Michael Heilemann

Kurosawa

With a career stretching almost 60 years, Akira Kurosawa remains one of the most influential directors in the history of the medium. The pinnacle of his popularity however was perfectly timed with a batch of impressionable USC students ready to take on the world, and his impact on George Lucas in particular is the stuff of legends.

Michael Heilemann
Kurosawa
Michael Heilemann

Scum and Villainy

A hive of scum and villainy, and nexus of western, middle-eastern and eastern influences.

Michael Heilemann
Scum and Villainy
Michael Heilemann

There Was Once a Certain Kind of Cinema

Christopher Frayling called him 'the first post-modern film maker' and as such Sergio Leone had an underrated and overlooked influence on Star Wars. How a samurai became a cowboy, who became a bounty hunter in a galaxy far, far away.

Michael Heilemann
There Was Once a Certain Kind of Cinema
Michael Heilemann

Psycho & Sanjuro

Who would've thought that a cue from Psycho, of all films, would end up in Star Wars ? Well, it did, here's the how and where of it.

Michael Heilemann
Psycho & Sanjuro