter. Rokurota is recognized by one of the enemy officers, Hyoe. They fight a duel with spears…and Rokurota is allowed to go on his way (they are unaware he is one of the fugitives). Then, within sight of the Hayakawa lands, they are captured….

Surprisingly, this movie has a happy ending….

One of the happiest things about the movie is the princess…allowed outside the castle, forbidden to act like the royalty she is, forbidden even to talk, the Princess learns to listen, and to watch, and to appreciate what she sees. She gets to see the common folk being common folk. Peasants in the presence of a Lady all look the same, a hiney in the air, and the back of a head. And I think she came to recognize what a remarkable man she has in her retainer.

One of the neatest things about this movie is it was a major inspiration for Star Wars. Not the Princess on the run with a motley band of protectors part, no, Matakishi and Tahei and their viewpoint on the affairs of the great through the eyes of the unimportant, were the inspiration for R2D2 and C3PO.

As always, the star performance of this piece was Mifune Toshiro. He always fills the screen with his presence, no matter the role. But it would not have been the success it was without the other two bad men, Matakishi, the dyspeptic Fujiwara Kamatari, and Tahei, the hypernictating Chiaki Minoru. The relationship between these two is one of the funniest things you have ever seen, and definitely is visible as the model for the relationship between the two droids.
Kurasawa made this movie to pay back Toho Studios for supporting him in more “artistic endeavors like Rashomon. It did pay them back, and well, being one of the best grossing movies in Japanese history. This movie was more “commercial” than many of his other films, but Kurasawa proved that Commercial does not mean “inferior”.

So, if you want a change of pace, funny and exciting, and better that 90% of the other movies at Blockbuster, I highly recommend this movie.

Check out my reviews of all things Japanese:

My Neighbor Totoro
Across the Nightingale Floor
Grass For His Pillow
Brilliance of the Moon
Onmyoji II
Onmyoji
The Hidden Fortress
Hellboy: Storm of Swords
Vexille
Sanjuro
The Hidden Blade
Yaji & Kita: Midnight Pilgrims
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Gay Tales of the Samurai
Howl's Moving Castle
Ghost Dog
Memoirs of a Geisha (Book)
Memoirs of Geisha (Movie)
The Last Samurai
The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass
Taboo
Forbidden Colors

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8