“Seven Samurai” by Akira Kurosawa, 1954
This movie doesn’t really have any recognizable pop culture scenes, unlike other films on this list, but it serves as the blueprint for countless pieces of media. It follows the story of poor rice farmers who struggle to fight off the bandits that ravage their town. Desperate and low on food, the farmers go to a nearby city and hire seven samurai to aid them in defeating the bandits. This storyline has been directly adapted in films like “The Magnificent Seven,” and paid homage to in TV episodes such as “Sanctuary” from “The Mandalorian.” Even more movies from Akira Kurosawa such as “The Hidden Fortress,” and “Yojimbo” have influenced some of the best selling movies like “Star Wars.”
“2001: A Space Odyssey” by Stanley Kubrick, 1968
Unlike “Seven Samurai,” the plot of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey hasn’t been directly copied, but many scenes and characters of the film have been replicated. Most notable of those being aspects like HAL 9000, the monolith, and the intro sequence. An evil robot with a red eye post-1968 could very well be considered a direct homage to HAL 9000 (the film’s main villain), especially those with eerie, monotone voices. Some great examples of this would be the evil robot in “Wall-E” even doing some of the things that HAL does, or in “The Mitchells vs. The Machines,” the character PAL is pretty obviously based on HAL 9000. Disregarding the influence of HAL, “2001: A Space Odyssey” has one of the most influential openings of all time due to the classical music and large scenic shots of outer space that greatly resemble those used in “Star Wars.” In “The Simpsons Movie”, the characters Itchy and Scratchy land on the moon and it’s set to the same song as 2001: A Space Odyssey.
“Akira” by Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988
Being the only animated film on this list, this movie is a bit different than the others. “Akira” follows the plot of two young men, Tetsuo and Kaneda who are part of a biker gang and get into one large mess up with a secret science experiment. One of the most iconic shots from this movie is the motorcycle slide. Almost any animated movie or show has copied this, including the likes of “Steven Universe,” “Adventure Time,” “Pokémon,” and “Miraculous.” Beyond film and television, ‘Akira’ has also left its mark on music. In particular, Ye (formerly Kanye West) once tweeted, “Katsuhiro Otomo the creator of Akira This movie is my biggest creative inspiration.” -Ye (@kanyewest) August 27, 2018.” The film’s influence on him is evident not only in this but also in his outfits and music videos, which closely resemble the aesthetic in “Akira”.
“The Breakfast Club” by John Hughes, 1985
While this film isn’t as critically acclaimed as others, it’s often referenced in pop culture. The plot follows a group of students serving Saturday detention as they find ways to pass the time. One could say that any long running TV show has referenced the iconic dance scene; “Family Guy” did it, and, “Sam & Cat” had a whole episode dedicated to the film that featured the dance sequence as well as almost identical outfits to those worn in the film. One person in particular has thrown a lot of references to it; Matt Groening, the director of “The Simpsons” and “Futurama,” among others. Many homages have been made like how in a “Futurama” Fry puts a lucky clover into a record of “The Breakfast Club” soundtrack. Additionally, the “The Simpsons” did a dance bit, and this last one may be a bit of a stretch, but the character Bender in “Futurama” may be directly influenced and inspired by Bender from “The Breakfast Club”.
“Dr Stangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” by Stanley Kubrick, 1964
It’s no surprise that Kubrick appears twice on this list, given his legendary directing. “Dr Strangelove” is set around the time of the cold war when tensions around the atom bomb were high. A slightly deranged general in the U.S. Air Force jumps the gun and calls a large nuclear attack on Soviet Russia. The most notable scene from this movie is when the character “‘King’ Kong” goes into a B-52s bomb bay to manually release the bombs and is on top of one when it drops. He decides to ride his predicament out by straddling the bomb and waving his hat while howling—sound familiar? The image of a character riding a bomb has been endlessly recreated in various media. In “Mulan,” when Mushu clung to a skyrocket; in “Despicable Me 2,” ‘El Macho’ dramatically surfed a bomb-strapped shark into a volcano, and in “Howl’s Moving Castle,” a wizard takes a similar explosive ride during the film’s climax. And while bomb riding was an amazingly influential thing to come out of “Dr Strangelove,” it wasn’t the only thing. In the very end of the movie, “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn played. The usage of this song for the particular part of the movie was referenced in the animated series “Gravity Falls” at the climax of the plot.
“North by Northwest” by Alfred Hitchcock, 1959
“North by Northwest” follows a man named Roger Thornhill, and how he got into a complete mix up with an unknown organization who has him mistaken for someone else trying to prevent their anti-smuggling plan. One of the two most notable scenes from this movie is the crop duster scene. This scene features Thornhill being taken out to cornfields and being pursued by a crop dusting plane that aims to eliminate him. The famous shot is when Thornhill is running, and the plane can be seen above and to the left flying towards him. This format for a scene has been done by everybody. It was featured in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “We Bare Bears,” “Sesame Street,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2,” and more. The other notable scene is the setting of the film’s climax on top of Mount Rushmore. An Episode from “Pinky and the Brain” featured a climax atop Mt. Rushmore, while “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” paid homage to it when Harry climbed onto the sculpture of Salazar Slytherin’s head during the climax. Moreover, “Family Guy” had an entire episode dedicated to “North by Northwest,” titled: “North by North Quahog” which features both the crop dusting plane as well as the Mt. Rushmore climax.
“The Godfather” by Francis Ford Coppola, 1972
Of course “The Godfather” would make this list. Being one of the most critically acclaimed as well as influential films of all time it should be no surprise. The plot is focused on the Italian mob family, the Corleones, and the transformation Micheal Corleone, who initially resisted mob life, experiences throughout his life. The impact of “The Godfather” is so vast that it could warrant an entire article of its own. Anyway, two of the main aspects that have been referenced by other media throughout the years are the character “Vito Corleone” and the horse head scene. In “Airplane” the captain’s wife is woken up by a call and a horse is seen in bed with her. Not just the head, but the whole horse. In “Zootopia,” the character Mister Big is a quite obvious parody of Vito Corleone, even his daughter’s wedding is a reference. Even “The Muppet Show” referenced it when Joan Baez appeared as a guest star and gave an imitation of Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone.
“Pulp Fiction” by Quentin Tarantino, 1994
Even though this is the youngest film on this list, it has had one of the biggest influences on pop culture out of any movie. It focuses on two plots that jump in and out of frame, namely two gangsters and a boxer from the bay area. Pulp Fiction is a treasure trove of pop culture references, with some of its most iconic moments—including the opening diner scene, Samuel L. Jackson’s chilling Bible verse monologue, and the unmistakable image of two men in black suits—continuing to inspire homages across film and television. Direct references can be seen in many films and forms of media such as “The Bad Guys.” When the film opens to Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake having a conversation in a restaurant, that is pretty on par to the Honey Bunny and Pumpkin dialogue in the start of “Pulp Fiction.” Even Samuel L. Jackson’s role has been referenced in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” a fake headstone for Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) that reads “The path of the righteous man… – Ezekiel 25:17,” a direct nod to the monologue recited in “Pulp Fiction” by Jackson that contains said Bible verse.
“The Shining” by Stanley Kubrick, 1980
This is the third Kubrick movie on this list and equally as influential, if not more, than the two others. “The Shining” is about the Torrance family’s adventures while occupying the Overlook Hotel in order to keep it in good condition. Because the hotel is tucked away in the Rocky Mountains, someone gets a little cabin fever and things go, well, downhill from there. As well as many of the other movies on this list, “The Shining” has been referenced and even done over so many times. Some of the characteristics and scenes that have been done over the most are the Grady Twins and the ‘Here’s Johnny!’ scene, but so many others have been done. Some examples include when Barbie and Sasha stare at each other and are then asked if the are ‘shining’ in “Barbie” or in “The Simpsons” Treehouse of Horror V, where they do a whole parody of “The Shining,” and even in “The Angry Birds Movie” there’s an homage to the Grady twins when Red comes across two pigs standing in an identical hallway who are saying ‘REDRUM.’
“Apocalypse Now” by Francis Ford Coppola, 1979
One of the best Vietnam war movies of all time, “Apocalypse Now” follows Captain Willard’s perilous journey through the Vietnamese and Cambodian jungles in order to find the crazy Colonel Kurtz. Many parts of “Apocalypse Now” have been homaged and referenced like the usage of “Ride of The Valkyries,” Captain Willard emerging from the river, and Colonel Kurtz himself. The references span many forms of media; from video games to more movies. For example, the video game “Fortnite” recognizes it twice with a trailer for an in-game skin being practically identical to Willard’s emergence from the water and the ability to play “Ride of The Valkyries” when in a helicopter. Additionally, in “Dune,” when Baron Harkonnen rubs his head similar to how Colonel Kurtz does. Additionally, in the cartoon “Arthur” during an episode about a lice outbreak which depicts the lice as an army, the lice general makes a remark about loving the smell of hair gel in the morning, an obvious homage to the remark Colonel Killgore makes in “Apocalypse Now.”
Through and through, these films have made some of the biggest splashes on modern pop culture as it’s known. They can be traced back via their scenes, characters, and music, but it doesn’t stop there. Even the way people interact day to day has been affected, so next time you watch a movie, look out for a reference, or “I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
