Iconoclasts: The Films That Influenced Star Wars – Episode 38
November 6th, 2009
As part of our look at various inconoclastic films and the influences that lead to them, here’s a look at some of the films that helped form George Lucas’ Star Wars.
Some great films here: Hidden Fortress directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirō Mifune, The Searchers (Directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne), The Dam Busters (Directed by Michael Anderson), The Guns of Navarone (Directed Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn ), The silent film Wings (1937), and the 1936 version of Flash Gordon. There’s some great blog posts on this included below that you can check out, as well as Wired Magazine’s chart on how Star Wars influenced the Movie industry in countless ways.
The Official Star Wars Blog » Star Wars Influence Map (Wired Map)
Before the Galaxy Far, Far Away: Influences on ‘Star Wars’ | Cineleet
Comic Book the Blog: The real influences on Star Wars
Star Wars Origins – Miscellaneous Influences – Moongadget
The Influence Of Star Wars - Time Magazine
Tags: Akira Kurosawa, Films that Influenced Star Wars, Flash Gordon, George Lucas, Hidden Fortress, Influences, Star Wars, The Dam Busters, The Guns of Navarone, The Searchers
This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 6:16 pm and is filed under Iconoclasts: Star Wars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
As you stated, George Lucas was obviously quite the film buff himself. Nice to see this pulled together. I’ve read bits and pieces here and there but it was pulled together here well. Good Job.
P.S. Loved Harrison Ford in Force 10 from Navarone.
wow!! cool stuff! i didn’t know all of that! but i guess it is the same thing with movies as with songs! you put the pieces together and make a remix.
great work showloon!
love this episode. probably my favourite episode so far! i know i probably said this about the last 3 episodes or something, but oh well… its just getting better and better!
yes i wish you did more of these ‘educational’ episodes!
this was great!
lllllove the Kurosawa movies, theyre so charming and cute but epic and huge at the same time…
thank you showloon!!!!
’someday, its gonna make sense’…MLTR…
wow akira kurosawa,he’s a brilliant japanese director very much classics he was like Alfred hitchcock in his time but of course in different level and for sure the movie its in black and white…and of course JOhn wayne was always tagged as a cowboy …batchmate with cary grant in the ‘end of the affair’,gregory peck.greta garbo,vivien leigh,katharine hepburn,james dean,marilyn monroe.. there’s plenty to mention..
Spartacus and Doctor Zhivago who watch that movie already? well i bet no one’s did unless you’re really into the film…this movie is too way classics but its ‘quite good’, according to them…
@baxtelf: ‘force 10 of navarone ‘is a remake of ‘guns of navarone’?
@tomas: suggestion: why don’t you tackle a movie with a character “suicidal’… i think its a good topic… put on the list the movie ‘SYLVIA’ with gweyneth paltrow… its a true story about ‘Sylvia Platt’ a good poet in her time…
Nice job! Being the recursion-loving-geek that I am, I obviously wait for something on the movies that influenced the movies that influenced the movie that influenced so many movies. I’m sure at the end it all boils down to “The Horse in Motion” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrRUDS1xbNs ). Masterpiece!
@gray: what’s up with the suicide thing? people already discussing this topic in earlier episodes…cheer up!!!
@ibby: hahahaha… when was that? i never read a topic like that ibby…but anyway im not suicidal its just that i like the topic for us to lay down our views… how about that?
I look of people sat the Seven Samuri is an influence on Star Wars: Video | quietube http://bit.ly/kee6W
Love the Horse in Motion clip. the idea of going from that early piece of cinima down the ages was used in a Motorola ad ( that used will you Follow me?) recently.
This History channel documentary ‘Star Wars-The Legacy Revealed’ Video | quietube http://bit.ly/3NJlGT
Has a a bit on Cultural impact, Myths, Some influences. It’s good.
after seeing the last 3 star wars episodes it became quiet clear that george doesn’t have the fantasy to come up with all that stuff by himself. sorry, but i’m just deeply disappointed in the man..
I want to see the The Wizard of Oz, I don’t see this movie yet.
Star Wars never I like it.
For me better Blade Runner every life.
@gray: not the topic as such but it has been discussed by two showloonatics in the comments…look for it. but you have a point in chosing a topic that will have a lot of comments, i guess.
didn’t mean it in an offending way! cheer up anyways;)!
@ibby: your good at thinking… yeah you got it, i want comments to be flooded… don’t worry, you’re offending anyone..but at first i was like ,you’re being too harsh….anyway,thanks for telling to cheer up…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJso2QblL9g
@ibby: oh sorry, i forgot to put ‘not’ in between you’re and offending… to complete the sentence ‘you’re not offending anyone’…
“Komowo” is that the right word?
@JJ: i’ve been viewing your blog ,its some kinda funny about the “UNDER THE DIM FLOURESCENT STREET LIGHT” but its too fast to read..
i like the type of your music, i like the FONTAN its way too cool but i still manage to listen in my laptop i was like dancing nodding my head and raising my hand…
i bet you like Buddha bar, trance, chill out, techno… how about TIESTO?
the art, the structure its so good to look at…never done yet..
I’m a little worry Tomas because today my english’s teacher say me: “english people think that the matecito is a traditional drink with drug” when I listen this I can`t stop of to laugth, Really you think this?
I need to explain the situation, matecito is like the tea, not exactly but is something like that, more stimulating that the tea, similar to the coffee but more delicious.
The problem was that Viggo Mortensen years ago used a matecito when another thing and one day in United States the police capture him. He say that the matecito will be only matecito but… you know, he did has matecito when a ilegal thing.
Not now, I can sleep in peace hahaha.
I sure don`t have matecito for breakfast.
I sure don`t have drug for breakfast! that I want to say!
Matecito have always. Everyday when I see Showloon.
@juli:hey juli let’s drink matecito, as you say its stimulants… lets stimulates the nerve of our brain…are you that happy? gotcha!!! hahahaa…
“reality never beats dreams”(excerpt from the movie BOYS OF TOMORROW( Korean movie)…
@Gray: Take your matecito, take it fast is hot still!
Sometimes people drink matecito cold with coco and milk but… for me the best matecito is hot with “yerba”
I don`t see the movie that you say…
@juli: maybe there’s no video uploaded… its a story about two teenager boys who treat each other as real brothers…
“never lie,steal,cheat or drink”
-’but if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love,
-if you must steal,steal away from the bad company,
-if you must cheat, cheat death,
-and if you must drink,drink in the moments that take your breath away’…
(excerpt from the movie “HITCH”)
This was very well done. I have seen many of these movies: The Searchers, The Guns of Navarone, all of Kurasawas films, and others mentioned here, but I did not make the connections that you did. When Star Wars came out in theaters, I was 6 years old and it absolutely blew my mind. I saw it 6 times in the theaters and several more times over the years. Lucas’ genius was recycling these ideas in a stunning space age vision. And he created that atmosphere without cgi. Thanks for putting this together.
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