8 Major Cinematic Influences On Star Wars: A New Hope

Yojimbo

There’s no secret that Kurosawa’s films heavily influenced the making of Star Wars, as did their spaghetti western counterparts. A New Hope contains some direct, and some not so direct, references to Kurosawa’s original “wandering samurai” film Yojimbo. Toshiro Mifune plays the samurai Sanjuro, who arrives in a small town in the midst of a gang war. There, he’s accosted by crime lords from both sides, who offer to pay Sanjuro to fight for them.

The cantina scene in A New Hope references Yojimbo, as several men who brag about being wanted by the authorities threaten Luke and then wind up being seriously injured for their trouble. But the biggest influence is Mifune’s performance as Sanjuro, the wandering samurai, whose characterization closely parallels that of Han Solo.

A hero insistent on accepting money for his services, rather than out of any loyal or altruistic motive, Solo’s apparent cynicism conceals a good heart. He’s a scruffy, sarcastic hero, apparently at odds with the samurai-esque culture of the Jedi, but equally capable of behaving altruistically in an effort to protect the innocent. The sardonic anti-hero proves to be smarter and more useful than he appears.

It does well to mention here that Lucas actually wanted Mifune for the part of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the role eventually filled by Alec Guinness, but Mifune turned it down. If you think Lucas wasn’t attempting to draw parallels between his film and Kurosawa’s, then you don’t understand movie brat culture.