It’s been over forty years since the originalStar Warswas released in theatres in 1977. The first film in the saga quickly became one of the most popular movies of all time. Even though it was an English language American film,Star Warswas still popular with international audiences, including those in Japan, as you can see from this incredibly weird 1978 tuna commercial.
The 30-second ad seesbeloved characters such as Luke Skywalkerand Chewbacca hanging out in some kind of dinner or restaurant as a catchy tune plays. The ad features C-3PO as a waiter and even has Darth Vader make an explosive entrance. It looks like Luke and Vader are going to fight until waiter C-3PO interrupts them to deliver some delicious tuna. If only Luke and Vader could have settled their differences over a nice plate of tuna, maybe they could have united as father and son. Advertising andStar Warshave always gone hand in hand. Being one of the most popular things on the entire planet, the franchise has been used to sell everything from action figures to fast food.
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Star Warswas big in Japan. It was big everywhere, but Japanese audiences particular took a liking to it. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, really, because George Lucas was heavily inspired by the works of renowned Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, who is widely considered to be one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history. Amongst the 30 films Kurosawa directed over his career, he was perhapsbest known for his samurai filmssuch asSeven Samurai, Yojimbo, andHidden Fortress.
The Jedi wereheavily inspired by Samurai, noble and stoic warriors who acted as guardians for those in need. The design of Darth Vader’s helmet and his costume were even based on Samurai armor. Lucas was inspired in particular byHidden Fortressand pays tribute to many of the elements seen in that film, such as a bumbling duo who would go on to form the template for droid companions C-3PO and R2-D2. So it makes sense that Japanese audiences were super into the Galaxy far, far away, they knew exactly what Lucas was going for.
To this day, the franchise continues to heavily market to audiences in Japan, with filmmakers and cast traveling to premieres to sign autographs and promote the movies. Mark Hamill actually lived in Japan for two years beforehe was cast as Luke Skywalkerand has always talked about his time there graciously.
It’s interesting to look back at a time whenStar Warswas only one film. Back in 1978, there was only one film, and it was just calledStar Wars (TheEpisode IV:A New Hopesubtitle was added for the 1981 theatrical re-release). At the time, no one knew that it would spawna decades-long franchisethat remains popular in Japan and around the world to this day.
