Re: SW v. Kurasowa

At 10:18 PM 8/5/96 -0600, you wrote:
>Allan,
>
>Hate to piss off my future game-master (Iridium), but I think your
>film comparisons are stretching it a little.  

Apparently not TOO thin, as the box of the letterboxed edition of _The
Hidden Fortress_ makes reference to _Star Wars_ and Lucas admitted to
the
same in an interview. 

R2D2 and C3PO are not
>the ones that save the princess; they're along for the ride.

True. And in THF, the ashigaru are just along for the ride, too.

>And how
>can you compare the only swordfight in SW to the one in the samurai
>movie when the outcome is the opposite.

The outcome is the opposite, but the set up is the same. It's a
one-on-one
duel between one samurai (Jedi?) and another, with the one's soldiers
standing around watching while the good guys escape. It happens at about
the
same "time" in the movie, too.

>I'm not saying that Lucas' scripts are totally original--nothing is
>anymore, but I'm afraid that I must disagree that just because there
>are some plot similarities that his movie _must_ either be an homage
>or a rip-off.

Well, Lucas SAID it was a homage. And after seeing the movie, there are
whole chunks that really do LOOK like _Star Wars_. Not that that's a bad
thing. After all, _A Fist Full of Dollars_ is Kurosawa's _Yojimbo_, and
_The
Magnificent Seven_ is _The Seven Samurai_. Kurosawa himself "stole" from
the
best, with _Throne of Blood_ as an excellent rendition of _Macbeth_ and
_Ran_ is _King Lear_.

I'm not saying that I dislike _Star Wars_ but it is clearly a homage to
_The
Hidden Fortress_. Lucas says it, the studio says it, and the movie
itself
shows it.

>

Allan Goodall:	agoodall@sympatico.ca
"You'll want to hear about my new obsession.
 I'm riding high upon a deep depression. 
 I'm only happy when it rains."    - Garbage