Forward – Star Wars owes a lot to samurai movies. It’s a well known fact that the initial drafts for A New Hope were largely based on The Hidden Fortress, and a moderately known one that Lucas considered casting samurai star Toshiro Mifune as Ben Kenobi. From noble warriors to princesses, wise cracking rogues to epic sword battles, many films in the samurai genre can be seen as Star Wars not set in space.
Consequently fans looking for a fix could do worse than take a look. Over the coming months, I’ll be highlighting the best and how they relate to Star Wars.
In an ideal world, The Samurai Trilogy would have been to The Prequels what The Hidden Fortress was to Star Wars. This trilogy follows the character of Miyamoto Musashi, beginning with him as a brash young soldier and chronicling his path towards a thoughtful and introspective samurai. Along the way, he learns what it means to be a samurai whilst grappling with his love for a young woman, torn between his passion and the duty he learns.
Word-for-word, it doesn’t match the fall of the Republic. Thematically, however, it addresses every contradiction that’s interesting about the Jedi. The sense of duty versus personal happiness. How to maintain a warrior’s code whilst being a peace-keeper. Escalation and its inevitable conflict.
The journey of Musashi’s character is also the path of a Jedi that I wanted from The Prequels. When we meet Mushashi he is brash and cocky, but over time is taught by his mentor and through his mistakes about sacrifice and selflessness. He slowly grows into an accomplished samurai, who treads a dangerous line between assured and arrogant. By the end, he has come to wary of conflict, seeking peace and introspection. Unfortunately the life of a guardian rarely grants this luxury, as the Jedi in Star Wars learn.
Other characters feel like they could slot into a Star Wars story too. His love interest Otsu maybe too subservant to be a template for Padme (much like the actual Padme), but the relationship between her and Musashi is far more compelling than the romance we settled for in Attack of the Clones. The constant tug between duty and desire is paramount here, setting up some heart-wrenching scenes that would have given The Prequels some much needed fire.
Buddhist priest Takuan Soho also serves as Musashi’s Jedi Master, taking him from a common soldier and training him up in the ways of a samurai. He is harsh and spiteful, yet ultimately a compassionate mentor. It’s a nice take on the old wise sage figure that would have brought cookie-cutter Prequel-era Jedi Knights to life.
Not to imply it’s a 1:1 replication, though. Those looking for The Prequels But Better won’t find it here. What you do get is a get three samurai movies that feature the themes and ideas that some may have been looking for.
Delusions Of Grandeur 