In another thread someone mentioned that The Force.net had great screen grab comparisons of Star Wars and Kurosawa films. I can't seem to find this at The Force.net, can anyone link or guide me?

http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/tfn.cgi?storyID=7452 ?

Thanks, I'm not sure if that's it exactly, but good reading nonetheless.

Found another? http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/tfn.cgi?storyID=1665

Yep! George Lucas loved Kurosawa and Star Wars was heavily inspired by Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. Lucas helped Kurosawa get a film made towards the end of his career and life, when no Japanese studio would touch it. I believe Lucas and Coppola helped fund it, and backed the project.

You really can't go any higher for someone to admire and respect than Kurosawa.

It's sad but in the last 20 years or so of Kurosawa's career, the Japanese studios did very little to support his work. It was largely with the help and influence of Lucas, Coppola and Spielberg that alot of his later films were made (starting with Ran?). He was one of those directors who has always been more appreciated outside of his own country.

Interesting point about the American directors who later supported Kurosawa - near the end of the book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Lucas justifies the existence of big-budget blockbusters by pointing out how they can help fund and exhibit smaller films. The steps that Lucas and Coppola went to in order to get Kagemusha funded would be a prime example of this.