Pickford Film Center

Thanks to our sponsor:

Rocket Donuts

Log in

Pickford Film Center and Western Libraries present...

Masters of Japanese Cinema

Masters of Japanese Cinema is a new series for Pickford Film Center, shining a light on the rich history of Japanese cinema, from old masters such as Ozu, Akira Kurosawa and Naruse, to modern masters such as Miyazaki, Kore-eda, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Curated by Jeff Purdue, a librarian and professor at Western Washington University. In addition to his library duties, he occasionally teaches classes on popular music at Fairhaven College. He is an avid fan and student of Japanese film and popular music.

The Hidden Fortress

 Showing at Pickford Pickford
  • Tue. 6/4 TBD

139 minutes • 1958 • Japan • In Japanese w/ English subtitles • Unrated

Film Trailer

PFC's Masters of Japanese Cinema

"By introducing comedy into the mixture and telling the tale from an atypical perspective, Kurosawa has differentiated The Hidden Fortress from nearly every similar feudal era Japanese epic ever committed to the screen. This is a masterpiece." James Berardinelli, ReelViews

A general and a princess must dodge enemy clans while smuggling the royal treasure out of hostile territory with two bumbling, conniving peasants at their sides; it’s a spirited adventure that only Akira Kurosawa could create. Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s inimitably deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action and humanist compassion on an epic scale.