Christopher Bingham

In this first episode of the series, I attempt to provide a broad overview of George Lucas’s major early influences when developing Star Wars in the mid-70s. In my opinion, there are three key sources that are more important than any others: black and white American adventure serials like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers; classic samurai films including particularly the work of Akira Kurosawa; and Joseph Campbell’s 1949 book The Hero With A Thousand Faces. This will give us a great starting point for understanding, analysing, and appreciating the whole franchise.