Kurosawa and Lucas

[Foxbat]

3. Samurai -- Darth Vader is obviously based on samurai armor. The jedi are the same as the samurai even down to the names (obi-wen kenobi and qui gon). It's also a reference to the Ronin, masterless samurai.

There are many who believe that Darth Vader is based on the villain The Lightning from the 1938 serial The Fighting Devil Dogs. Star Wars itself is obviously an homage to those old serials so it would make sense for Lucas to draw inspiration from them for his characters.

Apparently Darth Vader is 'Dark Father' in Dutch (the truth was there from minute one) so perhaps Lucas stole the X-Wing design from all those windmills in Holland?

 

[HareBrain]

And isn't Leia's hairstyle like two Danish pastries stuck to her head? (Not quite Holland but close.)

 

[Jo Zebedee]

And Han -Hans - has a distinctly dutch sound. Is there a dutch film making genius we're missing in Lucas' cultural referencing background.

 

[soulsinging]

*edit* combining my responses

 

[soulsinging]

Han goes right next to mace windy as the most annoying character. Again, I'm not trying to sound whiny, but han solo is just so typical that even as a toddler, I found him annoying (especially since he magically managed to kill all those guys when there were a dozen of them shooting at him). Windu is annoying because samuel jackson does not have what it takes to play a tough guy. They should have cast the man who played Mr. Miyagi or Steven Seagal.

No one can top Toshiro Mifune. Kurosawa's movies cost less than Star Wars and are vastly more entertaining. Ted Chiang's work is also better than Star Wars, and it costs only paper and ink to produce.

Steven Seagal? I'm not usually one to criticize someone for personal taste/preference, but he has got to be one of the worst actors of the last 30 years. I don't like Mace Windu much, but I didn't like ANY of those movies much. The original Star Wars is still awesome.

Originality is the most overrated trait in all the arts. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and just because Lucas borrowed styles from his influences doesn't make the outcome any less engaging.

Actually, I have. That is why I believe that samuel jackson is not a frightening man. They should have cast Yao Ming or Jeremy Lin if they want a tough guy. Tim Kang would also have been great, but he was probably too young when the Star Wars movie with the clones came out to play the Windu character.

But that's my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

Yao Ming or Jeremy Lin? Basketball players? Are we now just picking the first big guy you can think of? This seems like a desperate attempt to find the biggest Asian you can think of just to claim SOMEONE is a better actor than one of the most successful actors of our generation. Either we're being punked/trolled here, or there's some serious ethnocentrism going on here... because there is no grounds to suggest Jeremy Lin is a better actor than Samuel L Jackson other than some sort of nationalist/racial bias.

Name me one movie Jeremy Lin or Yao Ming has done that has been worth watching...

 

[Kzinti]

There are many who believe that Darth Vader is based on the villain The Lightning from the 1938 serial The Fighting Devil Dogs. Star Wars itself is obviously an homage to those old serials so it would make sense for Lucas to draw inspiration from them for his characters.

Apparently Darth Vader is 'Dark Father' in Dutch (the truth was there from minute one) so perhaps Lucas stole the X-Wing design from all those windmills in Holland?

I disagree. Darth Vader's helmet and costume are virtually identical to a samurai kabuto. I'm a martial arts practicioner (or was when I was younger), and I know my armors.

 

[Kzinti]

Steven Seagal? I'm not usually one to criticize someone for personal taste/preference, but he has got to be one of the worst actors of the last 30 years. I don't like Mace Windu much, but I didn't like ANY of those movies much. The original Star Wars is still awesome.

Originality is the most overrated trait in all the arts. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and just because Lucas borrowed styles from his influences doesn't make the outcome any less engaging.



Yao Ming or Jeremy Lin? Basketball players? Are we now just picking the first big guy you can think of? This seems like a desperate attempt to find the biggest Asian you can think of just to claim SOMEONE is a better actor than one of the most successful actors of our generation. Either we're being punked/trolled here, or there's some serious ethnocentrism going on here... because there is no grounds to suggest Jeremy Lin is a better actor than Samuel L Jackson other than some sort of nationalist/racial bias.

Name me one movie Jeremy Lin or Yao Ming has done that has been worth watching...

I could argue that you're being ethnocentric by choosing black actors over Asian actors. Lucas is ethnocentric because there are no Asians in Star Wars.

I just happen to be a fan of Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming. I've also heard their voices, and they're really manly. If jackson pulled a knife on me, I would probably laugh.

Seagal has a black belt in Aikido and a great voice.

 

[soulsinging]

I could argue that you're being ethnocentric by choosing black actors over Asian actors. Lucas is ethnocentric because there are no Asians in Star Wars.

I just happen to be a fan of Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming. I've also heard their voices, and they're really manly. If jackson pulled a knife on me, I would probably laugh.

Seagal has a black belt in Aikido and a great voice.

I am not black though, so I'm not just stumping for my favored race. I also didn't say Samuel L Jackson is the best, just that he's better than two random basketball players that have never acted a day in their lives. I'd have also said Jason Statham or Chow Yun Fat are better choices than Lin or Ming. The point being... I'm judging them based on ability to ACT, not their race. You don't seem to care if they can act or not, you label Lin and Ming as superior solely because they are Asian and you prefer Asians. I have no preference for whites, blacks, or Asians... I have preference for REAL ACTORS.

I'm aware that Seagal has real martial arts talent. What he lacks is acting talent. You seem pretty focused on shallow cosmetic things in your actors... that they be big and have macho/cool voices. I happen to think their ability to actually act is more important. In a weird way, your preference for style over substance in actors is the opposite of what you claim to like in directors, as far as preferring to substance of Kurosawa to the style of Lucas.

 

[merritt]

RAN is an awesome movie, the color, the clashing, absolutely gorgeous film making!
Steven Seagal!

Hilarious!