Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess

Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess


隠し砦の三悪人 THE LAST PRINCESS
Kakushi Toride No San Akunin The Last Princess
Three Villains of the Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess
Director Shinji Higuchi
Original Screenplay Ryuzo Kikushima
Hideo Oguni
Shinobu Hashimoto
Akira Kurosawa
Adaptation Kazuki Nakashima
Second Unit Director Katsuhiro Onoe
Photography Shoji Ehara
Art Takeshi Shimizu
Lighting Shosuke Yoshisumi
Sound Atsushi Nakamura
Editor Soichi Ueno
Music Naoki Sato
Production Companies Toho, Nippon TV Network, Shogakukan, J Storm, Yomiuri TV Broadcasting, Chukyo TV Broadcasting, Yomiuri Shimbun, Dentsu
Release Date May 10, 2008
Runtime 118 minutes

隠し砦の三悪人 THE LAST PRINCESS
Kakushi Toride No San Akunin The Last Princess
Three Villains of the Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess
Director Shinji Higuchi
Original Screenplay Ryuzo Kikushima
Hideo Oguni
Shinobu Hashimoto
Akira Kurosawa
Adaptation Kazuki Nakashima
Second Unit Director Katsuhiro Onoe
Photography Shoji Ehara
Art Takeshi Shimizu
Lighting Shosuke Yoshisumi
Sound Atsushi Nakamura
Editor Soichi Ueno
Music Naoki Sato
Production Companies Toho, Nippon TV Network, Shogakukan, J Storm, Yomiuri TV Broadcasting, Chukyo TV Broadcasting, Yomiuri Shimbun, Dentsu
Release Date May 10, 2008
Runtime 118 minutes

In a time of civil war, the poor but ambitious province of Yamana invades the peaceful and rich province of Akizuki. Yamana intends to take Akizuki’s prized golden horde to enrich itself for a war against Akizuki’s ally Hayakawa. However, the last princess of Akizuki, Yuki, and the golden horde, go missing during the invasion. While Yamana razes the Akizuki castle, the enslaved peasants uncover a pocket of poison gas, which ignites and destroys most of the castle. Two peasants, Takezo and Shinpachi, take advantage of the confusion and escape. Takezo and Shinpachi discover gold hidden in hollow sticks laid out by a river bed. They are then captured by Rokurota, who is secretly a samurai of the Akizuki royal family. He uses them to guide him and Yuki, who is disguised as a boy, through Yamana’s territory and into Hayakawa. They all carry bundles of sticks, inside of which are hidden the golden bars of Akizuki. At the Yamana checkpoint, it is revealed that Yuki is in fact a girl, causing further tension between Rokurota and the peasants. Rokurota has a violent confrontation with Yamana soldiers, and Yuki is further revealed as the last Akizuki princess. Takezo bears a grudge against the samurai and ruling classes and is resentful at first, but softens at Yuki’s earnestness.

Lord Takayama, an officer of Yamana and Rokurota’s rival, pursues Yuki’s party and captures them. Rokurota pretends to slay Takezo, tricking Takayama’s men into thinking he is dead. Rokurota and Yuki are taken to Takayama’s hidden fortress, from which he plans to stage his war on Hayakawa. Takezo infiltrates the fortress and enlists the help of the other slaves. They uncover another pocket of poison gas, causing a mass panic to overrun the fortress. Takezo frees Yuki and Rokurota, and Rokurota duels Takayama while Takezo and Yuki escape. A gravely wounded Takayama threatens Rokurota with a pistol, then uses it to take his own life and ignite the poison gas at the same time. Rokurota miraculously escapes the inferno, and they all ride on to Hayakawa.

It is revealed that they were never carrying the actual gold bars of Akizuki, and that Akizuki peasants were instead entrusted with one gold bar each, and every last peasant had already crossed safely into Hayakawa to await the princess. Takezo and Shinpachi take their leave of the princess after she is safely escorted to the castle of Hayakawa.

Top Billed Cast

Jun Matsumoto
Takezo
Masami Nagasawa
Princess Yuki
Kippei Shiina
Lord Takayama
Daisuke Miyagawa
Shinpachi
Masahiro Komoto
Denbei Sagawa
Sarutoki Minagawa
Taihei
Kazushige Komatsu
Matashichi
Kenichiro Tanabe
Rikichi
Yuka Sakano
Osayo
Hashiya Nakamura
Masatada Nagakura
Jun Hashimoto
Yamana Slave Driver
Makoto Awane
Kusakami
Setsuko Kawaguchi
Old Akizuki Woman
Akio Otsuka
Narrator
Arata Furuta
Slave Dealer
Katsuhisa Namase
Gambler
Pierre Taki
Yamana Slave Driver
Yu Tokui
Old Man
Manami Kurose
Mitsu
KREVA
Yamana Prison Samurai
Takaya Kamikawa
Yamana Soldier
Jun Kunimura
Izumi Nagakura
Masahiro Takashima
Kyunoshin Honjo
Hiroshi Abe
Rokurota Makabe
Top Billed Cast

Takezo
Jun Matsumoto

Princess Yuki
Masami Nagasawa

Lord Takayama
Kippei Shiina

Shinpachi
Daisuke Miyagawa

Denbei Sagawa
Masahiro Komoto

Taihei
Sarutoki Minagawa

Matashichi
Kazushige Komatsu

Rikichi
Kenichiro Tanabe

Osayo
Yuka Sakano

Masatada Nagakura
Hashiya Nakamura

Yamana Slave Driver
Jun Hashimoto

Kusakami
Makoto Awane

Old Akizuki Woman
Setsuko Kawaguchi

Narrator
Akio Otsuka

Slave Dealer
Arata Furuta

Gambler
Katsuhisa Namase

Yamana Slave Driver
Pierre Taki

Old Man
Yu Tokui

Mitsu
Manami Kurose

Yamana Prison Samurai
KREVA

Yamana Soldier
Takaya Kamikawa

Izumi Nagakura
Jun Kunimura

Kyunoshin Honjo
Masahiro Takashima

Rokurota Makabe
Hiroshi Abe