The Influence and Imagery of Akira Kurosawa

I made this as an article for my website and made mention of it in that thread ("The secret history of Star Wars") but i thought that this might deserve its own topic.

As everyone knows, the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa has been very influential on Lucas. Most people know that he got the idea of Jedi from the samurai that Kurosawa portrayed, and that Kurosawa's film The Hidden Fortress provided the basis for many of the characters and plot points of Star Wars, and probably many others are aware that the Star Wars films reference some shots from Kurosawa's films. This however, is only scratching the surface of the true extent that Lucas and Kurosawa's cinema intersect with one another. So similar are their background and cinematic style that Kurosawa might very well be regarded in some ways as a Japanese reflection of the American Lucas. My book charted the script and story influence that Kurosawa had on Star Wars and Lucas but here i focus mainly on visuals--which for Lucas might very well be considered more significant that script and story. Its a five-part article, the first part being an examination of their styles and the next four parts a comparison of imagery and references.

The Influence and Imagery of Akira Kurosawa

Also, i note at one point that ROTS is pretty baren of explicit references but i did indeed overlook one moment in which Yoda rubs his head much like Takeshi Shimura in Seven Samurai (although to be fair i think this was the independent decision of one of the animators, perhaps a good example of how influential the director now has become).

For those unfamiliar with Kurosawa's films this might be a good chance to check them out.

 

That's really impressive. I'd add something if I could think of anything to add!