From Westerns to Buck Rogers stories to Frank Herbert’s Dune, every Star Wars fan is well-aware of the many genres and works of art that George Lucas borrowed 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 make Star Wars what 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’s The Hidden Fortress.
Originally released in 1958, The Hidden Fortress tells 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 come to mind when we think of Kurosawa films. Still, upon watching it, Lucas immediately saw something there. The creator of Star Wars has repeatedly spoken of his love for Kurosawa and even acted as an executive producer for the international release of the director’s 1980 movie Kagemusha. And though The Hidden Fortress is 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 of The Hidden Fortress can be found in Star Wars. And it all starts with a princess being hunted down by an evil empire.
What Is ‘The Hidden Fortress’ About?
In Star Wars, that princess is Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) from the planet of Alderaan. But, in The Hidden Fortress, the character is Misa 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 is expecting 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 lines with the promise of sharing the Akizuki treasure — 200 pieces of gold — with them. It’s a lie, of course, since the treasure shall be used by Yuki to rebuild her family’s empire. Still, it’s the only way to make sure 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 as Ran — The Hidden Fortress follows 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 — for how could two greedy men such as Matashichi and Tahei ever agree about how to split the gold?
How Did ‘The Hidden Fortress’ Influence ‘Star Wars’?
At a first glance, The Hidden Fortress doesn’t seem to have all that in common with Star 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 are both 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 and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). Both are legendary battle-hardened generals hiding their identities, and both have a face off against an old time 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 Prowse and James 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 Kenobi but turned it down out of fear that Star Wars would 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 Wars also borrowed a lot from The Hidden Fortress in terms of imagery. The Galactic Empire’s crest bears a striking resemblance with the symbol representing the Yamana clan. Entire shots, such as R2D2 (Kenny Baker) and C3PO (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 which the editing in Star Wars has become famous is also largely present in The Hidden Fortress.
Most of the influence of The Hidden Fortress in Star Wars can be found in the franchise’s original film, now known as Episode IV — A New Hope. However, there is at least one element of Kurosawa’s story that managed to make its way to the prequels. In The 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 in Star 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.
But the biggest thing that Star Wars and The Hidden Fortress have in common is the point of view from which the story is told. In his interview with the Criterion Collection, Lucas stated, after watching The 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 became R2D2 and C3PO. “I decided that would be a nice way to tell the Star Wars story which is to take the lowliest characters, as Kurosawa did, and tell the story from their point of view,” Lucas said. “In Star 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 creating Star Wars‘ two staple droids, a lot of the two peasants can also be found in Han Solo and Chewbacca (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 between The Hidden Fortress and Star Wars, the most glaring of which is the 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 all Star Wars fans should watch, as well as a great entryway to Akira Kurosawa’s impressive body of work.
