Akira Kurosawa Poster Cards
Check out these Akira Kurosawa Poster Cards. Its really a link to a Toshiro Mifune fansite. Anyway, for those who don't know the two names I've mentioned, (GASP!) Kurosawa is THE fabled Japanese director, who's probably best known for works like The Seven Samurai and Ran, which are films I rewatched again recently.
Less known is how one of his films heavily influenced George Lucas' Star Wars. Kurosawa's 1958 film The Hidden Fortress had a story revolving around a general rescuing a princess. Read Obi-wan Kenobi and Princess Leia in the Death Star. There were also two bickering soldiers that are said to resemble C3PO and R2D2. When you consider how the main heroes in Star Wars are Jedi wearing robes in a sci-fi flick, its not to hard to see how Lucas exoticised the Japanese culture, manipulating it to create something new.
Shown above is the poster card for Ran or 乱.
Link robbed off we make money not art.
