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The Hidden Fortress poster

Movies that feel likeThe Hidden Fortress (1958)

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

If you loved The Hidden Fortress, the closest films we have are Dersu Uzala (1975), Throne of Blood (1957) and Where Is The Friend's House? (1987). All three share The Hidden Fortress' contemplative and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Come Drink with Me (1966).

🍅 96% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Akira Kurosawacontemplativekineticepicwarm
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If The Hidden Fortress hit the spot, these will too

Dersu Uzala poster
Dersu Uzala
1975 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 73%★ 8.2adventure · drama

Akira Kurosawa working the same nerve twice

The difference: Trades the momentum of The Hidden Fortress for an angle of its own

A military explorer meets and befriends a Goldi man in Russia’s unmapped forests. A deep and abiding bond evolves between the two men, one civilized in the usual sense, the other at home in the glacial Siberian woods.

Throne of Blood poster
Throne of Blood
1957 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 96%★ 8drama · historyMax

Akira Kurosawa directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Sits closer to history than The Hidden Fortress does

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Where Is The Friend's House? poster
Where Is The Friend's House?
1987 · dir. Abbas Kiarostami
🍅 100%★ 8.1drama · adventure

Contemplative where it counts, epic underneath

The difference: 29 years apart, and the 1980s show

An 8-year-old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.

The Wages of Fear poster
The Wages of Fear
1953 · dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
🍅 100%★ 8.1drama · thriller · adventureMax

Common ground: male friendship

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than The Hidden Fortress does

In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad poster
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
1958 · dir. Nathan Juran
🍅 100%★ 7action · adventure · family

The same mix in both: momentum, then warmth

When the lovely Princess Parisa is shrunken by wicked Sokurah the Magician, Sinbad must embark on a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.

Come Drink with Me poster
Come Drink with Me
1966 · dir. King Hu
🍅 100%★ 6.9action · adventure

Kinetic action, and it commits to that

Golden Sparrow is a fighter-for-hire who has been contracted by the local government to retrieve the governor's kidnapped son. Holding him is a group of rebels who are demanding that their leader be released from prison in return for the captured son. After a brief encounter with the gang at a local restaurant, Golden Sparrow is joined by an inebriated wanderer Drunken Cat who aids her in her mission.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin poster
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
1978 · dir. Lau Kar-leung
🍅 83%★ 7.6action · adventurePrime Video

Both lean on scale more than on adventure

During the Qing Dynasty, a fishmonger is killed by the reigning Manchu government for supporting the anti-government movement; his son manages to escape to Shaolin Temple, where he plans to learn its secretive brand of martial arts to seek revenge.

War poster
War
2019 · dir. Siddharth Anand
🍅 71%★ 6.6action · thriller · adventureNetflix

Warm drama in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Khalid, entrusted with the task of eliminating former soldier turned rogue Kabir, engages in an epic battle with his mentor who taught him everything.

Koi... Mil Gaya poster
Koi... Mil Gaya
2003 · dir. Rakesh Roshan
🍅 80%★ 7.2science fiction · action · adventure

Action with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

A developmentally disabled boy's life changes after he encounters an extraterrestrial being.

Ran poster
Ran
1985 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 96%★ 8.2action · drama · history

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

The Elephant Man poster
The Elephant Man
1980 · dir. David Lynch
🍅 91%★ 8.2drama · history

Adventure built on stillness, twice over

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.

Seven Samurai poster
Seven Samurai
1954 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 100%★ 8.6action · dramaMax

The same preoccupation in both: japan

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Hidden Fortress’ defining feeling.