Not only did Tahei and Mataschichi make perhaps the most important contribution to the entire plot of The Hidden Fortress, devising the plan to get to safety, in the very last moments of the film, they set aside their greed. One of Episode IV‘s most audacious storytelling devices was to begin an epic saga from the point of view of the two characters who are lowest in the social caste of that universe.

Our heroes escape and the Princess is restored to her rightful privilege. Eventually, they break free and become embroiled in a great warrior’s bid to restore Princess Yuki to her rightful place as ruler of her kingdom. ‘You Already Know’ Podcast Episode 1: “Akoins”, ‘You Already Know’ Podcast Launches May 15th. What I’d like to do is to bring to you some of the influences on Star Wars in the hopes that you’ll explore them on your own. As the film opens, we’re introduced to and follow two peasants, Tahei and Matashichi. Mifune would end up wealthy and celebrated in Japan. [Source].

Kurosawa is first a visual storyteller who scripts in pictures, each one dramatically framed.

In the early years of the summer blockbuster, George Lucas’ unexpected science fiction smash was a revelation, still running in cinemas two years after its release date. Danger around every corner and in every encounter.

It was also destroyed later on.

To do this the Peasants are tricked into helping them, with the promise that they will receive a large share of the gold when the destination is reached. Another major influence was the ‘Hero’s Journey’ template laid down by American scholar Joseph Campbell, which has been used by every notable American action movie from The Terminator to Iron Man. It was created by Luke Skywalker and located far below the Palace of Lite. Sound familiar? Luke Skywalker

His hidden gold is that miraculous alchemical element in Jedi blood. In The Hidden Fortress, there’s a thrilling sequence where the general is on horseback, evading enemies and the background motion and intensity of the scene matches that of the trench run in A New Hope. This article is non-canon within the Star Wars Legends continuity. Join The Winner’s Circle With Online Poker, The DC FanDome Reveals Talent & Host Lineup, Cool Shirts Back To School With 80sTees.com, SuperSwag: Pop Culture Offerings From SuperHeroStuff.com.

Just as he takes out the last rider, he reaches the enemy camp. And while there are probably more similarities that I did not pick up on, my final note is that I never knew the inspiration for the insignia used by the Empire, Republic and First Order were likely inspired by General Tadokoro’s emblem on his back during his duel with Rokurouta. I took it home and watched it and my life was changed forever. Star Wars could have had even more parallels to The Hidden Fortress than it did. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 .

Though he and Chewie also share traits with Tahei and Matakishi, the latter pair ultimately become the bickering and beloved R2D2 and C3PO. A vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.

Jeff Napierala. Both of these films, as different and fantastical as they are, are works that further the notion that cultural storytelling can be passed along through the medium of cinema. Title: And all we know of Yuki is that her clan has been besieged, leaving her at the end of the film to prepare to rebuild the clan alone. This was a conscious decision for Kurosawa. Looking at both Star Wars and The Hidden Fortress, it makes sense that they work as cinematic fairy tales, as they both operate heavily in the world of archetypes. Though Artoo and Threepio are much more pleasant than the greedy peasants of The Hidden Fortress, their comedic role in driving the story is incredibly similar. The other is a comparatively obscure black-and-white drama set in feudal Japan, made by a director who has been dead for nearly 20 years.

Of course, this is R2-D2 and C-3PO to a tee in the first act of Star Wars after the conflict that occurred above Tatooine. First and foremost, I couldn’t help but get caught up in the gorgeous filmmaking.

As convenient as it would be to admit that Lucas ruthlessly plagiarised Kurosawa for his own ends, the truth is a little less straightforward. The gold in the story is hidden in sticks. Super Show!’ for Streaming, ‘How Sweet To Be An Idiot (Expanded Edition)’ • Neil Innes (review), ’90s Teenage Concert Memories in the Pandemic, ‘The Explorers Club’ & ‘To Sing And Be Born Again’ • The Explorers Club (review), Popular Culture Degree Options to Consider, Chadwick Boseman, King T’Challa, Is Gone and Lives Forever, Archie Comics & Spotify to Launch Slate of New Podcast Series, Spotify, Warner Bros. & DC Announce Podcast Partnership, Listen! )At the end of the story, the peasant-actors are on a grand stair that mirrors a similar stair we saw earlier which was the scene of a huge conflict (in turn mirroring the battle on Eisenstein's Odessa steps in 'Potemkin'). When our heroes are finally discovered, we get two sequences that were unmistakably replicated in Star Wars films. Utilizing secondary characters to tell his story meant that the roles usually filled by the leads would work better as simple tropes. While Tahei and Matashichi are clearly the inspiration for R2-D2 and C-3PO, they felt more like Jar Jar Binks.

He crafted an exhilarating and expansive tale that also subverts ideas around Japan’s strict class structure by creating a narrative that constantly changes character roles and power dynamics.

Grab your inner film student and join us in the comments! The very foundation of Princess Leia in every way. easily slips into the realm of fairy tale by featuring some of the most recognizable genre tropes out there: droids take the place of sentient objects that often inhabit Grimm’s world, while male characters in fairy tales are rarely named (and when they are they’re often called Han/s).