Influence on Star Wars?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Vera Cruz
holtor — 17 years ago(June 09, 2008 11:58 PM)
The roles of Lancaster and Cooper, in particular their relation to the Countess, remind me of Han Solo and Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie (Eps. IV). Han Solo was partly portrayed as the ruthless womanizing swashbuckler (though he turned out to be Mr. nice guy eventually, and we learned that Greedo actually shoot first). And Skywalker was relentless in being the steadfast good guy (though he is not yet as capable and experienced as Cooper in Vera Cruz). Both are courting their princess in a similar way as the Countess in Vera Cruz, who is also the one with the hidden gold just as in Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (1958), which officially influenced Star Wars.
The colors of their costumes are also similar, Cooper always wearing bright beige clothes resembling Skywalker's, and Lancaster for a large part wearing a distinct outfit of a bright shirt under a dark vest with dark trousers:
http://www.movpins.com/big/MV5BMjIwNDM4MzgyNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDgwMzc3NA/burt-lancaster-in-vera-cruz-(1954)-large-picture.jpg
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Aticusfinch — 17 years ago(August 18, 2008 09:39 AM)
The array of influences on "Star Wars" is pretty wide and I wouldnt be surprised if "Veracruz" was among them. However the motif that reminds me most of "Star Wars" is not the two shooters courting the contess - the Cooper character wasnt really interested in her after all -, but the emphasis on the master-apprentice relation, that story about Ace Hannah, to begin with. And Cooper and Lancaster dont remind me of Solo and Skywalker but of Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi, the apprentice and the master, who end up fighting each other to death.
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ilBuono — 16 years ago(November 28, 2009 03:15 PM)
It did occur to me that Burt Lancaster's outfit resembled Han Solo's Would be cool if it was a hommage.
I couldn't shake off the feeling that this film was of huge influence on Sergio Leone's films too (Mexico, doublecrossing bastards, Lancaster's character, etc), especially the duel at the end.
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