This film just clocks by without you ever noticing that it's 2 hours and 19 minutes long. With all the battles, the comedy and the perfect characterizations, I don't think there's a film lover out there who wouldn't enjoy this movie. Personally, I know anything with Toshiro Mifune in it will be forever welcome in my home. The Hidden Fortress was Kurosawa's first foray into widescreen filmmaking and it's important to note that, because this is one glorious looking film. Kurosawa knew how to fill a frame and, when given wide-open vistas, he told some remarkable stories.
Contrast is deep, whites are luminous and the detail is fierce.
Even the print is remarkable, at least thanks to digital clean-up. There's little to no damage visible on this print, and we're all the better for it. The sound is simply okay, but there's no reason to expect DTS quality here. We're given a very nice original release mono, as well as a Dolby Digital 3.0 reconstruction of the novelty soundtrack Perspecta, which utilized 3 separate bass tracks to give the front left, center and right channels a more natural and dynamic sound. It's really the way to go here, and it sounds very good, with active effects and nice clear dialogue.