Full Of Sith: Star Wars News, Discussions and Interviews · Tha Mike Pilot, Bryan Young and Holly Frey

Episode DLXXXV: Kurosawa and Star Wars

·1 hr 10 min·5 clips

George Lucas's first Star Wars draft was Hidden Fortress with Japanese names scratched out and Star Wars names written in.

Bryan Young presents a recorded panel from Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 exploring Akira Kurosawa's profound influence on Star Wars, detailing how films like Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, and Yojimso shaped George Lucas's work and later Star Wars projects. He covers specific examples from plot structures to shot choices, and discusses how filmmakers like Rian Johnson and J.J. Abrams continued drawing from Kurosawa.

As heard by us

A lively film-history panel that shows how Star Wars draws from Kurosawa, Ford, and westerns.

The episode traces how Akira Kurosawa, John Ford, and the western fed into Star Wars, with Brian Young using a live Japan panel to link Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Han Solo, and Anakin Skywalker.

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Why you'd press play

If you like Star Wars through Kurosawa, this one goes straight to the source.

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