George Lucas was “inspired” by Hidden Fortress to make Star Wars.
✅ 🍿Dancing Samurai in the Smiling Stars: Laughing, Joking Writing Tips Too✅ 🍿
Do you like science fiction drama?
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AKA > > > Dr. Wayne Stein, retire professor, Ted Talk Speaker!
AKA > > > Dr. Wayne Stein, retire professor, Ted Talk Speaker!
Stay at least 35 seconds while you shake your samurai butt, clap 55 times, smile at how you are a lucky samurai rice star while you highlight, and . . .
. . . comment about how good-looking you are, how compassionate you are, and how lucky I am that you are reading this: Thank you! . .
Dreaming of Stars > >Wishing on a Star> Photo by Leo Rivas on Unsplash
Literacy Skills and Star Wars with Laser Swords . . .
Star Wars is definitely a samurai epic situated in space, and the Samurai must use the universal power of ki while the Jedi Knight must use the force.
It started with a team of scriptwriters, for a good movie must have a good team of writers. . . Write more to be more . . .
George Lucas and Kurosawa: The Art of Writing
George Lucas “borrowed” the ideas of Star Wars and probably knew he would be have to go to court to pay copyright violation, so he jumped the gun and repaid Akira Kurosawa by co-producing the international version of “Kagemusha” (1980) with Francis Ford Coppola.
Of course, Lucas was on stage at the Academy Awards when Kurosawa received his Oscar, so be sure to watch “Hidden Fortress” and see the origin or first “Star Wars” picture and notice the influence, for it is the same written story just relocated into outer space.
“Hidden Fortress” (1958) and Writing
Akira Kurosawa, directed this epic about samurai use the inner energy of Ki to fight evil, starring Toshiro Mifune, but he had a team of writer who developed the script, for he knew that good writing creates good film.
Revise more to see more of your vision and voice!
The Cast of Characters for Fortess
Tahei, farmers
Matekishi, farmers
Princess Yukihime
General Rokurota Makabe
Minoru Chiaki
Kamatari Fujiwara
Misa Uehara
“Star Wars” (1977), Samurai in Space, Script
Directed by George Lucas, this version uses the force, to represent the inner energy of KI, starring Carrie Fisher and
Harrison Ford,
so if you read the script, you can see that he copied Kurosawa. . .
Cast of Characters of Star Samurai
R2D2
C-3PO
Princess Leia
Han Solo
Jedi Knights
“Battle Beyond the Stars” (1980), SciFi Samurai film
This was another samurai epic in space, but this time the creators paid Kurosawa for the rights, and the writing had to be similar to Kurosawa’s vision.
Directed by Jimmy T Murakami and based on Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,} the film stars John Saxon, George Peppard and Richard Thomas, and Robert Vaughn.
However, the film did not do well, and that is probably due to the bad writers.
Murakami had won an academy award for Best Short Subject, “Cartoon”(1969), but his film, however, would not do well.
“Battle Beyond the Stars” : Steam Punk, Space Cowboy
Advertisment: “It has the feel of “Star Wars” meets Seven Samurai though elements of Magnificent Seven appear, and George Peppard would play the [space] cowboy.”
Farmers are trying to survive on the planet Akir (named after Akira Kurosawa).
Roger Corman as Producer
Roger Corman, the King of B movies, produced it, and yes it has that low budget feel, and furthermore, James Cameron did the special effects for the film, for he would go on to make more science fiction films like “Terminator” (1984).
James Cameron is known for his good writing skills.
Duty vs Desire: Ninjo vs. Giri
The samurai live by a code, the Bushido code, so perhaps the most important aspect of this code is the concept of loyalty.
In samurai films, a problem of ethics often arises.
The samurai must choose between his duties and his desires, and who does a samurai owe his loyalty to?
Samurai Means to Serve: The Written Code
If his lord orders him to kill his child, he is obliged to do so without thought, so the samurai must first serve his master and then his family.
A samurai will save his master before saving himself or his family, even today this remains part of Japanese society, for workers are often expected to sacrifice for their company over the needs of their own family.
A father will work overtime and miss his daughter’s graduation.
This is also important in for crime “families” like the Yakuza, where the code is in tattoos and signed into blood; and I myself have had to sign in blood to join a Brotherhood, for in Asia, it is that important because you become part of the family.
Ronins, Masterless Samurai: Code of Ethics
Ronins are samurai without a master. In a sense, they do not live by the same code and are more independent, and written stories of ronins became Western films like “A Fistful of Dollars “ (1964), copied from Kurosawa.
Kurosawa sued and won!
In wuxia pian films, the swordsmen also live by a similar written code of the Brotherhood; so watch the film version of “Patriot” called Yukoku starring and made by Mishima himself.
“The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail” (1945)
Based on a Kabuki Play
Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi was influenced by the kabuki play Kanjincho and the noh play Ataka.
The film stars Susume Fujita who was the protagonist in Kurosawa’s film.
Originally, it was banned by US forces who thought it was too critical of America’s occupation.
Escaping to Freedom
Aspects of the film reappear in Hidden Fortess, so similarly, the film has a royal member of an important family hiding and trying to escape, for in this film, the lord and his subjects are disguised as monks.
At one point to confuse the border guards, one of the subjects hits the lord Yoshitsune and is abusive to prove that he cannot be such an important person.
“Last Princess: (2008): Hidden Fortress Revisited
Directed by Shinji Higushi, this recent remake of “Kakushi toride no san akunin” did okay in Japan, for Higushis is known for this popular film the “Sinking of Japan,” a natural disaster feature which was a huge hit.
He worked mostly in the anime business with such television shows as “Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water” (1990–91).
Point of View of Princess
The film this time is told from the point of view of the princess and not the two farmers, so that might have been a mistake because the power of “Hidden Fortress” and “Star Wars” remains that the narrative is better and funnier from the point of view of lower characters.
Thank you for reading this. . .
I taught the class, Films of Kurosawa, for about 30 years at my university, and my students loved learning, and keep in mind I grew up in Japan, so I have a deeper understanding of Japanese cinema.
What are some of your favorite movies?
Please buy me some coffee,
for I am a cancer survivor twice, but now am broke, and I go to food pantries to eat, my hospital bills and other bills are so high: THANK YOU!
AKA > > > Dr. Wayne Stein, retire professor, Ted Talk Speaker!
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