From Westerns to Buck Rogers stories toFrank Herbert’sDune— which is currently seeing a revival underDenis Villeneuve— everyStar Warsfan is well-aware of the many genres and works of art thatGeorge Lucasborrowed from to create his iconic space opera. However,some of these pieces were more influential than others. And out of all the elements that helped makeStar Warswhat it is today, perhaps none is more important than classic samurai films. As a matter of fact, perhaps none is more important than one very particular movie of the genre:Akira Kurosawa’sThe Hidden Fortress.
Originally released in 1958,The Hidden Fortresstells the story of two peasants caught in the middle of a war who unknowingly help a princess and her general across enemy lines. It’s a fun, accessible film classic that is sadly not one of the first that comes to mind when we think of Kurosawa films. Still, upon watching it, Lucas immediately saw something there. The creator ofStar Warshas repeatedlyspoken of his love for Kurosawaand even acted as an executive producer for the international release of the director’s 1980 movieKagemusha. And thoughThe Hidden Fortressis not at the top of his list of favorite Kurosawa films, it’s pretty clear that the film had an influence like none other in his work.From cinematic techniques to basic plot points, a lot ofThe Hidden Fortresscan be found inStar Wars. And it all starts with a princess being hunted down by an evil empire.
The Hidden Fortress
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
What Happens in ‘The Hidden Fortress’?
InStar Wars, that princess is Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) from the planet of Alderaan. But, inThe Hidden Fortress, the character isMisa Uehara’s Yuki. The last survivor of the Akizuki clan,she must escape the wrath of the Yamana soldiers that have killed her family and ravaged her kingdom. Her companion in this journey is the legendary samurai Rokurota Makabe (Toshiro Mifune), with whom she hides in her family’s fortress atop a mountain. At a loss about how to cross the heavily patrolled border between Akizuki and the allied Hayakawa kingdom, Yuki and Rokurota see their fate change when they run into two greedy peasants with a plan: reach Hayakawa through the less guarded border between Akizuki and Yamana. After all, no one expects the princess to cross into enemy territory.
The peasants, Matashichi (Kamatari Fujiwara) and Tahei (Minoru Chiaki), are the actual stars of the movie. It’s from their point of view that the story is told. Having left their village to join the war and hopefully make some money, they are devastated to be returning home empty-handed when they run into Princess Yuki and her general. Wary of their greed that might lead them to betray the princess' whereabouts to the Yamana forces in exchange for a reward, Rokurota keeps their identity from the men. However,he convinces Matashichi and Tahei to help him and the princess cross enemy lineswith the promise of sharing the Akizuki treasure — 200 pieces of gold — with them. It’s a lie, of course, since the treasure will be used by Yuki to rebuild her family’s empire. Still, it’s the only way to verify that Matashichi and Tahei won’t run off on them.
With quick pacing and a lot of humor — which makes it quite different from other,more famous Kurosawa epics, such asRan—The Hidden Fortressfollows its four main characters on their journey through the Yamana territory. Disguised as a mute peasant, Princess Yuki begins to sympathize with the plights of the common folk. Meanwhile, Matashichi and Tahei continually prove why they shouldn’t be trusted.From trying to assault the princess to attempting to deceive her in order to escape with the gold, nothing is beneath them. Rokurota, in turn, faces a long-time rival and does his best to fulfill his duty as the Yamana men close in on them.
By the end of the film, Rokurota and Yuki reach safety with the help of a defecting enemy general, Hyoe Tadokoro (Susumu Fujita). For their help, Matashichi and Tahei are given a single piece of gold that they must share equally. It’s a reward and a punishment at the same time — forhow could two greedy men such as Matashichi and Tahei ever agree about how to split the gold?
What Are the Similarities Between ‘The Hidden Fortress’ and ‘Star Wars’?
At first glance,The Hidden Fortressdoesn’t seem to have all that in common withStar Wars. However, upon a close watch, it isn’t hard to recognize the impact that Kurosawa’s film had on Lucas. For starters, there are the similarities between Yuki and Leia. Though the two characters aren’t exactly the spitting image of one another, they areboth obstinate, outspoken women in charge of fighting an enemy power and rebuilding an overthrown regime. While Leia’s people were murdered in the destruction of Alderaan, Yuki’s family was wiped off the map by the Yamana’s attack on Akizuki.
It is also possible to draw a comparison between the characters of Rokurota andObi-Wan Kenobi(Alec Guinness). Both are legendary battle-hardened generals hiding their identities, andboth have a face off against an old rival during the course of the movie. As a matter of fact, Rokurota’s duel with Hyoe feels so much like Kenobi’s lightsaber fight against Darth Vader (David ProwseandJames Earl Jones) that it’s almost shocking when Rokurota survives it. According to his son,Toshiro Mifune was even offered the role of Obi-Wan Kenobibut turned it down out of fear thatStar Warswould be a cheap-looking movie. In earlier drafts of the script, both Obi-Wan and Leia were much more prominent characters, as was their attempt to cross enemy lines,Lucas told the Criterion Collection. However, the director also stated that this was more of a coincidence than anything else.
Star Warsalso borrowed a lot fromThe Hidden Fortressin terms of imagery. The Galactic Empire’s crest bears a striking resemblance tothe symbol representing the Yamana clan. Entire shots, such as R2D2 (Kenny Baker) andC3PO (Anthony Daniels)arguing in the desert and the final image of Princess Leia with Luke (Mark Hamill) and Han (Harrison Ford) by her side, are directly lifted from Kurosawa’s film. The wipe transitions for whichthe editing inStar Warshas become famous is also largely present inThe Hidden Fortress.
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Most of the influence ofThe Hidden FortressinStar Warscan be found in the franchise’s original film, now known asEpisode IV—A New Hope. However, there is at least one element of Kurosawa’s story that managed tomake its way to the prequels. InThe Hidden Fortress, Princess Yuki is distraught to learn that the Yamana have beheaded one of her handmaidens, Rokurota’s sister, in her place. This plot point is echoed inStar Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, in which Senator Amidala’s (Natalie Portman) handmaiden and decoy, Cordé (Verónica Segura), is taken down in her place in an assassination attempt.
Kurosawa’s Influence Can Be Felt Throughout ‘Star Wars’
But the biggest thing thatStar WarsandThe Hidden Fortresshave in common is the point of view from which the story is told. In his interview with the Criterion Collection, Lucas stated, after watchingThe Hidden Fortress,what stuck the most with him was Kurosawa’s idea of telling a story of a war between empires from the perspective of its two lowliest characters, a pair of scared peasants. And, so, Matashichi and Tahei becameR2D2 and C3PO. “I decided that would be a nice way to tell theStar Warsstory which is to take the lowliest characters, as Kurosawa did, and tell the story from their point of view," Lucas said. “InStar Wars’case, it is the two droids and that was the strongest influence, actually.”
Though Lucas has only admitted to being influenced by Matashichi and Tahei’s influence in creatingStar Wars’ two staple droids, a lot of the two peasants can also be found in Han Solo andChewbacca (Peter Mayhew). More specifically,both Kurosawa’s peasants and Lucas’ smugglers only join the fight against the Empire out of greed. But while Solo and Chewbacca eventually come to believe in the rebellion, Matashichi and Tahei remain the same from the beginning to the end of the film.
Indeed, there are still many differences betweenThe Hidden FortressandStar Wars, the most glaring of which isthe absence of a Luke-like character in the Kurosawa film. However, there is no denying that the story of Princess Yuki and General Rokurota had a lot of influence on George Lucas, from his filmmaking to his world building. It’s definitely a film that allStar Warsfans should watch, as well as a great entryway to Akira Kurosawa’s impressive body of work.
The Hidden Fortressis available to stream on Max in the U.S.
