Rating: 
Summary: Inspired Star Wars, a Great Movie
Review: The Hidden Fortress may have inspired Star Wars but it is a hilarious and exciting movie in its own right. 3 thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: The Original Star Wars ... even George Lucas admits it
Review: This is the story, including the characters (left virtually intact) that became Star Wars. Take away the special effects, and here it is.
Rating:
Summary: Epic!
Review: This is the first "new"(to me) Hurosawa film that I have seen in the past few years. It is faster paced than Seven Samurai and has a "Mythical" quality that Yojimbo and Rashomon Lack. This may be my favorite Kurosawa film so far.Seven Samurai and Hidden Fortess both have overlapping casts, but the characters that actors play are so different that it really shows the depth of their talent. The print quality and sound are better preserved than other Kurosawa films.
Rating: 
Summary: CROUCHING SAMURAI, HIDDEN FORTRESS
Review: Thanks to Criterion, here is another title that will find its place in your library : Akira Kurosawa's HIDDEN FORTRESS. Shot in Tohoscope and in b&w, this 1958 action film may easily be compared to any Hollywood movies of the late fifties. In fact, HIDDEN FORTRESS is superior to most of the american productions of that period for a simple reason : Akira Kurosawa had a personal style very recognizable while Hollywood directors were very often only yes-men hired by producers for their technical skills. The first 5 minutes of HIDDEN FORTRESS are already a moment of anthology. As well as the duel scene involving a fabulous Toshiro Mifune. The cinematography is gorgeous, Akira Kurosawa filming a wide variety of landscapes under the sun, the rain, in the fog, by day and by night : simply stunning. If you are not familiar with japanese movies, HIDDEN FORTRESS or YOJIMBO, also available in the Criterion Collection, could be an excellent introduction to this cinema that has produced numerous masterpieces. As bonus features, a trailer and a 10 minutes interview with George Lucas recorded in january 2001. The american producer confirms that HIDDEN FORTRESS had a great influence on him while he was writing the Luke Skywalker saga. Movie lovers had already noticed it a long time ago. A DVD zone reference.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre, for Kurosawa
Review: Granted, Kurosawa's mediocre is any other director's masterpiece, but still, I thought this 1958 effort fell somewhat short. It doesn't have that incredible narrative crispness that the best Kurosawa has--"Seven Samurai," which is nearly an hour longer, feels about half the length of this film. No, the major point of interest in "The Hidden Fortress" for me was its inspiration of "Star Wars." This won't go down as one of my Kurosawa favorites. Grade: B-
Rating:
Summary: Solid, but Not Exactly Legendary
Review: I'd heard rumblings about the films of the great director Akira Kurosawa for years before I finally got the chance to sit down and absorb some of his work. Famous directors, actors and critics sung his praises, credited him as an inspiration and labeled him as a legendary figure in film history. And, honestly, perhaps this is a film I'll grow to love after repeated viewings. Maybe I allowed all of Kurosawa's mystique to precede him, inflating my expectations to the point that they could never truly be met. Perhaps I'm overlooking the historical timeframe of the film, comparing it to 2005's feature-lengths rather than its 1958 contemporaries. All things considered, however, as my first exposure to the man's work, "The Hidden Fortress" was a bit of a let-down.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the film, actually more to the contrary. This story of two greedy peasants, a stern, intelligent old warrior and a strong-willed young princess was generally very charming and entertaining. I found some of the translation to be a little awkward, especially in the way it integrated more modern phrases into what was obviously a period piece, (somehow I have trouble accepting the idea that anyone in feudal Japan would have casually spit out a phrase like "this sucks") but on the large the conversion from Japanese to English was done well and lacked some of the hiccups that are usually associated with an East-to-West translation. The plot is simple, yet not without intrigue; rumor has it that, years and years ago, a wealthy overlord hid his fortune of gold somewhere within his home. The tale is set near the end of a bitter war, and each character has a vested interest in recovering the secret stash and returning it to the safety of a non-warring territory. The first hour and a half moves fantastically, with the heightened tensions of the war, (and the uncertainty of every non-central character's loyalties) along with the constant inspections of occupying troops, really adding a touch of drama and tension to the journey. Had it not trudged onward for another hour, I'd have given it top marks. As is, it feels like the clean, simple main story was overrun with enough subplots and side stories to cover a whole trilogy. When it came to be time to wrap things up, the simple act of tying loose ends added another sixty minutes to the running time and just killed my excitement for both the story and the characters.
The disc is a little light on extras, including the original theatrical trailer (itself featuring a few clips of the film's production, nowhere to be found elsewhere on the disc) and an interview with George Lucas, along with the standard language and chapter selection tools. The Lucas interview, conducted especially for Criterion's DVD release of the film, barely gets rolling before it comes to an end and is largely disappointing. His acknowledgement that he borrowed a few ideas from "Hidden Fortress" in "Star Wars" isn't expanded into as much detail as I'd hoped, (considering it was that same remark on the "Star Wars" bonus disc that got me interested in this film in the first place) and he dances around the assumption that Princess Leia bears more than a few similarities to Princess Yukihime of "Fortress."
The video looks spectacular for a film that's nearly fifty years old, but that should almost go without saying when Criterion is concerned. It's particularly telling to watch the Trailer, which wasn't restored, immediately before or after viewing the film itself.
All in all, I was largely entertained and plan to further investigate Kurosawa's work, but felt the length of "Fortress" was almost crippling.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible English translation; buy the VHS version
Review: How arrogant it is for Criterion to describe their new English translation as "New & improved English subtitle translation".
Don't believe it.
I bought the Criterion DVD, and was stunned to find how dreadful the new translation is.
I would suggest to all serious movie fans that you buy the VHS version of this film that has the older translation, and comapre the two versions.
The new version seems to be going out of it's way to combribute to what has been called the "dumbing down" of society.
I would also suggest, if your budget is limited, that you buy the older VHS versions of the Janus collection of classical international films. That way you will be certain to get the older English translations which are far superior to Criterion's newer versions.
It is very sad that Criterion is the only company selling the old Janus classic film series, on DVD. They should be ashamed of themselves for their hubris, and arrogance.
But, like most companies these days, they are in it for the movie, and to hell with culture.
Rating:
Summary: whoa...
Review: Did not expect much when a friend recommended this film after I mentioned I liked Yojimbo. I had heard Lucas and a half dozen other film makers had used it as a reference (and in retrospect Kurosawa was undoubtedly influenced by serial adventures just as Lucas and Spielberg would be years later) but had not heard more. Man. Really good. Kurosawa creates this impossible journey full of courage, cowardice, faith, humor and above all excitement. Many dismiss it as bubblegum compared to his other efforts (including the titans Seven Samurai and Yojimbo). Well, I'll just keep on chewing then. On a par with his best films and any films for that matter. Criterion Collection rocks. Nuff said.
Rating:
Summary: Kurosawa's second class is still impressive
Review: Although Toshiro Mifune gives once more a fine resital of acting, the story of "Hidden Fortress" is weak and long drawn to more than two hours. The main theme is double: the greed of the poor people in medieval Japan who were herded and crushed by the warlords like ants, and the rare opportunity of a princess to catch a glimpse of the real world of her vassals when she becomes a fugitive. Mifune plays the general Macabe who is a master of the martial arts and the main protector of the princess. The film follows the traditional Kurosawa lines but can not compare with the "Seven Samurai" and the "Throne of Blood".
Rating:
Summary: Good adventure, but a little dated.
Review: I really like this movie. Toshiro Mifune attempts to restore the princess and her realm. They carry a hidden treasure through many dangers. They win in the end, with the help of (or despite the help of) a pair of somewhat loyal but dim-witted and venal retainers.
George Lucas claims that this helped inspire the original Star Wars movie. Don't look for an exact replica, though, the inspiration wasn't that direct. That just makes it more enjoyable, though, trying to figure out which moments in Hidden Fortress went into Star Wars, and how.
It's black and white - something I like, as a change, and I'm very glad it wasn't corrupted by colorization. The acting style is a bit posed and un-natural, by today's standards, but wasn't written to meet today's standards. Maybe the harshness in the princess' voice was meant to convey authority, but just sounded shrill to me. Well, the movie conveys the time in which it was made, not just the time it depicts, and I like that look back to recent movie-making history.
It's a good movie by itself, and important in the history of movies. Today's attention-deficient action junkies may find it slow at times, but that's hardly the fault of the movie. I like this one, and I'm sure I'll like it again when I see it again.
//wiredweird
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