Plot

Kurosawa classic Hidden Fortress gets a blockbuster makeover in the 2008 epic remake The Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess (a.k.a. Kakushi Toride no San Akunin: The Last Princess). Director Higuchi Shinji’s last two films, The Sinking of Japan and Lorelei, are good indicators of what’s new on the menu. Keenly aware of how to make a film a cinematic event, Higuchi updates the classic story with thrilling action, striking special effects, and idol leads, while at the same time retaining the original’s core narrative and themes. Nagasawa Masami (Crying Out Love in the Center of the World) stars as the naive spoiled princess whose eyes are opened by her journey into the real world, and popular actor Hiroshi Abe (Trick) steps into the hallowed shoes of Mifune Toshiro to play her grizzled samurai protector. Arashi’s Matsumoto Jun (Hana Yori Dango: Final), in a role greatly expanded in comparison to the original film, plays the hot-blooded peasant who becomes the princess’s unlikely hero and romantic interest.

After the Akizuku clan fall in defeat to rival clan Yamana, Princess Yuki (Nagasawa Masami) and general Rokurota (Hiroshi Abe), take cover in a hidden fortress, along with their clan and gold treasury. Fortuitously stumbling into the hideaways, brash young miner Takezo (Matsumoto Jun) and his bumbling sidekick Shinhachi (Miyagawa Daiuske) hatch a daring plan to he­lp transport the gold out of enemy terrain – in exchange for a share of the stash, of course. With assassins hot in pursuit, Yuki disguises as a male and ventures into the real world with Rukurota and her peasant companions, getting her first taste of danger, toil, and budding romance with the strong-minded and willful Takezo.

Cast

• Jun Matsumoto
• Masami Nagasawa
• Daisuke Miyagawa
• Hiroshi Abe
• Kippei Shiina
• Jun Kunimura

Download

• CD 1 | English sub (not yet)
• CD 2 | English sub (not yet)