Details

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 the 1959 Berlin Film Festival. Some 20 years on, the film's influence would have even greater impact on the world when George Lucas borrowed elements of its plot for the first of his Star Wars series.

With a new 4K Restoration, Akira Kuroasawa's much-loved classic The Hidden Fortress is released on 4K UHD 18th August 2025 from Bfi.

Special Features

  • Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
  • Newly recorded audio commentary by Japanese-film expert Tony Rayns
  • BFI Screen Epiphanies: Steven Berkoff (2015, 18 mins): in a wide-ranging discussion with journalist Ian Hadyn Smith, the actor, writer and theatre director reflects on The Hidden Fortress, the talents of Toshiro Mifune and his first viewing of the film in the late 1950s
  • Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create - Hidden Fortress (2002, 41 mins): documentary about the making of The Hidden Fortress, with contributions from director Akira Kurosawa, production designer Yoshiro Muraki, actor Toshiro Mifune and script supervisor Teruyo Nogami
  • Interview with George Lucas (2001, 8 mins)
  • Original trailer
  • Illustrated booklet with a new essay on the film by Kenta McGrath, How Star Wars Conquered Cinema with the Help of The Hidden Fortress by Graham Hughes, Kurosawa on The Hidden Fortress (1964) and an original review