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TwitterIs 'Star Wars' one of the most influential movies ever?
Did "Star Wars" really launch a thousand starships? Where's the love for what is arguably the truest trilogy about the American dream? Turner Classic Movies has released its list of the top 15 most influential classic movies, but there are some glaring holes among the obvious choices.
The list:
"The Birth of a Nation" (1915)
"Battleship Potemkin" (1925)
"Metropolis" (1927)
"42nd Street" (1933)
"It Happened One Night" (1934)
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)
"Gone with the Wind" (1939)
"Stagecoach" (1939)
"Citizen Kane" (1941)
"Bicycle Thieves" (1947)
"Rashomon" (1950)
"The Searchers" (1956)
"Breathless" (1959)
"Psycho" (1960)
"Star Wars" (1977)
If not for the inclusion of "Star Wars," we could write off the list as adhering to a school of thought that "classic movies" referred to the pre-blockbuster era. It's right there, though, muddying the semantic waters for TCM's label. Don't get us wrong: We have a Darth Vader action figure staring at us right this second, but if "Star Wars" gets in, the floodgates must be flung open.
Where's the "Godfather" trilogy, some of the best and most influential storytelling ever filmed? The Corleone family troubles perfectly encapsulated the notion of the American dream and spawned too many imitators to count. What about "Toy Story," easily as important and often more emotionally engaging than "Snow White"? Where's "Casablanca," whose morally ambiguous but basically good-hearted Rick Blaine is more a template for modern antiheroes than any other noir figure?
Yes, yes, yes to "Citizen Kane," "Psycho" and "Rashomon." But at risk of being labeled ignorant, we have to ask whether any filmmaker consciously consideres "Birth of a Nation" during the creative process; its enduring legacy is its racist content. Is it influential any longer? Or "42nd Street," in this era almost entirely devoid of musicals?
What do you think? Does anything deserve to be stricken? What other movies need to be added to the list?
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I love star wars
I agree. Star Wars shouldn't be on there. The Wizard Of Oz or 2001, but not Star Wars.
To a certain extent....
"Jurrasic Park" uleashed a brand new era in the art of special effects -- and we've been paying the price ever since.
Like it or not, Star Wars changed the industry forever. We're talking Influence, not "best". From marketing and financing to percentage of gate salary structure and mythology, it is beyond a question of influence.
I would say every time a director makes a movie that is over 20 minutes long, they are being influenced by "Birth of a Nation."
Also, I would include Tron. Often overlooked, in terms of influence, special effects would probably be very different if Disney had not experimented with CGI way backi n 1982.
Without "Snow White", there never would have been a "Toy Story." And some would say that "Toy Story" and the ensuing computer animated movies have actually set the art of animation backwards.
absolutely Star Wars should be included. that movie was monumental, it changed the way we view movies. from there on, it became a different game altogether.
in addition, drop one of those movies from the 30's and replace it with The Godfather.
Luckily this list if only Most Influential and not Best, because the first Star Wars movie is not the best one.
This is great, almost brilliant. Cheers. Master Jedi-Robe. http://www.jedi-robe.com
"But at risk of being labeled ignorant, we have to ask whether any filmmaker consciously consideres "Birth of a Nation" during the creative process; its enduring legacy is its racist content. Is it influential any longer?"
We don't hold to Newtonian physics anymore. Therefore Newton is no longer influential?
Seriously?