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The Influence and
Imagery of Akira Kurosawa
Part IV:
Phantom
Menace
The
prequels would bring us even more references. Phantom Menace would be especially rife
with Seven Samurai images. First,
we have Toshiro Mifune's loveable Kikuchiyo, the clown character who
was the basis for the not-as-loveable Jar Jar
Binks:
 
Battle
scenes:
 
 
Kurosawa's Ran
would repeat many of these images as well, and Lucas was also very
heavily influenced by this film:
 
The rolling hills of Naboo
bear a striking resemblance to those of Japan, but specifically the
very imagery that Kurosawa dwells upon for the entire first quarter
of Ran, imagery which is used for the three-minute opening
credit sequence of that film as well:
 
 
In Star Wars, Toshiro Mifune's character from
Hidden Fortress became Obi Wan Kenobi;
Lucas had speculated at one point about Mifune portraying Obi Wan,
though the role eventually went to Alec Guiness. In Phantom Menace, Mifune's character was
portrayed by Liam Neeson, and Lucas visually dressed him in more
explicit similarities:
 
This is
interesting as well:
 
The
image of the Gungan army advancing from a shroud of mist is also an
iconic image from Throne of
Blood:
 
The film
ends, of course, in the same manner of Hidden Fortress, much like Star Wars:
CONTINUE TO PART V
Star
Wars, the Star Wars logo, all names and pictures of
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their respective trademark and copyright holders. All other images
are copyrights of Toho studios. They are used here for educational
purposes under fair use.
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© Copyright Michael Kaminski 2007, All rights
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