Metropolis~1927 - (Dir: Fritz Lang based on a story conceived by his wife Thea von Harbou) C-3P0/ Der Maschinen-Mensch (Maria). Obviously C-3PO is the male version.

Metropolis/ANH Comparison Photos (under A New Hope: Metropolis)

Triumph des Willens<Triumph of the Will>~1934 -  (Dir: Leni Riefenstahl)  I saw this film in one of my film classes, while I wasn't tremendously enamored in any way, shape or form with the film's content I did find that Riefenstahl was an artist in presentation.  I was genuinely surprised when I saw the great hall scene/ The last scene in A New Hope (the medal/awards scene in the great hall), the Rebel Forces, right down to the black boots, lined up just so, turning on heel to face the three heroes as they walk through the throne room after destroying the Death Star. The composition (the pillars of light) and mood of the sequence is transplanted directly from Triumph.  There's also that obvious Empire/Third Reich touch too.

Aleksandr Nevsky~1938 - (Dir: Sergei Eisenstein based on the Russian saint, Prince Nevsky's life)  Prince Nevsky leads his people against the oppressive Teutonic Knights/Luke Skywalker & Princess Leia lead their people against the oppressive Empire/Stormtroopers.  The knights' dress (white and black), armor and helmet  are a likely inspiration for Star Wars' Stormtroopers.

Gone With the Wind~1939 - (Dir: Victor Fleming, George Kucor & Sam Wood based on Margaret Mitchell's 1936 Pulitzer (1937) Prize winning novel Gone With the Wind) Some people compare Rhett Butler with Han Solo.  Both are blockade runners who are manly with a sensitive side (tend to work only for themselves until it gets right down to it then they pitch in), both classic anti-hero material.

Phantom Creeps, The~1939 - (Dir: Ford Beebe & Saul A. Goodkind - 12 part serial) The opening crawl might have been taken from this serial, the second episode carried the crawl, but not the first (the first didn't have a Foreword and, incidentally, was named "The Menacing Power").

Wizard of Oz, The~1939 - (Dir: Victor Fleming from L Frank Baum's 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) [1]  I had taken my parents (convinced them actually) to see Star Wars when I was twelve, after the film we sat down at Sambo's restaurant  and discussed the film.  My mother first said it was a western (I had seen a few of these, but they weren't really my thing, so I didn't see it at first).  We could easily see influences from the Wizard of Oz, especially the C3P0 being similar to the Tin Man (though we know the visual influence was from Metropolis) the Tin Man made noise when he moved as did C-3PO; Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow disguising themselves as the Witches guards and Luke and Han disguising themselves as Stormtroopers; The wicked  witch disappearing and Obi-Wan disappearing; The Emperor's hologram and the Wizards image are very similar; Munchkins and Jawas;  Obi-Wan disables the tractor beam (really the look of that scene) compares to a scene at the Witches castle, both have an area surrounding them with a seemingly endless pit or chasm. [2] Before Dorothy sings "Over the Rainbow"  she has a small paragraph leading up to the song itself: It's not a place you can get to by a boat or a train, It's far, far away, behind the moon, beyond the rain.(see other Oz influences in ESB and ROTJ below)

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe<Purple Death from Outer Space>~1940 - (Dir: Ford Beebe & Ray Taylor from Alex Raymond comic strip - 12 part serial) The opening crawl and the soft wipes connecting the scenes.  Note that the crawl was used before the Flash Gordon Serials.

Flash Gordon/ANH Comparison Photos (Under A New Hope: Flash Gordon)

Casablanca~1942 - (Dir: Michael Curtiz  based on Murray Bennett's and Joan Allison's 1940 original unpublished play Everyone Comes to Rick's) Major Heinrich Strasser was originally supposed to be shot in cold blood by Rick (Bogart) but, Bogart claimed that this made Rick no better than a murderer.  He suggested that Strasser go for his gun first, which Veidt (who plays Strasser) pointed out would be more consistent with the Strasser character.    The scene was filmed so Strasser went for his gun first.  Interesting to think that the whole Greedo/Han scene has gone back and forth and Lucas finally decided Greedo would shoot first and Han shooting next...Lucas pointed out that he didn't want Han to be a murderer.  Han Solo's a Rick-type character, Ford seemed to channel Rick (not Bogart) as Han Solo a little shady with a heart of gold.

Sabotage Agent<Adventures of Tartu>~1943 - (Dir: Harold S. Bucquet) One man's mission to infiltrate the Nazi gas plant, get the secret plans and destroy the plant...with help of Czech allies.  One man's mission to infiltrate the Death Star (based on weaknesses found in secret plans), and destroy the Death Star...with help of the rebel alliance.

Twelve O'clock High~1949 - (Dir: Henry King from Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr's 1948 novel Twelve O'clock High) Some lines in ANH are quite similar to those in this film.  "The guns, they've stopped", "Watch for enemy fighters"

Dam Busters, The~1954 - (Dir: Michael Anderson Sr.) Dam Busters, impossible task (destroying the German base)...until a British scientist devises an ingenious plan to knock out the industrial base.  Star Wars, impossible task (destroying the Empire's Death Star)...until plans stolen from the base itself are ingeniously used to find the Death Star's weakness and...you know what happens.

Forbidden Planet~1954 - (Dir: Fred M. Wilcox based on Shakespeare's The Tempest)  The most obvious visual element taken from Forbidden Planet is that of Morbius' creating a hologram of his daughter, the angle of the shot is nearly mirrored in A New Hope when R2 projects the hologram of Princess Leia for the first time in front of Luke.

Shichinin no samurai<Seven Samurai>~1954 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa) Peasant turned Samurai/ Farm boy turned Jedi.  The editing and pace of Star Wars is similar to that of Seven Samurai.

Searchers, The~1956 -  (Dir: John Ford from Alan LeMay's 1954 novel The Searchers) Ben and Luke come across the slaughtered Jawas at the Sandcrawler.  Luke thinks that Sand People were responsible but Ben says that it was Imperial Stormtroopers that killed the Jawas, Luke figures out that if they killed the Jawas they'd be heading for the moisture farm and rushes back to his home.  He pulls up to the Lars' homestead, there is a close-up of his face, horror...his home, burned out in the distance and as Luke walks closer and calls out to his aunt and uncle he discovers the unimaginable, both aunt and uncle dead, burned to death.

In The Searchers, the characters Ethan (Wayne) and Marty, search for the cattle that had been stolen by a group of Comanche Indians (from his brother Aaron's homestead), when he comes upon them they are slaughtered (not for food), he realizes that the Comanche have stolen the cattle to lure the men away from the farms, a trick.  Ethan rushes back to the homestead to help defend against the attack. Ethan comes across his brother's homestead.  Ford shows a close-up of Ethan's face, he's seeing the burned-out homestead.  He calls out to Martha (his brother's wife - an unrequited love), as he gets closer he sees Martha (her blue dress really)...the shot frames him around the deadly setting and the burned-out home as he mulls over what tortures befell them.

The Searchers may have had another influence on Lucas.  The existential conflict.  Luke and Ethan's conflicts differ considerably though,  Luke's loss/death of innocence and Ethan's obsessive quest are certainly not in the same vein...though Ethan's conflict is more solidly equaled to Anakin Skywalker's in Attack of the Clones.  Note: Drums Along the Mohawk had played the scene of the burning homestead first.

7th Voyage of Sinbad, The~1958 (Dir: Nathan Juran) Stop Motion Animation (by the king Ray Harryhausen) the way of things before CGI, a truly incredible feat of labor (a labor of love).  The Holochess game on board the Millennium Falcon.  There's also a scene where Sinbad (Matthews) and Princess Parisa (Grant) swing across a crumbled bridge inside a cave near Sokurah (Thatcher) the Magician's castle, the angle and the swing itself look very much like that of Luke and Leia's swing across the cavernous insides of the Death Star. Notes: Lucas and Muren made additional commentaries on The Harryhausen Chronicles, which is included in the 7th Voyage of Sinbad's DVD extras.

Although Harryhausen's Eye of the Tiger and Star Wars came out in the same year, no connection really,  I just had to show a comparison of two photos, one from each film:

Kakushi toride no san akunin<The Hidden Fortress>~1958 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa) The line "...to find the Rebel's Hidden Fortress..." as Motti then gets choked is just a verbal tidbit.  The most similarity resides in the pairing of R2D2 and C3P0 based on the bickering peasants Tahei (Chiaki) and Matakishi (Fujiwara) who escort a Princess across enemy territory.  The Princess herself, Yukihime (Uehara) uses a handmaiden to travel unnoticed (this was used in AOTC) The beginning scenes parallel each other by introducing these characters, getting their take on the whole scene...C-3PO and R2 are paid no mind as a battle rages around them and Tahei and Matakishi also find themselves caught in the middle of a battle with no attention focused on them, they make quips and remarks about how their doomed and seem to lament all that is happening to them.

In the Hidden Fortress it's Tahei and Matakishi who are lured by the princesses wealth to help her obtain her goal, in Star Wars it's Han Solo.  Both films share the trusted general of the Princess (General Makabe = Obi-Wan Kenobi).  In an interview with George Lucas on the Hidden Fortress DVD bonus features, Lucas tells us that he liked that The Hidden Fortress was told from the point of view of the two lowliest characters, Tahei and Matakishi, and thought that would be a good way to tell the story of Star Wars, the viewpoint of C-3PO and R2D2.

First Spaceship on Venus~1959 - (Dir: Kurt Maetzig) Eugene tells us that the robot in this film is compared to R2D2 and that there is a striking similarity between the famous Star Wars title screen, right down to the text disappearing into the stars in exactly the same way. (Thanks to Eugene for this reverse reference!)

Uchu daisenso<Battle in Outer Space>~1959 - (Dir: Ishirô Honda) A New Hope's final battle scenes closely resemble that of this Japanese, effects-laden, space battle epic.

Yusei oji<The Star Prince>~1959 - (Dir: Eijirô Wakabayashi)  Krankor, the space chicken, from this film was used in A New Hope.  Anyone got a picture of this?? LOL Here's Krankor (Photo from HERE):

Yojimbo~1961 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa from the Dashiel Hammett novel Red Harvest) Several men brag about how they are wanted by the authorities and bothering Sanjuro (Mifune).   In A New Hope's Mos Eisley Cantina Dr Evazan and his buddy brag about how they are wanted men and want to get Luke.  Sword and a cut off arm in both films, the ruffian in Yojimbo is disfigured.  The line: "25 ryo now, 25 when you complete the mission."  "Two thousand now, plus fifteen when we reach Alderaan".  It also seems entirely possible that Yoda could have derived from the character Gonji - the tavern keeper (Tono), a little old man who sticks with Sanjuro, a wandering samurai.  Side Note: Jeremy Bulloch once said that he based the character of Boba Fett on Clint Eastwood's character, Joe (wandering gunslinger), in A Fist Full of Dollars, which was an Italian (Leone) remake of Yojimbo and Red Harvest, of course)

21-87~1964 - (Dir: Arthur Lipsett) Han Solo's line in the Detention area: "We've got to find out which cell this Princess of yours is in.  Here it is...2187."  A nod to one of Lucas' favorite obscure films.

633 Squadron~1964 -  (Dir: Walter Grauman from Frederick Escreet Smith's 1956 novel 633 Squadron) The Death Star trench scene IS the WWII De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber attack scene.

Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il<The Good, The Bad, The Ugly>~1966 - (Dir: Sergio Leone) Leone let the actor and everything else share the spotlight (instead of just the actor taking all focus).  He seemed to rely on the whole picture to tell the story, a spatial conversation/dance, setting the scene for 'Blockbusters'.  He also made sure that things weren't squeaky clean.  There was a certain aged and used look to everything, making scenes look less like sets and more like a slice of life.  Lucas seems to do the same in Star Wars.  He balances actors with surroundings and the lived-in look.

Kairyu daikessen <The Magic Serpent>~1966 - (Dir: Tetsuya Yamauchi) Ikazukhi-maru/Jiraiya (a Luke-like hero - Matsukata), a young prince is being boated to safety from a Ninja attack on his family's kingdom, where his parents/family have been killed by Daijô Yûki (a Vader-like villain - Amatsu).  As the young prince is being escorted a serpent (Daijô Yûki transformed) rises from the water and attacks the boat killing all aboard, the boy is just about to drown when a giant hawk swoops down and saves him.  The hawk was sent by Dojin Hiki (an Obi-Wan-like wizard who lives in a remote cottage incidentally) who adopts the boy and raises him as his own son (never really revealing the boy's true parentage).  Dojin Hiki spends ten years raising the young man, imparting his wisdom and mystical powers as well.  Dojin says, "You will do good, not like the other" (the "other" being Daijô Yûki a former student of Dojin's who turned to evil, "the best student I ever had").  Ikazukhi travels out into the world and meets a young woman, Sunate (a Leia-like hero - Ogawa), who's searching for her father.

Luke is saved from the Sand People by an old wizard who lives in a remote "cottage", Kenobi,  who imparts his knowledge/the Force to Luke.  Kenobi doesn't reveal Luke's true parentage but tells him that his father was one of his best students and was killed by Vader, basically.  (Also the whole Kenobi training Anakin for ten years...Anakin saying that Kenobi is the closest thing he has to a father in AOTC)

There's a scene where Ikazukhi saves a young boy from getting crushed by a cart (with his powers).  He then walks along with the family until they are stopped by some guards who question them.  The family protects Ikazukhi by saying that he is part of their family, the guards buy it.  Somewhat like Obi-Wan and Luke with R2 and C-3PO coming into Mos Eisley.

Ikazukhi wants to help Sunate and brings her to his master, who he's sure would know of her father.  They find that Dojin has been attacked (by Daijo's apprentice Orochi-Maru <Otomo>) and is on the brink of death.  With his last breaths Dojin tells Ikazukhi to avenge the deaths of his parents (revealed finally as well as Sunate's father who is none other than Daijô Yûki) and family.    

At one point Sunate finds her father (with the help of his apprentice) and her father makes an effort to have her join him and she is torn briefly, but doesn't do as her father bids.

It, of course, comes down to a confrontation of good and evil, with good winning...Ikazukhi and Daijo meet up in a duel to the death and at some point are transformed into a huge toad and a serpent, respectively.

There are so many points in this film that are obvious influences, so much more overt than that of Hidden Fortress it seems.  Some of the roles are reversed between Ikazukhi  and Sunate, but the similarities between Vader and Daijo are pretty clear cut 

2001: A Space Odyssey~1968 - (Dir: Stanley Kubrick based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2001: A Space Odyssey) My parents took me to see this film at the Lompoc Drive-In theatre when it opened, I was enthralled (more than any other film I'd ever seen on the big screen, I was 4, but just like the moon landing I thought it was something amazing).  The space ships: especially the escape pod in ANH (from the Tantiv IV) with that of the pod from 2001...a HUGE nod to 2001 by Lucas, almost an exact reverse shot.  It could be said that Darth Vader's breathing could have been an influence of Dave (funny that Vader is just an 'r' away from Dave) Bowman's breathing when dealing with the HAL situation and on the outside of the ship.   The look of the sets were similar (though also similar to Space: 1999), but some of the same people (one being Brian Johnson) worked on the set design of 1999, 2001 and Star Wars.

Hsia nu<A Touch of Zen>~1969 - (Dir: King Hu based on the stories/novels of Sung- ling Pu <Songling Pu/Pu-Songling> 1640-1715 - many ghost stories more specifically the Liao Zhai Zhi yi <Strange Tales From a Chinese Studi>) A mystical force, fighting blindly but "seeing"  a little predecessor to the Force.    Note: the Monk, Hui Yuan, is played by Roy Chaio who played Lao Che in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom~1984.

Silent Running~1971 - (Dir: Douglas Trumbull) While the drones, Huey, Dewey & Louie,  in Silent Running, are not shaped in similar fashion to R2D2, there are other similarities (Lucas told Trumbull that he liked the drones in Silent Running.) Both have endearing personalities and are cute and very useful.  (a suit was filed regarding the similarities after ANH was released, nothing came of it).  The comparison shows similar pictures, even though the one with R2 is from Empire.

THX 1138~1971 - (Dir: George Lucas) The robot policemen are similar to the Stormtroopers (dehumanizing mask).  OMM is the Emperor.  THX-1138 is Luke.  The hunchback shell dwellers (at 16th street BART station) at the end of the film are very similar to the Jawas.  Also, during a chase scene, Terry McGovern (who did the off-screen voices for the film, most improvisational) says, "I think I ran over a Wookiee back there"  After the session Lucas asked McGovern what a Wookiee was and McGovern said he didn't know, he'd just made it up.  Lucas obviously liked it and used it.

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe<Purple Death from Outer Space>~1940 - (Dir: Ford Beebe & Ray Taylor from Alex Raymond comic strip - 12 part serial) Flash Gordon had a cloud city which Lucas improved upon 100% in ESB, not to mention the whole Frigia/Hoth comparison.

Dick Barton Strikes Back~1947

Shichinin no samurai<Seven Samurai>~1954 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa) The editing and pace in the Empire Strikes Back are similar to that of Seven Samurai.

THX 1138~1971 - (Dir: George Lucas) General Carlist Rieekan says, "Send Rogues ten and eleven to sector three-eight"

Kagemusha<The Shadow Warrior>~1980 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa from Heinlein's 1956 novel Double Star?)  Note: Lucas and Coppola helped Kurosawa produce this film.

Tarzan the Ape Man~1932 - (Dir: W.S. Van Dyke based on Edgar Rice Burrough's 1912+ Tarzan stories) Chewbacca yells the infamous Tarzan call while swinging through the trees on Endor while Ewoks are running about beating up on Stormtroopers.

Triumph des Willens<Triumph of the Will>~1934 - (Dir: Leni Riefenstahl)

Aleksandr Nevsky~1938 - (Dir: Sergei Eisenstein) 

Wizard of Oz, The~1939 - (Dir: Victor Fleming from L Frank Baum's 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) C3P0 and R2D2 come to the door of Jabba's Palace, knock, the droid opens the small, round door at eye level and looks around, then sees 3P0 and R2.  They converse and are let it.  An obvious homage to the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, the Tin Man and Toto come up to the door of the Emerald City Palace to see the wizard.

Casablanca~1942 - (Dir: Michael Curtiz based on an unproduced play) In designing Jabba the Hutt for Return of the Jedi George Lucas told Phil Tippett, et al., to make Jabba look like Sydney Greenstreet who played Signor Ferrari the owner of the Blue Parrot (not as popular a bar as Rick's Cafe Americain), he also has shady dealings in the black market, just like Jabba the Hutt.

Day the Earth Stood Still, The~1951 - (Dir:  Robert Wise based loosely on the story of Christ) Lucas named three of the skiff guards (from Jabba's sail barge/Sarlacc scene) Klaatu, Barada and Nikto.  Klaatu, Barada and Nikto were the words that made GORT (the robot) move.

Shichinin no samurai<Seven Samurai>~1954 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa) 

Kakushi toride no san akunin<The Hidden Fortress>~1958 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa)

Ben-Hur~1959 - (Dir: William Wyler a remake from the 1927 film of the same name and based upon General Lew Wallace's 1880 Novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ)  It's hard to ignore the similar talk between the characters of Ben-Hur/Arrius and that of Emperor Palpatine/Luke: "Your eyes are full of hate. That's good.  Hate keeps a man alive, it gives him strength"/"Good, use your aggressive feelings, boy.  Let the hate flow through you." "your hate has made your powerful"

Uchu daisenso<Battle in Outer Space>~1959 - (Dir: Ishirô Honda) The epic-style space battle had to have been an influence on Lucas's vision of space battles.

Fitzwilly<Fitzwilly Strikes Back (UK) or A Garden of Cucumbers>~1967 - (Dir: Delbert Mann Music: John "Johnny" Williams)

Godfather, The~1972 - (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola adaptation of Mario Puzo's The Godfather) Luca Brasi is killed by *garrote, which is essentially what Leia does to Jabba the Hutt on his sail barge...a little nod to Coppola) * a method of killing which one comes up from behind and strangles by the throat usually with a wire.  It's also a device in which a metal collar placed around the victim's neck, and attached to a chair with a slender back,  is tightened by a screw at the back of the collar...eventually strangling the person.

Wiz, The~1978 - (Dir: Sidney Lumet based on the Musical The Wiz and L. Frank Baum's 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

Guerre du feu, La<Quest For Fire>~1981 - (Dir: Jean-Jacques Annaud)

Tron~1982 - (Dir: Steven Lisberger)

Girl Shy~1924 - (Dir: Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor) Harold Meadows (Lloyd) hangs from a gun turret, Binks does the same thing during the battle sequence.

Navigator, The~1924 - (Dir: Buster Keaton and Donald Crisp) Rollo Treadway (Keaton) inadvertently gets a miniature cannon attached to his foot which fires killing a "native", Binks somehow gets a blaster attached to his foot and it fires destroying several battle droids.

Seven Chances~1925 - (Dir: Buster Keaton - Silent film) Jimmy Shannon (Keaton) runs from an rock slide in the funny and famous 'great rock chase', this  is duplicated in TPM when Jar-Jar Binks tries to dodge the Boomers in the Naboo battle scene.

Metropolis~1927 - (Dir: Fritz Lang based on a story conceived by his wife Thea von Harbou)

Phantom Empire~1935 - (Dir: Otto Brower & B. Reeves Eason)  Inspired title?  Mu sank beneath the ocean in ancient times and the inhabitants, Muranians, survived in caverns that lay under the ocean, similar to the Gungans living beneath the surface waters of Naboo.

Wizard of Oz, The~1939 - (Dir: Victor Fleming based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

The Three Stooges~1930s - 1940s - Three pit droids at the Podrace squabble in a Stooges homage.

Knute Rockne All American<A Modern Hero>~1940 - (Dir: Lloyd Bacon based on the life story of Knute Rockne)

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe~1940 - (Dir: ) The Phantom Menace is the name of one of the villains.

Citizen Kane~1941 - (Dir: Orson Welles based on an original screenplay by Orson Welles and Herbert J. Mankiewicz which was based loosely on William Randolph Hearst) The character Shmi Skywalker (August) is reminiscent of Mrs. Kane (Moorehead)

Maltese Falcon~1941 - (Dir: John Huston based on Dashiell Hammett's novel The Maltese Falcon) About an hour and a half into TPM, Amidala and Palpatine are discussing his eminent election to the senate in an office, after Palpatine sits down, Amidala crosses the screen (to the right) to a desk, in the background a replica of the Maltese Falcon is seen:

TPM/Maltese Falcon Comparison Photos (under TPM: Maltese Falcon)

Casablanca~1942 - (Dir: Michael Curtiz based on an unproduced play)

Planet Outlaws~1953 - (Dir: Harry Revier) The viewscreen the Trade Federation use in TPM - the one with the 'ripple effect' - is EXACTLY like the one used in this Buck Roger's serial.  (Thanks to Doug Curtis!)

War of the Worlds, The~1953 - (Dir: Byron Haskin based mostly on Orson Wells radio broadcast, but also on H.G. Wells' 1898 novel War of the Worlds)

Forbidden Planet~1956 - (Dir: Fred M. Wilcox based on Shakespeare's The Tempest) There are a few scenes in Episode I that look similar to those in Forbidden Planet especially where Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan and Maul are fighting.  Cavernous area with bolts of energy coming up around them, and the ever-popular "skywalk" over the cavernous surroundings.

Kakushi toride no san akunin<The Hidden Fortress>~1958 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa) The Princess, Yukihime (Uehara), uses a handmaiden to travel unnoticed as does Queen Amidala.  One might see a resemblance between General Makabe and Qui-Gon Jinn.

Ben-Hur~1959 - (Dir: William Wyler a remake from the 1927 film of the same name and based upon General Lew Wallace's 1880 Novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ) Both Anakin Skywalker (Lloyd) and Judah Ben-Hur (Heston) are slaves (though Hur was the "Prince of his people" before he was enslaved) who both win their freedom in similar fashion.  The pod race on Tatooine in Episode I  and the Chariot race in Ben-Hur are very similar including: flag bearers with the racers lined up behind them; the grandstands; the announcement of the participants and where they hail from (both Ben-Hur and Anakin get the loudest reception from the crowds);     the dirty tricks used during the race: wheels on Ben-Hur's & Messala's chariots locking together/Sebulba & Anakin's pods locking together;     crashes (including the Messala/Sebulba crashes that prevent them from winning);    Ben-Hur & Anakin coming from behind in victory;      [1] Watto and Sheik Ilderim (Hugh Griffith) are nearly identical in type and facial features (the eyes and eyebrows and a long nose...even the shape of the head is similar, though Watto doesn't have a thick beard).  Both are short with a round belly, both have less than joyful personalities, both sponsor the young men (Anakin/Ben-Hur) in the races, and bet on the outcome (though Watto does it for pure selfish reasons). [2] Ben-Hur and Quintus Arrius (Hawkins) arrive in Rome to a victorious celebration/the the heroes of TPM arrive in Theed for the victory celebration  [3]  Ben-Hur: Trumpets sounding by marching parade members/TPM: trumpets sounding by marching parade members

TMP/Ben-Hur Comparison Photos (under TPM: Ben-Hur)

Spartacus<Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome>~1960 - (Dir: Stanley Kubrick based on blacklisted author Howard Fast's 1951 novel Spartacus) The battle scene (Episode I) in particular is reminiscent of the battle scene in Spartacus.  Huge droid armies amassed on the green fields of Naboo seem to come straight from the armies gathered on green hills in Spartacus.

Cleopatra~1963 - (Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz & Darryl F. Zanuck - Rouben Mamoulian was the first director but was fired and replaced by Mankiewicz.  The film is based on C. M. (Carlo Mario) Franzero's 1957 novel The Life and Times of Cleopatra as well as ancient histories by Appian, Plutarch<Plutarchs' Lives, comes to mind>, and Suetonius) Cleopatra/Amidala - Each a young queen (Cleopatra only three years senior to Amidala...only one to Portman), each heavily ornamented in costume and tradition publicly and privately....which might be true of any queen/empress/princess throughout most of history, more recent rulers are less apt to go beyond fancy dress for special occasions and have considerably less ornamental accoutrements than their pre-Elizabeth II predecessors.  While the costumes bear some resemblance to the pageantry of the Egyptian Queen's, they more closely follow more Asian/Eastern Asia (including Russian) themes and influences.  

Fall of the Roman Empire, The~1964 - (Dir: Anthony Mann The historical consultant was author Will Durant who wrote (with much help from his wife, Ariel) Caesar and Christ: A History of Roman Civilization and of Christianity from Their Beginnings to A.D. 325 <Story of Civilization, No 3>)  The victory parade (see also Ben-Hur) are incredibly similar visually.  *Note: Alec Guinness portrayed Marcus Aurelius.

2001: A Space Odyssey~1968 - (Dir: Stanley Kubrick from Arthur C. Clarke novel 2001: A Space Odyssey) The pod from the Discovery is seen in Watto's junkyard.  Thanks to Mr. Kennedy from HERE for the photo comparison.

THX 1138: 4EB~1970 (Dir: George Lucas)

THX 1138~1971 - (Dir: George Lucas) The number on the back of one of the battle droids fighting the Gungans is 1138 

Enter the Dragon~1973 - (Dir: Robert Clouse)

Flåklypa Grand Prix<Pinchcliffe Grand Prix>~1975 - (Dir:  Ivo Caprino)  Some details might be attributed to Flåklypa Grand Prix (a animated film out of Norway).  Specifically the Pod Race at Boonta Eve: Sebulba's sabotage of Anakin's pod racer and the subsequent poor sportsmanship during the race itself, Anakin's late start due to engine trouble.  Sebulba's Norwegian counterpart is Gore Slimy.  All of these elements are present in one of Norway's most popular films of all time.  

Star Wars: A New Hope~1977 - (Dir: George Lucas) If you look closely in the Tatooine scenes, you can see Luke's T-16 Landspeeder (in green) from A New Hope.

Kagemusha<The Shadow Warrior>~1980 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa from Heinlein's 1956 novel Double Star?) 

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back~1980 (Dir: Irvin Kershner) Amidala's starship is a Nubian J-327.  327 is the number of the landing platform on Cloud City (Han Solo & the Falcon land there)

Raiders of the Lost Ark<Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark>~1981 (Dir: Steven Spielberg based on a story by George Lucas) A person dressed as Indiana Jones is in the Pod Race sequence, enjoying the view from the grandstands.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial~1982 - (Dir: Steven Spielberg) After Queen Amidala announces the "no confidence in Chancellor Valorum"  in the Galactic Senate Chamber, you will see many characters yelling their approval/disapproval, amongst these characters are several E. T.'s:

Transformers: The Movie, The~1986 - (Dir: Nelson Shin) Note: starred voice of Orson Welles

Blind Fury~1989 -  (Dir: Phillip Noyce) Rutger Hauer plays a blind Vietnam vet, Nick Parker, with a sword in his cane, and was watching it for the first time in a while.     To set the scene.. in the last battle against the drug dealers holding his friend's son, Billy, and girlfriend hostage, Parker is sword fighting with Japanese swordsman "The Assassin" (Shô Kosugi) and causes a lamp to fall into a hot tub. The Assassin falls in the tub and gets electrocuted, but his sword ends up at the edge of the tub.  Slag (Randal "Tex" Cobb), who had been trying to kill Parker and kidnap Billy through the whole movie, comes in and shoot's Parker's shoulder. Parker throws his sword at Slag, impaling him, but not killing him (a la Qui-Gon).  Slag pulls the sword out and crawls for his gun, but Billy throws Hauer his sword, which falls in the electrocuted tub (like Obi-Wan's lightsaber into the pit. Parker picks up The Assassin's sword and as Slag rushes him, he does a quick slice and lets Slag's momentum take him through a glass wall that leads to a drop-off at Donner Pass. The scene where Slag is falling, you see he was cut in two at the waist (like Darth Maul.. the bad guy falling in two pieces.) (Thanks to John from Obroa-Skai for this reverse reference!)

Batman~1989 - (Dir: Tim Burton based on the Batman comic books)

Black Rain~1989 - (Dir: Ridley Scott)

Wong Fei-hung<The Master>~1991 - (Dir: Hark Tsui)

Wayne's World~1992 - (Dir: Stephen Surjik from original Mike Meyers idea/sketch)

Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals~1994 (V) 

Shadow, The~1994 - (Dir: Russell Mulcahy based on the 30's radio show which, incidentally, starred Orson Welles)

Braveheart~1995 - (Dir: Mel Gibson from a script based on 300 pages of rhyming verse attributed to Blind Hally about William Wallace and surrounding events)

Dragonheart~1996 - (Dir: Rob Cohen) When Yoda talks to Obi-Wan at Theed (Palace) you can see a very large bird/dragon flying outside (over Obi-Wan's right shoulder), a slight homage to Draco from this film?  ILM worked on both films.

Chasing Amy~1997 (Dir: Kevin Smith based on his original story)

Fifth Element, The~1997 (Dir: Luc Besson based on his original story) Jar-Jar sleeping on Amidala's ship/Ruby Rod sleeping on Pfloston Paradise, after the explosion

When you see Jar-Jar Binks sleeping in Queen Amidala's spaceship, he looks exactly like Ruby Rhod sleeping after the explosion of Fhloston Paradise in "The Fifth Element"

Rurôni Kenshin: Meiji kenkaku roman tan: Tsuioku hen<Samurai X: Betrayal ; Samurai X: Trust>~1999 (V) (Dir: Kazuhiro Furuhashi) 

Metropolis~1927 - (Dir: Fritz Lang based on a story conceived by his wife Thea von Harbou)  The cityscapes and bustling traffic seem to be quite similar in many respects.

Triumph des Willens<Triumph of the Will>~1934 - (Dir: Leni Riefenstahl) 

Things to Come~1936 - (Dir: William Cameron Menzies from H.G. Wells' 1933 The Shape of Things to Come)

Wizard of Oz, The~1939 - (Dir: Victor Fleming from L Frank Baum's 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe<Purple Death from Outer Space>~1940 - (Dir: Ford Beebe & Ray Taylor - 12 part serial;  from Alex Raymond comic strip Flash Gordon) - In chapter 5 of the serial, in an excerpt, the Foreword reads: "Zarkov is about to meet death in the arena, Flash races up the stairs leading to the arena, and through a window sees Zarkov standing manacled between two stone pillars.  As Ming's voice sentences Zarkov..."   Padme and Anakin come to rescue/help Obi-Wan and find themselves sentenced to death in the arena where they, and Obi-Wan are manacled to stone pillars.  While Poggle the Lesser and his support group (Dooku) voice out the sentencing.

Quo Vadis~1951 - (Dir: Mervyn LeRoy from Henryk Sienkiewicz' 1890's novel Quo Vadis) Coliseum sequence.

War of the Worlds, The~1953 - (Dir: Byron Haskin based mostly on Orson Wells radio broadcast, but also on H.G. Wells' 1898 novel War of the Worlds)

Shichinin no samurai<Seven Samurai>~1954 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa) Samurai were considered "keepers of the peace".  Mace Windu says: "We're keepers of the peace, not soldiers." (Thanks to General Tarfful who reminded me that it was AOTC where Mace speaks this line and not TPM!)

Searchers, The~1956 - (Dir: John Ford from Alan LeMay's 1954 novel The Searchers)  Ethan Edwards daemonic quest, first fueled by Ethan's mother's death at the hands of the Comanche, continues throughout his life (at one point he's even called an empty shell of a man).  He is redeemed by his brother's daughter, Debbie (the daughter was born to his brother's wife, Martha, Ethan's unrequited love.  Debbie was captured by the Comanche after they set fire to and killed all others in her, and Ethan's, family and lives as one of them for five years), in some way he may see that Debbie could have been his own daughter.    Ethan looks over a Comanche encampment from a high spot.  Dogs fighting over scraps.  Ethan has a close-up in Scar's tepee where you can see his utter hatred boiling underneath

Anakin's obsession/quest really starts to grow at his mother's death, brought on by the Sand People...which will not cease until the end, ROTJ, where he is redeemed by his son.  Anakin looks over the Sand People's encampment from a high spot.  Dog-like creatures fighting over scraps.  Anakin has a close-up in the Sand People's tent where you can see his utter hatred boiling underneath.

Chikyu Boeigun<Earth Defense Force>~1957 - (Dir: Ishirô Honda)

Kakushi toride no san akunin<The Hidden Fortress>~1958 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa) The Princess, Yukihime (Uehara), uses a handmaiden to travel unnoticed, again, as Senator Amidala does.

7th Voyage of Sinbad, The~1958 - (Dir: Nathan (Hertz) Juran) The Arena scene in AOTC seems to bear many resemblances to Harryhausen's ideas and monsters, another homage to the legend of stop-motion.  Obi Wan fights the Acklay with a spear = Sinbad fighting the Minotaur with a spear..  

Mysterious Island~1961 - (Dir: Cy Endfield based on Jules Verne's novel Mysterious Island) Obi-Wan fights off the Acklay with a spear =A gigantic crab threatens a spear-wielding human.

Dr. No~1962 - (Dir: Terrence Young based on Ian Fleming's 1958 novel Dr. No) Poisonous Centipedes let loose in Amidala's chambers and into her bed = Poisonous Tarantula let loose in James Bond's bed

Lawrence of Arabia~1962 - (Dir: David Lean based on T. E. Lawrence's 1927 novel The Seven Pillars of Wisdom) Lawrence of Arabia and Attack of the Clones have the visual part of a scene in common...both use the colonnade at the Plaza de España Parque de Maria Luisa, Avenida de Isabella la Catolica Seville, Spain.  And it's not just that the location is the same.  The shot itself, from AOTC, is very similar to LoA's...there's only a small difference in the look of the shot.  Different lenses create a lengthening or a shortening of spatial elements. 

Sound of Music, The~1965 - (Dir: Robert Wise based on Maria von Trapp's 1949 novel ) It's said that the picnic/romantic scenes in the grassy hills between Padmé and Anakin are some kind of homage to The Sound of Music, at least visually.  Amidala comes up and over a small hill with the snow-capped peaks in the background which is what Maria does in The Sound of Music.

Django~1966 - (Dir: Sergio Corbucci) First of all the name Django is pronounced the same as Jango.  Django is a sharp shooting outlaw bent on vengeance.  He's a cold  and emotionless cowboy.  Sounds like Jango Fett!

2001: A Space Odyssey~1968 - (Dir: Stanley Kubrick based on Arthur C. Clark's novel 2001: A Space Odyssey) At the head of each Star Wars film the "crawl" completes and the camera pans down.  After the "crawl" on AOTC the camera pans up, this is the same as 2001: ASO.  The flatware used in the dining sequence (the pear scene) from AOTC was the same flatware design that was used in 2001

Easy Rider~1969 - (Dir: Dennis Hopper) The one thing I think of as far as a visual similarity is Anakin getting on what looks like an Easy Rider type cycle on Tatooine.  

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid~1969 - (Dir:  George Roy Hill)

THX 1138~1971- (Dir: George Lucas)

Enter the Dragon~1973 - (Dir: Robert Clouse)

American Graffiti~1973 - (Dir: George Lucas) The speeder that Anakin lifts in pursuit of Zam was inspired by the supped-up 1932, yellow Ford Coupe driven by John Milner (LeMat) in Graffiti.

Star Wars~1977 - (Dir: George Lucas) After Jango and Obi-Wan fight, Jango runs up the ramp to get into his ship and as the door closes he knocks his head.  Most of us recall the clumsy Stormtrooper in Star Wars that bumped his head while a door closed on the Death Star.      You can also find that there are two TIE fighters chasing an X-Wing on Coruscant during the pursuit scene.    Luke's T-16 is seen in the background of Lars' garage/workshop.

Apocalypse Now~1979 - (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola)

Kagemusha<The Shadow Warrior>~1980 - (Dir: Akira Kurosawa from Heinlein's 1956 novel Double Star?)

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back~1980 - (Dir: Irvin Kirshner & George Lucas) Luke and Leia looking out from the medical frigate, with C-3PO and R2 to the right in ESB is copied in AOTC when Anakin and Padmé are looking out onto the lake, with C-3PO and R2 to their right,  after they are married.

Raiders of the Lost Ark~1981 - (Dir: Steven Spielberg based on a story by George Lucas)

Blade Runner~1982 - (Dir: Ridley Scott based on Phillip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

E. T. - The Extra Terrestrial~1982 - (Dir: Steven Spielberg) The Trade Federation Ships = E. T.'s ship

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi~1983 - (Dir: Richard Marquand & George Lucas) The Imperial guards used in ROTJ are used in AOTC, it's near the beginning of AOTC where Palpatine, Yoda, Mace and Amidala meet in Palpatine's office.

Outsiders~1983 - (Dir: Francis Ford Coppola based on S. E. Hinton's 1967 novel The Outsiders)  Johnny Cade (Macchio) line: I killed them.  I killed them all... = Anakin Skywalker (Christensen) line: I killed them. I killed them all... 

Terminator, The~1984 - (Dir: James Cameron)

Big Trouble in Little China~1986 - (Dir: John Carpenter)

Aliens~1986 - (Dir: James Cameron)

Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta<Castle in the Sky>~1986 - (Dir: Hayao Miyazaki) Note: Mark Hamill supplies the voice of Col. Muska in the English version.

RoboCop 2~1987 - (Dir: Irvin Kirshner) During the arena battle on Geonosis, Jango Fett does a RoboCop gun twirling maneuver (a tip of the hat to Kirshner, who directed TESB?)

Hotaru no haka<Grave of the Fireflies>~1988 - (Dir: Isao Takahata based on Akiyuki Nosaka's novel)

Majo no takkyubin<Kiki's Delivery Service>~1989 - (Dir: Hayao Miyazaki based on Eiko Kadono's book)

Die xue shuang xiong<The Killer>~1989 - (Dir: John Woo)

Kurenai no buta<Crimson Pig/Porco Rosso>~1992 - (Dir: Hayao Miyazaki)

True Romance~1993 - (Dir: Tony Scott from an original script by Quentin Tarantino)

Pulp Fiction~1994 - (Dir: Quentin Tarantino) BMF (Bad Mother F'r) appears on Jules wallet, it's also engraved on Mace's Lightsaber, though I don't think this was an "influence" per say.

Jûbei ninpûchô<Ninja Scroll>~1995 - (Dir: Yoshiaki Kawajiri & Quint Lancaster)

Space Truckers~1996 - (Dir: Stuart Gordon) Two guns from this movie (literally re-used) were used in AOTC: Coruscant Guard Blasters are BSA .30-06 hunting rifle.  Naboo Guard Blaster/Calico Liberty Carbine 

Fifth Element, The~1997 - (Dir: Luc Besson from his original story)

Starship Troopers~1997 - (Dir: Paul Verhoeven from Robert Heinlein's 1959 novel Starship Troopers) Carmen takes a trip with the shuttle into the framework of the ring station.  A scene that is nearly copied in AOTC.

Rurôni Kenshin: Meiji kenkaku roman tan: Tsuioku hen<Samurai X: Betrayal ; Samurai X: Trust>~1999 (V) (Dir: Kazuhiro Furuhashi) 

Matrix, The~1999 (Dir: Andy and Larry Wachowski)

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace~1999 - (Dir: George Lucas) The pod-race from Phantom Menace is shown on the very left  of the three screens in the nightclub, where Anakin and Obi-Wan are searching for Zam. 

Gladiator~2000 - (Dir: Ridley Scott from David H. Franzoni's 1998 original script) More coliseum sequences.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within~2001 - (Dir: Hironobu Sakaguchi & Moto Sakakibara)

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi<Spirited Away>~2001- (Dir: Hayao Miyazaki)

Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no tobira~2001 (Dir: Shinichirô Watanabe & Hiroyuki Okiura <opening sequence>)

Metoroporisu<Metropolis>~2001 (Dir: Rintaro based on Osamu Tezuka's  Manga Metoroporisu which was inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis) 

Black Hawk Down~2001- (Dir: Ridley Scott from Mark Bowden's novel Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War which came from his 1997 newspaper series)

StarCraft: Brood War~1998 - The Zerg Lurker/The Acklay

StarCraft~1998 -