Who influenced Steven Spielberg, and what came after

Every connection with its receipt

Spielberg's cinema is a synthesis of classical Hollywood craft (Ford, Curtiz, Lean) filtered through a suburban childhood of television and B-movies, then supercharged by the storyboard precision of his shot design. This mix traces the directors he screened obsessively, the obscure sources he has named, his Movie Brat peers, and the generation of filmmakers who grew up inside his frames.

The Kynda mix for Steven Spielberg

• Key Influence · The Searchers by John Ford (1956). Spielberg has repeatedly named Ford as his formative master, recounting a teenage meeting in which Ford lectured him on placing the horizon at the top or bottom of the frame but never the middle — advice Spielberg has quoted for decades and dramatized in 'The Fabelmans.' Ford's doorway framing, landscape-dwarfed figures and obsession with home and exile run straight through 'Close Encounters' and 'The Searchers'-quoting 'Star Wars'-era compositions.
• Influencia Obscura · Duel in the Sun by King Vidor (1946). Spielberg named his 1971 TV movie 'Duel' partly in homage to Vidor's lurid Selznick western, a film he has discussed as a childhood obsession for its feverish color and operatic excess. Vidor's late melodrama — overheated, almost hysterical in its staging of pursuit and desire — sits behind Spielberg's willingness to push sentiment and spectacle past realism, and behind the blunt elemental chase structure of his own debut feature.
• Local Roots · The Phantom Menace by George Lucas (1999). Spielberg and Lucas met in the early-1970s Los Angeles film-brat circle and formalized the bond on a Hawaiian beach in 1977, where Lucas pitched the Indiana Jones idea while awaiting 'Star Wars' grosses. Lucas story-produced all four original Indy films and shaped Spielberg's thinking on serialized adventure and effects pipelines; their shared Marin-to-Burbank axis defined the blockbuster infrastructure both still answer for.
• Beyond the Medium · Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (1904). Spielberg has described a lifelong identification with Peter Pan, calling himself a boy who refused to grow up; Barrie's story underlies 'E.T.,' 'Close Encounters' and most explicitly 'Hook,' which he developed for years. The Darling nursery window, absent and failing fathers, and flight as escape from adult responsibility form the mythic spine of his suburban films long before he adapted Barrie directly.
• Peer · Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese (1976). Scorsese is Spielberg's closest contemporary rival and friend within the New Hollywood generation; the two have swapped projects across decades, with Spielberg developing material Scorsese later made and vice versa. 'Taxi Driver' arrived a year after 'Jaws' and represents the darker, auteur-driven path the same cohort took — the counterweight that defines what Spielberg chose to do with the mass audience instead.
• From the Canon · Amblin' by Steven Spielberg (1968). Replaced by documented obscurity: Spielberg's own 26-minute short screened at Atlanta Film Festival won him his Universal contract at 21, and he later called it a 'Pepsi commercial' — a slick, dialogue-free hitchhiking romance that shows the craft-first instinct before the themes arrived. It named Amblin Entertainment, making this minor student film the hidden origin point of an entire studio brand and logo.
• Key Collaborator · Star Wars by John Williams (1977). Williams has scored nearly every Spielberg film since 'The Sugarland Express' in 1974, the longest director-composer partnership in cinema, and Spielberg introduced him to Lucas, producing the most famous score ever written. The two notes of 'Jaws' were Williams's idea and Spielberg initially laughed at them; the collaboration's method — leitmotif, late-Romantic orchestra, emotion stated unashamedly — defines both careers.
• Legacy · Super 8 by J. J. Abrams (2011). Abrams has recounted being hired as a teenager to repair Spielberg's own damaged 8mm childhood films, a formative encounter he describes as his entry into the industry. 'Super 8' is an explicit homage produced by Spielberg himself: small-town kids, a benevolent-then-terrifying creature, lens flares standing in for Allen Daviau's backlight, and the broken-family grief that powers 'E.T.' transplanted to 1979 Ohio.

What influenced Steven Spielberg

• Akira Kurosawa (1910). Spielberg cited Kurosawa's cinematic vision as formative. (also via Rashomon, The Seven Samurai) “there's no better teacher than Lubitsch or Hitchcock or Kurosawa or Kubrick , you know, or Ford or William Wyler or Billy Wilder or Clarence Brown – I mean, Val Lewton .” (Wikipedia)
• Stanley Kubrick (1928). Spielberg names Kubrick among the filmmakers he regards as his teachers. (also via 2001: A Space Odyssey) “there's no better teacher than Lubitsch or Hitchcock or Kurosawa or Kubrick , you know, or Ford or William Wyler or Billy Wilder or Clarence Brown – I mean, Val Lewton .” (Wikipedia)
• John Ford. The article describes Ford as a favorite filmmaker and their encounter as formative. (also via The Searchers) “I try to rent a John Ford film... before I start every movie, simply because he inspires me.... He's like a classic painter, he celebrates the frame, not just what's inside it.” (Wikipedia)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick (1968). Spielberg cited 2001 as foundational to his generation of filmmakers. (also via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) “2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) ("I'm still living off the adrenalin that ... I experienced watching that film for the first time.")” (Wikipedia)
• Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean (1962). Spielberg describes Lawrence of Arabia as the film that set him on his filmmaking journey. “Lawrence of Arabia (1962) ("the film that set me on my journey"), Alfred Hitchcock 's The Birds (1963)” (Wikipedia)
• François Truffaut (1932). The article identifies Truffaut as one of Spielberg’s favorite directors. “In college, he was inspired by foreign films by Ingmar Bergman , Jacques Tati and François Truffaut , casting the last in Close Encounters of the Third Kind .” (Wikipedia)
• The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola (1972). States that Steven Spielberg named The Godfather as one of his favorite films. “I was pulverized by the story and the effect the film had on me... I also felt that I should quit, that there was no reason I should continue directing because I would never achieve that level of confidence and ability to tell a story.” (Wikipedia)
• Alfred Hitchcock (1899). Spielberg names Hitchcock among the filmmakers he regards as his teachers. (also via The Birds) “there's no better teacher than Lubitsch or Hitchcock or Kurosawa or Kubrick , you know, or Ford or William Wyler or Billy Wilder or Clarence Brown – I mean, Val Lewton .” (Wikipedia)
• Dr. Strangelove. The article lists Dr. Strangelove among Spielberg’s formative films. “Alfred Hitchcock 's The Birds (1963) and Stanley Kubrick 's Dr. Strangelove (1964) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)” (Wikipedia)
• Ernst Lubitsch. Spielberg names Lubitsch among the filmmakers he regards as his teachers. “there's no better teacher than Lubitsch or Hitchcock or Kurosawa or Kubrick , you know, or Ford or William Wyler or Billy Wilder or Clarence Brown – I mean, Val Lewton .” (Wikipedia)
• Jacques Tati. Films by Tati inspired Spielberg in college. “In college, he was inspired by foreign films by Ingmar Bergman , Jacques Tati and François Truffaut , casting the last in Close Encounters of the Third Kind .” (Wikipedia)
• Billy Wilder (1906). Spielberg names Wilder among the filmmakers he regards as his teachers. “there's no better teacher than Lubitsch or Hitchcock or Kurosawa or Kubrick , you know, or Ford or William Wyler or Billy Wilder or Clarence Brown – I mean, Val Lewton .” (Wikipedia)
• Val Lewton. Spielberg names Lewton among the filmmakers he regards as his teachers. “there's no better teacher than Lubitsch or Hitchcock or Kurosawa or Kubrick , you know, or Ford or William Wyler or Billy Wilder or Clarence Brown – I mean, Val Lewton .” (Wikipedia)
• The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock. The article lists The Birds among Spielberg’s formative films. “Alfred Hitchcock 's The Birds (1963) and Stanley Kubrick 's Dr. Strangelove (1964) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)” (Wikipedia)
• The Wizard of Oz by Victor Fleming. Spielberg is named among filmmakers who have discussed the film’s influence on their work. “Many notable people in the world of entertainment have voiced their admiration for the film and its influence on their work over the years, including filmmakers James Cameron , Jon M. Chu , Greta Gerwig , Jim Henson , Ron Howard , George…” (Wikipedia)
• The Searchers by John Ford (1956) “He recalls a formative encounter with one of his favorite filmmakers, John Ford, who said: "So they tell me you want to be a picture maker.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa. The article identifies Rashomon as formative for Spielberg. “Formative films included Victor Fleming 's Captains Courageous (1937), Disney 's Pinocchio and Fantasia (both 1940), Akira Kurosawa 's Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954),” (Wikipedia)
• Hayao Miyazaki (1941). Spielberg appears in the list of artists inspired by Miyazaki. “Henry Selick , [ 433 ] Makoto Shinkai , [ 434 ] Steven Spielberg , [ 435 ] Genndy Tartakovsky , [ 436 ] Pendleton Ward , [ 437 ]” (Wikipedia)
• Fantasia by Disney. The article identifies Fantasia as formative for Spielberg. “Formative films included Victor Fleming 's Captains Courageous (1937), Disney 's Pinocchio and Fantasia (both 1940), Akira Kurosawa 's Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954),” (Wikipedia)
• Clarence Brown. Spielberg names Brown among the filmmakers he regards as his teachers. “there's no better teacher than Lubitsch or Hitchcock or Kurosawa or Kubrick , you know, or Ford or William Wyler or Billy Wilder or Clarence Brown – I mean, Val Lewton .” (Wikipedia)
• It's a Wonderful Life by Frank Capra (1946). The page reports that Spielberg names Capra's film as a thematic influence. “He names Frank Capra 's It's A Wonderful Life (1946) as an influence on themes of "family, community and suburbia".” (Wikipedia)
• Spencer Tracy. The page says Tracy influenced characters in Spielberg's films. “Spencer Tracy has also influenced the characters of Spielberg's films.” (Wikipedia)
• The Greatest Show on Earth by Cecil B. DeMille. The film was Spielberg’s first moviegoing experience. “Spielberg recalls his parents taking him to see Cecil B. DeMille 's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). He had never seen a movie before, and thought they were taking him to the circus.” (Wikipedia)
• Godzilla, King of the Monsters! by Ishirō Honda. The film appears in the article’s list of Spielberg’s formative films. “Ishirō Honda 's Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), [ 50 ] [ 51 ] David Lean 's Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962)” (Wikipedia)
• The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa. The article identifies The Seven Samurai as formative for Spielberg. “Formative films included Victor Fleming 's Captains Courageous (1937), Disney 's Pinocchio and Fantasia (both 1940), Akira Kurosawa 's Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954),” (Wikipedia)
• Ingmar Bergman (1918). Films by Bergman inspired Spielberg in college. “In college, he was inspired by foreign films by Ingmar Bergman , Jacques Tati and François Truffaut , casting the last in Close Encounters of the Third Kind .” (Wikipedia)
• Bridge on the River Kwai by David Lean. The film appears in the article’s list of Spielberg’s formative films. “Ishirō Honda 's Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), [ 50 ] [ 51 ] David Lean 's Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962)” (Wikipedia)
• Pinocchio by Disney. The article identifies Pinocchio as formative for Spielberg. “Formative films included Victor Fleming 's Captains Courageous (1937), Disney 's Pinocchio and Fantasia (both 1940), Akira Kurosawa 's Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954),” (Wikipedia)
• Captains Courageous by Victor Fleming. The article identifies the film as formative for Spielberg. “Formative films included Victor Fleming 's Captains Courageous (1937), Disney 's Pinocchio and Fantasia (both 1940), Akira Kurosawa 's Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954),” (Wikipedia)
• War of the Worlds. The article says Spielberg was a fan of George Pal’s 1953 film. “In 2005, Spielberg directed War of the Worlds , a co-production of Paramount and DreamWorks, based on H. G. Wells 's novel ; Spielberg had been a fan of the book and of George Pal 's 1953 film .” (Wikipedia)
• William Wyler. Spielberg names Wyler among the filmmakers he regards as his teachers. “there's no better teacher than Lubitsch or Hitchcock or Kurosawa or Kubrick , you know, or Ford or William Wyler or Billy Wilder or Clarence Brown – I mean, Val Lewton .” (Wikipedia)
• Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (1904) (openlibrary.org)
• The Twilight Zone by Rod Serling (themoviedb.org)
• Duel in the Sun by King Vidor (1946) (themoviedb.org)
• Fantasia by Walt Disney (1940) “Distributed by Walt Disney Studios with whom DreamWorks made a distribution deal in 2009, War Horse was the first of four consecutive Spielberg films released by Disney.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Casablanca by Michael Curtiz (1942) (themoviedb.org)
• Chita Rivera (via West Side Story) (themoviedb.org)

Peers and kindred spirits

• John Williams. The article identifies a decades-long collaboration between Spielberg and Williams. (also via Star Wars) “Spielberg's long-time partnership with composer John Williams began with The Sugarland Express . [ 388 ] Williams would return to compose all but five of Spielberg's feature films” (Wikipedia)
• Brian De Palma (1940). De Palma is grouped with Spielberg as part of the same 1970s film movement. (also via Duel, Carrie) “De Palma, along with other young film directors Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Francis Coppola made films of such quality that the period is sometimes referred to as another Golden Age of Hollywood.” (Fresh Air (WHYY/NPR))
• Michael Kahn. The article identifies Kahn as a recurring Spielberg collaborator. “Michael Kahn has edited all of Spielberg's films since 1977, with the exception of E.T. (1982) and Disclosure Day (2026).” (Wikipedia)
• Ben Stiller. Stiller acted in Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. (also via Jaws) “In the meantime, he had a bit role in Steven Spielberg 's Empire of the Sun .” (Wikipedia)
• Amblin Entertainment. The article states that Spielberg co-founded Amblin Entertainment. “In 1980, Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall founded Amblin Productions ; the first film it produced was the romantic comedy Continental Divide ( Michael Apted , 1981).” (Wikipedia)
• Kathleen Kennedy. Kennedy is described as one of Spielberg's longest-serving collaborators. “Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall serve as executive producers of the Universal release.” (backtothefuture.com)
• Janusz Kamiński. Kamiński has photographed dozens of Spielberg's films. “We’ve never made a movie together that’s set in the present day. The closest we came to it before was Minority Report , and that was set 40 years into the future.” (motionpictures.org)
• Tom Hanks. The page describes a continuing film and television collaboration between Spielberg and Hanks. “Once Tom read the first draft of a script and I read the first draft of a script and we called each other on the phone at the same moment and decided to do it together—that was Saving Private Ryan .” (time.com)
• Jeremy Strong. Strong acted in Spielberg's film Lincoln. “Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.” (Festival de Cannes)
• Robert Zemeckis. Spielberg and Zemeckis jointly executive-produced Monster House, their eighth collaboration. “Executive producer Steven Spielberg adds, "'Back to the Future' is the greatest 'Leave It To Beaver' episode ever produced. It's an excursion into the ultimate Zemeckis-Gale imagination."” (backtothefuture.com)
• Electronic Arts. Spielberg collaborated with Electronic Arts on several games. “He then came to EA with a very simple and universal idea to build a game that leverages the Wii Remote and allows players to stack up blocks and knock them over.” (cnn.com)
• Mark Burnett. Spielberg and Burnett co-produced On the Lot. “In 2007, DreamWorks, working from an idea by reality television pioneer Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, brought a competition series about filmmaking hopefuls to the small screen when On the Lot aired on Fox.” (amblin.com)
• George Lucas (1944). Lucas worked with Spielberg on multiple Indiana Jones films. (also via Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Phantom Menace) “With director Steven Spielberg , he created, produced, and co-wrote Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)” (Wikipedia)
• Martin Scorsese. Spielberg and Scorsese both helped with the restoration of Lawrence of Arabia. (also via Taxi Driver) “With Martin Scorsese , Spielberg helped with the restoration of Lawrence by Robert A. Harris .” (Wikipedia)
• Sally Field. Field acted in Spielberg’s film Lincoln. “I just wanted to play that character and to have the opportunity to work with Steven, to say those exquisite words that Tony wrote, and to work across from an artist of [Daniel’s] magnitude.” (Vanity Fair)
• Robert Rodat. Spielberg co-created Falling Skies with Rodat. “The international success of “Private Ryan” was not only due to the intensely realistic filmmaking by Spielberg, but also the entertaining story, based on a script by Robert Rodat, and the amazing team of actors assembled to tell an extr…” (latimes.com)
• David Koepp. The page identifies Koepp as a consistent writing collaborator. “Another great thing is he's a great collaborator. He pushes you hard and expects a lot, but also he wants to listen to your ideas.” (slashfilm.com)
• Chris Rock (1965). Rock was announced as director of a biopic to be produced by Spielberg. “Rock is in final negotiations to direct and produce an adaptation of author Jonathan Eig’s biography King: A Life, while Spielberg will executive produce the project.” (NME)
• Christian Bale. Bale acted in Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. “He passed [Zhang] Yimou a letter to give to me, and it said, ‘do it.'” (The Hollywood Reporter)
• DreamWorks Pictures. The article states that Spielberg co-founded DreamWorks Pictures. “That year, Spielberg founded DreamWorks with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen .” (Wikipedia)
• Big Wednesday by John Milius (1978) “Notably, they produced the first three films from Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale: I Wanna Hold Your Hand, 1941 (directed by Steven Spielberg), and Used Cars.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• ER by Michael Crichton (1994). Spielberg executive-produced ER. “an NBC medical drama called ER , [ 40 ] created by Michael Crichton and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg .” (Wikipedia)
• Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese “With Martin Scorsese, Spielberg helped with the restoration of Lawrence by Robert A.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Maestro. Credits Spielberg as a producer of Maestro. “Produced by Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese , [ 225 ] the film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival .” (Wikipedia)
• John Landis. Spielberg and Landis produced the anthology film together. “With John Landis , he produced the anthology film Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), contributing the "Kick the Can" segment.” (Wikipedia)
• The Conversation by Francis Ford Coppola (1974) “The Post gained positive reception; Lindsey Bahr wrote "Spielberg infuses every scene with tension and life and the grandeur of the ordinary that he's always been so good at conveying." In 2017, Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, Francis Ford C…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Bob Gale. The film's production notes credit Spielberg with presenting Back to the Future and Gale with producing and co-writing it. “"Back to the Future," an imaginative comedy adventure presented by Steven Spielberg and directed by Robert Zemeckis, was produced by Bob Gale and Neil Canton from an original screenplay by Zemeckis and Gale.” (backtothefuture.com)
• Alien by Ridley Scott (1979) “Rajamouli, Matt Reeves, Robert Rodriguez, John Sayles, Ridley Scott, John Singleton, Kevin Smith, and Michael Williams.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Rick Carter. The page identifies Carter as a consistent production-design collaborator. “Spielberg has also worked consistently with production designer Rick Carter and writer David Koepp .” (Wikipedia)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial “screenwriter Melissa Mathison.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Star Wars by John Williams (1977) “His theatrical debut was The Sugarland Express (1974), which began his decades-long collaboration with composer John Williams.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Jeffrey Katzenberg. Spielberg set up DreamWorks with Katzenberg. “In 1994, Spielberg took a hiatus to spend more time with his family, and set up his new film studio, DreamWorks , with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen .” (Wikipedia)
• Carrie by Brian De Palma “He sought to adapt it numerous times, though the project would carry a substantial price tag, and has yet to appear on-screen (Steven Spielberg's 2002 adaptation of Philip K.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Aaron Sorkin by Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin developed The Trial of the Chicago 7 with Spielberg. “The first was The Trial of the Chicago 7 , which Sorkin was already developing with Spielberg, Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald .” (Wikipedia)
• Steven Bochco (1943). Establishes an early professional collaboration between Bochco and Spielberg on the Columbo pilot. “He was a story editor on "Columbo," writing the pilot script that was directed by another young talent named Steven Spielberg.” (Fresh Air (NPR))
• Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. Spielberg established the foundation using proceeds from Schindler’s List. “In response to meeting Holocaust survivors during the filming of Schindler's List, Spielberg decided to use some of the proceeds from the film to establish the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation in 1994.” (Wikipedia)
• Noah Wyle. Spielberg described casting Wyle in Falling Skies after an earlier attempt to work with him. “He was producer Steven Spielberg's "first choice" for the role: "I tried to get him for Private Ryan , but his schedule didn't permit that. I've been determined to work with Noah."” (Wikipedia)
• Frank Marshall. The Back to the Future production notes credit Spielberg and Marshall as executive producers. “Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall serve as executive producers of the Universal release.” (backtothefuture.com)
• Tony Kushner. The article identifies Kushner as Spielberg’s collaborator on two films. “Spielberg collaborated with playwright Tony Kushner for West Side Story (2021) and The Fabelmans (2022)” (Wikipedia)
• Ralph Fiennes. Fiennes acted in Spielberg's film. “In 1993, he portrayed the brutal Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg 's historical holocaust drama epic Schindler's List .” (Wikipedia)

…and 13 more on the map above.

Who Steven Spielberg influenced

• Takashi Yamazaki (via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) “幼少期に『スターウォーズ』や『未知との遭遇』と出会い、強く影響を受け、特撮の道に進むことを決意。” (Shirogumi)
• Denis Villeneuve (1967). The article says Villeneuve cited Spielberg as a cinematic influence. (also via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) “Villeneuve has cited Steven Spielberg , Stanley Kubrick , Alfred Hitchcock , the Coen brothers , Paul Thomas Anderson , Ridley Scott , Sam Mendes , Jean-Luc Godard , François Truffaut , Ingmar Bergman , Yorgos Lanthimos , and Christopher…” (Wikipedia)
• Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino praised Jaws as the greatest movie of all time. (via Jaws, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) “Tarantino has opined that Steven Spielberg 's Jaws is "the greatest movie of all time. Maybe not the best film, but the best movie ever made".” (Wikipedia)
• Gregory Crewdson (1962). Crewdson cited Close Encounters of the Third Kind as an influence on his style. (via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) “He has cited the films Vertigo , The Night of the Hunter , Close Encounters of the Third Kind , Blue Velvet , and Safe as having influenced his style,” (Wikipedia)
• Paul Thomas Anderson (1970). The article says Anderson cited Spielberg as an influence. “He has cited Robert Altman , Martin Brest , Jonathan Demme , Robert Downey Sr. , Alfred Hitchcock , John Huston , Alex Cox , Stanley Kubrick , Akira Kurosawa , Mike Leigh , David Mamet , Anthony Mann , Max Ophüls , Martin Scorsese , Stev…” (Wikipedia)
• Scenes from the Suburbs. Nick Patch compares the film’s nostalgia to Steven Spielberg’s films. “Nick Patch called the film "a sci-fi puzzler that seems to blend the paranoia of Terry Gilliam films with the nostalgia of classic Steven Spielberg flicks."” (Wikipedia)
• Super 8 by J. J. Abrams (2011) “=== 2010s === Abrams wrote and directed the Paramount science fiction thriller Super 8, starring Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning, while co-producing with Steven Spielberg and Bryan Burk; it was released on June 10, 2011.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• District 9 by Neill Blomkamp (2009) “Abrams, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sean Baker, Brad Bird, Neill Blomkamp, Jon M.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Blade Runner by Vangelis. Blade Runner's effects techniques derived from those developed for Close Encounters. (via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) “Many effects used techniques which had been developed during the production of Close Encounters of the Third Kind .” (Wikipedia)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Close Encounters' success also contributed to greenlighting Star Trek: The Motion Picture. (via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) “Following the success of the science fiction movies Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind , Paramount adapted the planned pilot episode of Phase II into the feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (Wikipedia)
• Ghostbusters by Ivan Reitman (1984). Reitman cites this film as direct influence on a specific scene. (via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) “For the scene where Dana is pinned to her chair by demonic hands before a doorway beaming with light, Reitman said he was influenced by Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).” (Wikipedia)
• Returner. The page reports critics’ allegation that Returner borrowed from this film; it does not establish that Yamazaki acknowledged the influence. (via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) “Western critics accused Yamazaki of plagiarising from popular American science fiction films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Terminator (1984), and The Matrix (1999).” (Wikipedia)
• Stranger Things by The Duffer Brothers (2016) “The show is set in 1980s Indiana and is an homage to 1980s pop culture, inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, David Lynch, Stephen King, and George Lucas, among others.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Mary J. Blige (via The Color Purple) (themoviedb.org)
• Elle Fanning (via Close Encounters of the Third Kind) (themoviedb.org)
• Damien Hirst (via Jaws) (themoviedb.org)
• Francis Lawrence (via Jaws) (themoviedb.org)
• Diwali (The Office episode). Kaling cites Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as shaping American perceptions of Indians that she satirized in the Diwali episode. (via Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)