TOHO COMPANY, LTD. Presents
(The three villains of) THE HlDDEN FORTRESS
Executive Producers SANEZUMl FUJlMOTO & AKlRA KUROSAWA
Starring
TOSHlRO MlFUNE
Directed by AKlRA KUROSAWA
Stay away from me!
You stink of dead bodies.
Give it up. We both smell of corpses.
And it's all your fault!
Your smell makes me want to puke.
Though shitworms can't smell shit.
What?
You're a shitworm. You make me sick.
And you thought we'd make a fortune at the war.
What's funny, you idiot!
lt's all funny!
First, we arrived late to the war.
Then they mistook us for the defeated side
and forced us to bury the dead.
We finally escaped and now it's been 2 days we've only had water.
But the funniest thing is your foolish cry baby face.
Let's go home.
Don't you have any pride?
We've even been stripped of the arms we sold our homes for.
We can't go home like this.
Then take it off this dead guy.
Even if l'm desperate, l'm not a thief.
Do what you want. l'm going!
Go. l'll come home after l make a buck.
Don't come crying to me then.
Get caught again and be a gravedigger.
Fool! Go away!
lt'll be a blessing to see you go, you shitworm.
We can't cross the border from this road.
lt's a Yamana check station.
Not even a mouse could pass through those barricades.
lf they find us, we're dead.
What now?
Unless a fog breaks out, we can't move.
What does it say up there?
lt's a notice about a reward for 1 0 pieces of gold.
Read it to me.
''Wanted. Princess Yuki of Akizuki.''
''A reward of ten ryo for her capture.''
''Three ryo for information of her whereabouts.''
''By order of the Lord of Yamana.''
- Move! - Walk!
l'm not one of them.
l'm thankful for the fog but l can't see anything.
Which way is Hayakawa?
Shut up and follow me!
Who is it?
Not grave digging again.
Matashichi!
Listen!
There is 200 kan of pure gold hidden in this castle.
Until you find it, you're no longer men but moles!
So dig! Dig until you drop, moles!
Matashichi, this is hell.
lt's the end!
lf we're going to die, let's die together.
That way!
Thieves! Rice thieves!
What shall we do now?
Find the Princess.
The Princess?
The sole survivor of the Akizuki clan.
l think the reward on her head is ten ryo.
Ten pieces of gold?
lnformers get three.
Three pieces of gold?
lt's no good. That's only a dream.
lf we get greedy and get caught, we're done for.
l guess we'd better go home.
But how will we cross the border?
Bang and we're dead.
Let's eat.
l can't think on an empty stomach.
Not ready.
These don't burn at all.
What's this?
Why, it's gold!
You're right! lt's gold!
But...a piece of gold... inside a stick?
l've heard of a rich man hiding gold in the pillars of his home, but...
What's this? An insignia!
Looks like a crescent.
The crescent is the Akizuki crest!
That's the reserve gold they were digging for in the castle.
You made the fire - where did you get the wood?
Let's split up and look.
l'll go this way. You go over there to the marsh.
The same piece!
What are you doing?
One's mine!
l found both!
l found the stick first.
l threw it!
l picked up the gold!
Liar! l'm the one who noticed it was gold.
- Let's go back. - Back?
There must be more.
lf someone else notices it, we're screwed.
He's following us.
Watch out. Maybe he's a bandit.
He's not a bandit. He has no sword.
You can't be sure. He may work for one.
He stopped following us.
Let's go back.
No, better be careful.
lt's late, anyway. lt won't hurt to wait one night.
lt's a big job. Better safe than sorry.
We haven't seen that guy since, so maybe we didn't need to worry.
Probably a lumberjack or a charcoal maker.
So, let's get this straight now.
What?
Don't play dumb. How to split up the gold.
Let's be fair and divide it equally.
You don't like it?
- But l... - Then it's settled! All right?
Let's sleep.
Sleep tight, and let's dream of mountains of gold.
Hey!
Good eve...
Hey!
Cold, isn't it?
What are you doing here in the mountain?
How about you?
- Us? We intend to cross the border. - The border?
- We want to go to Hayakawa. - Hayakawa?
But beyond the mountains it's Yamana.
Yes...but you see...
to go to Hayakawa...
This is Hayakawa.
And this is Akizuki
where we are now.
This is...Yamana.
We want to go from Akizuki to Hayakawa.
But the border is guarded by Yamana soldiers.
So, we'll cross first to Yamana.
And then slip into Hayakawa.
See...
There's no way that survivors of the Akizuki clan
would go to Yamana, the enemy territory.
So the border between Akizuki and Yamana should be open.
That's right.
The Hayakawa-Yamana border must be
easier to cross than the Akizuki-Hayakawa border.
Anyway, we're just peasants.
Even if anything happened, we'd still make it.
All right. l've made up my mind.
Going through Yamana is a good idea.
The 200 gold pieces are useless here, but with three men
and three horses, we can carry it out.
200 gold pieces? What are you talking about?
Be honest.
l've got an eye on that place.
- Don't kick the stones. - You stop grabbing my leg.
What now?
What is he doing?
He's not here.
Where did he go?
That guy can't be trusted.
What is this place?
lt's what they call a hidden fortress.
A hidden fortress? The Akizuki one.
Look. You can see all of Yamana.
But...
For a fortress, it's strangely empty.
Someone's here!
What are you doing?
Oh, it's that guy.
Hey. Come down quickly.
How did you get down there?
What are your names?
l'm Matashichi.
l'm Tahei.
Matashichi, put the rice down.
Tahei, you put the rice in the pot.
Hurry up!
Where's the water? l need a drink before the food.
Me too. l can't even spit anymore.
Hey. What's your name?
Me? l'm Rokurota Makabe.
Rokurota Makabe? l've heard that name before.
Makabe...
Rokurota Makabe...
Get out of here. Rokurota Makabe
is a legendary Akizuki samurai general.
You take us for fools.
We shouldn't put up with this.
Hey. Stop fooling around. You're no general, you're just a bully.
What's with the big attitude?
Don't make fun of us. Damn you.
What?
That wasn't very nice.
You could have told us if there was a secret passageway.
We've been partners since last night.
Besides, just because you found this place first,
doesn't mean you're the boss.
Let's decide now how we're going to divvy up.
Fair and square, we share it in three equal parts. Deal?
Here's the water.
Excellent.
This is some fortress that they have water like this.
Don't bother. l already went through there.
Just prepare the rice.
Shut up. l can't take it anymore. You can stuff your orders.
You want to fight?
Don't hold back. Do him in.
Cook the rice.
lt's a girl.
Where is she? Who is she?
l don't know. She's really quick though. She's already gone.
Look. She's mine, OK? l'll kill you if you go near her.
Cook and then it's work.
What are you doing?
Don't touch me, fool! lt's uncomfortable enough.
lt's your face that makes me uncomfortable.
Leave my face alone.
l hate the way you blink all the time.
There you go again.
Shut up. Put your filthy teeth away.
Show them to me once more and l'll bash them in.
l'm quitting! This is idiotic! l dig and dig and nothing!
lt's his fault.
Dammit. Gone again.
He's on his highhorse watching us do all the work.
Right. He's probably running around looking for that girl.
Maybe he already found a place and is sleeping with her.
We agreed to split everything in three. The girl should be the same.
That bully is not just anyone.
l can't figure out what he's up to.
He may already have found the 200 pieces of gold and moved them.
That's very likely. l'm sure of it.
That means he's hiding the gold right now.
So if he's not in this fortress...
Look!
That spring is fishy.
Pretending like he's already checked it out...damn.
Where do you live?
Hey, lady, don't be mad.
What are you doing?
Shut up! l told you l'd kill you if you touched her!
Wait, boss. lt's not fair.
Look. The girl dropped this.
Don't go behind our back. She's worth 1 0 ryo.
This does not belong to a country girl.
Maybe you think she's the Akizuki princess.
You're right.
That comb does belong to Princess Yuki.
But now it belongs to me. Give it back.
l took it from the Princess and gave it to her.
What?
l don't lie.
Then where is Princess Yuki?
l captured her and handed her over to the Yamana authorities.
Careful. l think he's full of crap.
Here's the reward of 1 0 ryo. Still think it's a lie?
Tell me. Where did Matashichi go?
l don't know.
What are you plotting? Tell me!
To...to the town.
To do what?
He went to report.
Report who?
- The princess, of course. - The princess?
We're not as stupid as you think.
You thought you had fooled us but we're not that gullible.
l know your game.
Your reward money is just a part of the hidden gold.
You're greedy on top of it.
You want to capture the princess yourself
so you can have all the reward.
lt won't go so smoothly.
l made a mistake by relying on scum.
You think you're better, scum?
Matashichi, did you see the officers?
Fool. Do you think l'd be back so soon?
lt's the talk of town already. The princess was captured
a while back and she was beheaded yesterday.
Boss, we're sorry we doubted you.
lt's Rokurota Makabe.
Enter.
Any news?
Kofuyu served her duty.
The enemy will relax their guard now.
Now is our chance to escape.
What happened to Kofuyu?
As a dutiful servant, my sister went in place of your Highness.
This assures the safety of your Highness.
Rokurota!
Fool!
What are you saying your Highness?
Kofuyu was 1 6...l am 1 6. What difference is there in our souls?
lt is our duty as servants. Kofuyu was honored...
Lies! lf l were Kofuyu, l would curse this Princess.
Your words are too harsh. Rokurota has no leg to stand on.
Be quiet!
l don't even want to see your face!
Your nobility that doesn't even shed a tear
when you've killed your sister.
l hate it!
l don't know what to do with her Highness. lt's the Lord's fault.
Even if he was lacking an heir,
it was cruel to raise her Highness like a boy.
Say right and she'll go left, say left and she'll go right.
And though she is a girl, she has never shown me a tear.
The same with her present behavior.
lnsensitive to your pain of having sacrificed your sister, she...
She herself does not shed a tear, but she still criticizes you.
lt's too much.
Her Highness is the real sacrifice.
Her suffering of having to rebuild the Akizuki clan...
The Yamana's are here!
There are horses at the spring.
This is good, to fool the Yamana's by going through enemy lines.
This was the peasants' idea.
Depending on their answers, l was ready to kill them.
But hearing their plan to go through Yamana to Hayakawa,
l was stunned.
Sometimes even moss can be smart...
How long can we rely on them?
We can rely on their greed.
Make them carry gold and they'll put up with anything.
That takes care of the gold.
But we cannot take a chance with the Princess.
But staying here is not safe either.
This hidden fortress will soon be discovered by the Yamana's too.
And our deal with Lord Hayakawa may not last either.
Understood.
But what shall we do with the Princess?
We can disguise her looks, but not her class.
And her speech...
Her Highness will have to be a mute.
A mute...isn't there any other way?
There isn't.
l don't know if the Princess would agree.
Leave it to me.
l hadn't ridden in a long time.
She runs fast. She's too good to be a packhorse.
Just in case you need to ride.
So we finally pass through enemy lines.
- Speaking of which, could you play mute? - Mute?
l'm sure you couldn't do it.
To go through Yamana, my greatest concern is your speech.
We were discussing you could be a mute...
But l think it's impossible.
l was captured once and had to pretend to be a mute.
lt was agony.
Your Highness couldn't take it.
l'm not biting.
When you say right, l say left.
l'm a handful.
Let me use reverse psychology.
Princess.
All right.
This once l will let you fool me. Otherwise your plan will be foiled.
Your noble face again.
lf you need anything, tell me now.
Once l'm a mute, l'm not talking until Hayakawa.
We have to tell him.
The bully? Never mind him.
ldiot, shut up. We'll get caught.
Where are you going?
Boss, run! The Yamana soldiers have found us.
There were horses by the spring.
ldiots. l stole those.
We can't carry 200 pieces of gold without them.
Gold?
We'll climb down today.
Where is the gold?
Hey. Where is the gold?
Don't hold out on us. Come on.
l knew it!
Don't fool around with us.
You said you had already gone through there.
Why did you make us dig at the fortress?
l was testing you.
We'll need a lot of backbone on the road. You did well.
Lift the gold out of the water and onto the horses.
The three of us will carry the rest.
Gold!
Leave the gold in the wood.
Dammit.
Where did you hide this?
You're so suspicious. That's just firewood.
lt's a bad idea to take the girl. She'll slow us down.
What if she blabs...
- She's mute. Don't worry. - Mute?
This will be an easy border to cross.
Wait.
Better be cautious.
Don't move 'til l come back.
lf we want to get rid of him, now's our chance.
Don't worry. She's mute.
She's mute but she can hear.
Stupid. A mute can't speak because she's deaf.
This is where we have to think.
He's sly so we can't trust him even if we cross into Hayakawa.
He'll cheat us.
Let's run away.
What about his load?
We can't carry it. We'll take his horse.
There's no time to argue.
Let's tell her we're taking the horses for a drink.
Fool. They're not drinking sake.
What are you doing?
Where are the horses?
What shall we do?
Princess!
lt's frustrating to be a mute. All l can do is watch.
The two of them?
Out of greed, they took the horses.
Then the enemy spotted them. Fine allies.
You!
We can't cross that river.
There is a firing squad on the other side.
l know your game. Take the gold and get lost.