The Hidden Fortress (1958)

Toshirô Mifune: General Rokurota Makabe

Photos 

Quotes 

• General Rokurota Makabe : Hide a stone among stones and a man among men.

• The Old General, Izumi Nagakura : How long can we rely on them?

  General Rokurota Makabe : We can rely on their greed. Make them carry gold and they'll put up with anything.

• The Old General, Izumi Nagakura : This is good! To fool the Yamana by going through enemy lines.

  General Rokurota Makabe : This was the peasants' idea. Depending on their answers, I was ready to kill them. But hearing their plan to go through Yamana to Hayakawa, I was stunned.

  The Old General, Izumi Nagakura : Sometimes even moss can be smart.

• Tahei : Uh...

  [He realizes Matashichi is about to speak, and tries to let him speak, but Matashichi wordlessly urges, 'No, you first!'] 

  Tahei : What... are you doing here in the mountains?

  General Rokurota Makabe : What about you?

  Tahei : [stunned]  Us? We intend to cross... the border.

  General Rokurota Makabe : The border?

  [Matashichi nods] 

  Matakishi : We want to go to Hayakawa.

  General Rokurota Makabe : Hayakawa? But beyond the mountains it's Yamana.

  [Tahei and Matashichi briefly exchange glances and both stand up] 

  Tahei : [nervously]  Yes... but you see...

  [Tahei crouches, and begins to draw in the dirt with a stick] 

  Tahei : t-to go to H-Hayakawa... this is Hayakawa... and this is...

  [He continues to draw on his diagram] 

  Tahei : Akizuki where we are now.

  [He draws another picture of a plot of land] 

  Tahei : This is Yamana. Yamana, see? We want to go from, uh, Akizuki to Hayakawa. But the border is guarded by Yamana soldiers. So, uh, we'll cross first into Yamana right there, and then slip into Hayakawa. See...

  [He glances at Matashichi] 

  Matakishi : See... there's no way that the survivors of the Akizuki clan would go to Yamana, the enemy territory. So, uh, the border between Akizuki and Yamana... should be open.

  [Tahei laughs nervously] 

  Tahei : That's right, that's right. Th-the Hayakawa-Yamana border, uh, should be easy to cross, than the, uh, Akizuki-Hayakawa border.

  [He and Matashichi nod in agreement] 

  Tahei : Anyway, we're just peasants. Even if anything happened we'd still make it.

  [Rokurota bursts out laughing] 

  General Rokurota Makabe : All right, I've made up my mind. Going through Yamana is a good idea.

• Matashichi : Where is she? Who is she?

  General Rokurota Makabe : I don't know. She's really quick, though. She's already gone. Look. She's mine, okay? I'll kill you if you go near her.

• Princess Yuki : Buy that girl back.

  General Rokurota Makabe : I cannot.

  Princess Yuki : Why not? I am the Princess of Akizuki. I can't bear to see one of our own in trouble.

  General Rokurota Makabe : No, you're the one in trouble. Your kindness will be your downfall.

  Princess Yuki : I don't care! Buy her back.

• General Rokurota Makabe : [sees Tahei and Matashichi scrambling down the rocks, trying to escape]  Hey! where are you going?

  Tahei : Boss, run! The Yamana soldiers found us! There were horses by the spring!

  General Rokurota Makabe : Idiots! I stole those.

  Tahei , Matakishi : Huh?

• [General Makabe emerges from the fortress on a misty morning, clutching Tahei by the collar of his rags] 

  General Rokurota Makabe : Where's Matashichi?

  Tahei : I don't know!

  [Makabe drags the shifty peasant down the steps into the courtyard] 

  Tahei : Ow, ow, ow...

  General Rokurota Makabe : What are you up to?

  Tahei : H-he-he's gone to the town...

  General Rokurota Makabe : The town? What for?

  Tahei : To- to tell the soldiers...

  General Rokurota Makabe : Tell them what?

  Tahei : A-about the Princess, of course!

  General Rokurota Makabe : The Princess?

  [Makabe let's go of Tahei in surprise. Tahei scrambles away, wailing and screaming. He's now standing on the other side of the trench that Makabe forced him and Matashichi to dig] 

  Tahei : We ain't... as stupid as you think! You thought you'd fooled us! We know you... that ten ryo you had... it's from the war funds you stole! On top of that, you intend to get a reward for the Princess! We ain't gonna let you!

  General Rokurota Makabe : I was wrong to trust such scum.

  Tahei : Look who's talking- you're the scum!

• Tahei : Hey! What's your name?

  General Rokurota Makabe : Me? I'm Rokurota Makabe.

  Tahei : Rokurota Makabe? I've heard that name before.

  Matashichi : Makabe?

  Matashichi , Tahei : Makabe?

  Tahei : be?

  Matashichi : Makabe?

  Matashichi , Tahei : Rokurota? Eh?

  Matashichi : Get out of here! Rokurota Makabe is a legendary Akizuki samurai general! You take us for fools?

  [Makabe laughs and walks away] 

  Tahei : We shouldn't put up with this.

  Matashichi : Hey! Stop fooling around! You're no gereral. You're just a bully. What's with the big attitude?

  [Makabe continues laughing] 

  Matashichi : Don't make fun of us! Damn you!

• The Old General, Izumi Nagakura : What shall we do with the princess? We can disguise her looks, but not her class and her speech.

  General Rokurota Makabe : Her Highness will have to be a mute.

• Old Lady-in-Waiting : I don't know what to do with her Highness. It'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. Insensitive to your pain of having sacrificed your sister, she herself doesn't shed a tear, but she still criticizes you. It's too much.

  General Rokurota Makabe : Her Highness is the real sacrifice. Her suffering is having to rebuild the Akizuki clan.