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Hollywood directors borrow from other director ’s signature tune mode is n’t unheard of in the industry and it happens fairly often . After all , applying try and try formulas for celluloid can make a director shift their focal point on the story and in other creative view . However , out of allthe directorsthat Western movies bonk to borrow from , Akira Kurosawa stands out as one of the more common .
He ’s one of the most widely greet Japanese directors , and his timeless masterpieces such asSeven Samurai , Rashomon , andYojimbohave made a quite a little of Hollywood movies successful . Hisinfluence on westerly directorsranges from homages and scene recreations to sometimes flat - out remakes . Here are 10 of the most noteworthy films that have that Kurosawa influence .
A Bug’s Life
Illustrating just how significantAkira Kurosawa ’s moviesand filmmaking techniques are , even Pixar adopted the definitiveSeven Samuraiplot of a poor defenceless village employ some loath and unconventional defender .
In this fount , it ’s Flik ’s ant colony need help from " warriors " against the oppressive grasshoppers . The similarity are stunning . Of course , instead of lordless samurai , the ant settlement ends up lease some hungry circus performers , and that ’s when it veer off from the template .
A Fistful Of Dollars
Clint Eastwood ’s earliest title to celebrity came in the shape of this Spaghetti westerly film from Sergio Leone , which turns out to be an almost 1:1 cowboy remaking ofYojimbofrom Akira Kurosawa . Kurosawa’ssamurai showdownstructure and anarchic provincial backcloth pretty much made Western adaptations a low - hanging fruit .
Much likeYojimbo ’s nameless hero " Sanjuro , " Clint Eastwood ’s character is a random unconventional antihero who initially went out to make a profit by playact both incline of two war faction . They both terminate up saving the troubled local public and ending the standoff without much gain .
The Magnificent Seven
The name itself is indicative enough -TheMagnificent Sevenfrom 2016 is a slack remaking of the 1960 ’s classic , The Magnificent Seven , which was a westerly remake of Kurosawa’sSeven Samurai . Much likeA Fistful of Dollars , Magnificent Sevenreplaced the samurai with cattleman .
Of course , being a modern film on its own right , TheMagnificent Seventried to come apart from the mold and create its own account and plot of ground . However , the similarities withSeven Samuraiare certainly there , albeit less refined and with the added bonus of a astral form .
Last Man Standing
Yojimboestablished such a good monetary standard for storytelling that Hollywood just had to keep recreating it . In 1996 , several decade afterA Fistful of dollar , out cameLast Man Standing , feature Bruce Willis in a Prohibition - epoch America .
It fundamentally trades off the samurai / cowboy for the sporty American gangster . Bruce Willis stars as the hero of the picture show who , in accord with the plot , finds himself stuck between two warring gangs who have taken over a whole town .
Django Unchained
Spaghetti Western flick definitely owe a lot to Akira Kurosawa and would not have been the same without his movie . EvenQuentin Tarantinoacknowledges Kurosawa ’s techniques and his picture , likeTheHateful Eight , are a good example .
Another deterrent example isDjango Unchained - a revisionist Spaghetti westerly movie . Where its Akira Kurosawa influence are noticeable is in the camera magic trick and framing , utilizing mostly either wide-cut or up - nigh personal shot and mostly inactive action .
Biutiful
Even flavour Hollywood trendsetters such as Alejandro González Iñárritu ( Birdman , The Revenant ) are resistant to the appeal of Kurosawa ’s cinema . guinea pig in point is one of his chef-d’oeuvre , Biutiful , star Javier Bardem .
This time around , the influence comes from one of Kurosawa ’s lesser - known movies , Ikuru . It ’s about a father who suddenly has to face terminal cancer and wants to make his concluding days more meaningful , which is pretty much the same assumption asBiutiful . Even fans of point likeBreaking Badought to find some resemblance here , as well .
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
Unsurprisingly , plenty of giving films which have adopt from Kurosawa ’s marvels have done well either critically or commercially . The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towersis no exception , and while it has its own rootage material , it still gazed at cinema likeSeven Samuraifor its cinematic style .
The climactic scene inThe Two tugboat , the Battle of Helms Deep , owes a lot to how Kurosawa handledSeven Samurai ’s final battle . It ’s a torrent of rain on a battlefield in which the bomber are outnumbered and outgunned . The original is also where the " pelting makes everything more dramatic " figure seemingly began .
The Matrix Revolutions
mouth of rain make everything more spectacular , the final accounting entry inThe Matrixtrilogy is no stranger to this technique . Much likeThe Two Towers , its final battle shot between Neo Anderson and Agent Smith took station in a showery stadium .
It arguably made the fight a lot more exciting and a ken for sore eyes , especially after the puzzling plot and logic of the movie . Such an ending would not have been as beautiful without the pelting to intend that even the God and the atmospheric condition are watch over two titans fight on - sieve .
Mad Max: Fury Road
Even post - apocalyptic box office revitalization likeMad Max : Fury Roadjust had to compensate homage to theSeven Samurai , proof of how impactful it was to the legal action writing style in general , specially when it comes to making certain protagonists appear more able or elite .
In one scene , Max had to rush off alone to take on a rampage Bullet Farmer . Impressively enough , he manages to bolt down a whole squad . This was essentially a post - apocalyptic refreshment of Kyûzô going off alone so as to thin out the bandit pack inSeven Samurai .
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Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Last but not least , Star Wars . specially inEpisode IV : A New Hope , some of C-3PO and R2 - D2 ’s negotiation were homage to Kurosawa ’s films . Even the first draft ofA New Hopetook so muchfrom Kurosawa’sThe Hidden Fortressthat it almost read like a straight adaptation .
The last bill of exchange retained some of these original elements , such as a princess escape war and two unlikely heroes helping her . It goes to show just how meaning Akira Kurosawa ’s contribution to shoot is , especially to one of thebiggest franchises today .
NEXT : Japan ’s 10 Best Samurai Films Of All Time , Ranked On Rotten Tomatoes
