Cinema DNA

The Hidden Fortress

1958 · Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Japan

1 country

Where the DNA of The Hidden Fortress travels

United States 1

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The Hidden Fortress poster

The Hidden Fortress

Japan · 1958

Influenced 1 film

1 film

Films it shaped

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope 1977 · George Lucas Atlas note Disney+

Atlas note · Japan → United States

George Lucas took the structural DNA of The Hidden Fortress, an epic war told from the perspective of two bickering underlings, and made C-3PO and R2-D2 its direct descendants. Lucas acknowledged this in a 2001 Criterion Collection interview. He didn't hide the influence; he canonized it. Kurosawa showed Lucas that great stories don't need great heroes, they need great storytelling. The Hidden Fortress is available on Criterion Channel.

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