The Hidden Fortress

The BFI is bringing out Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress in Blu-ray and 4K UHD. This review is for the UHD offering.

It was, in 1958, the directors first foray into widescreen. I first remember watching it on TV, probably BBC2, 14" analog, 4x3 and somewhat fuzzy. Despite the poor quality its greatness shone through. In 4K you can truly appreciate the deep focus that Kurosawa made such beautiful use of. The landscapes of the Hōrai Valley and Mount Fugi have crisp detail and a sense of expansiveness. The wipes that later Lucas would borrow for Star Wars, are more evocative of the passage of space and time.

There are technical reasons why High Dynamic Range is particularly effective with black and white film, especial if the director, like Kurosawa, has expressionist leanings. The colour gamut used for DVD and Blu-ray doesn't have enough of darkest greys and the relative difference between them is large. It can cause dark images to look a bit scrappy. HDR alleviates the problem.

The special features start with the audio commentary by Tony Rayns, an expert in Japanese cinema. It is a two hour information dump of everything you would want to know about the film, from its relationship with Noh theatre to the cultural significance of a type of flute. It's one to watch after the film, split into three or four episodes.

As on the other recent BFI releases of Kurosawa's films, there is the relevant episode of the Toho series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful To Create. Filmed in 2002 each episode documents one of the directors films. In addition there is a 2001 interview with George Lucas. It is fairly short. I have the impression that no matter the length, Lucas would always have something else to say about Kurosawa. The final entry on the disc is a trailer probably from about 1963. It is for The Hidden Fortress showing alongside Yojimbo and Sanjuro.

There is a booklet that goes with the first pressing which contain a few essays on the film. It makes for a short but enjoyable read.

Reviewed on: 18 Aug 2025