Toshiro Mifune as Obi-Wan

This is the central part of a larger piece called "Alt Reality Cinema" in which I imagine what a film might look like with the actor who ALMOST got the role. Toshiro was reportedly a very early consideration of Lucas.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Toshiro
• Mifune
• Obi-Wan
• Star
• Wars
• Sean
• Hannon
• SVA

[joshgura]

thank you so much for doing this, this is my new favorite video!!! favorited, added, etc! nevermind the haterz

[stardial]

@joshgura glad it made you smile!

[LongJonBronze]

you insulting, insensitive, nazi, comunist, jackass, what is wrong with you?

thats not funny

thats not clever

that is a waste of my time

that is an insult to one of historys great actors

go to sleep knowing this

[stardial]

@LongJonBronze hey, I'll go with jackass, but I am sorry that you did not receive my homage in the spirit intended. I am assuming it is the broken english I chose to use that incensed you. As I mentioned to someone earlier, I had a choice point here. I could either dub him as he was always dubbed in American films, most notably by the Disney voiceover actor Paul Frees, or I could try to present how he would have sounded speaking with his own voice. I found the American overdub very insulting...

[stardial]

@LongJonBronze (continuing) and I know that Mifune was profoundly upset that he was always overdubbed by American voices in western films. I am a huge Mifune fan, and I wanted to capture how he might have sounded with all his strength and ferocity as well as be true to his acknowledged struggle with English pronunciation. Anyway, that was my intent, not to ridicule but to pay tribute to a great actor in this fantasy scenario. That is how many people received it. I hope you will take a 2nd look.

[keikoreo]

Toshiro Mifune is one of my favorite actors, but had he played Obi-Wan it would have been a disaster. Not because he would have been bad-he would have been fantastic, the only one who could rival Alec Guinness' performance. But then that would have given Lucas the chance to cast Keanu Reeves in the prequels. As horrible as they were, cry yourself to sleep imagining how much worse they could have been with Obi-Wan Keanu.

[stardial]

LOL. That's a hilarious and hideous thought that never occurred to me. Even more scary to think what Keanu would do with a Japanese dialect after what he did with a British one in Dracula. BTW, that "Rickshaw Man" excerpt was fantastic. I've never seen that movie.

[Che762x39]

Mifune would have been awesome.

[MCnefariousnude]

obi wan was loosely based on Mifune's character in The Hidden Fortress. The only reason I can think of not to have Mifune as Obi Wan is Lucas knew if Vader beat him the audience would simply leave the theater chanting bullshit.

[keikoreo]

@DurangoHurricane You just handed me the red pill and...whoa. Well played, sir.

[DurangoHurricane]

@keikoreo Well, he could have just casted Nathaniel Lees.

[mahaniTalib]

OOOoooh! Toshiro Mifune......will always be THE best

[Richiesos]

Awesome

[gstiger]

@oletarngor I would LOVE to see Toshiro Mifune (as Obi-Wan) take on Darth Vader!

[oletarngor]

after watching Mifune in 1941, undubbed, I would like to think his line delivery would have been a bit smoother than what was in this video. Still awesome to think about what it would have been like for him to play a jedi. The fight between Obi-wan and Darth Vader in the first movie probably would have been a good deal more ferocious than the way Alec Guinness was able to do it.

[draltar]

looool you guys are crazy... this is great!

[gion312kyoto]

I love Mifune .. my hero.. foever ..!!

[benglishtea]

"The Force" is the poor man's substitute Mifune shinigami.

[drchepa]

mifune was a superb actor, but he didn't choose great roles after kurosawa, i liked him in hell in the pacific and shogun (tv)