Most inf luential film ever? A Wizard choice!
IT is a perennial favourite with viewers of all ages.
Now The Wizard Of Oz has been named as the most influential film of all time. The 1939 classic beat the original Star Wars movie in a rating based on computer analysis of fans’ views.
It was the film most referred to in descriptions of the 47,000 entries in the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was third, ahead of King Kong and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The top 20 films, which include Casablanca, The Godfather and Gone With The Wind, were all produced before 1980 and mostly in Hollywood.
IMDB entries for each film include a list in which contributors cite movies it has influenced.
Lead researcher Dr Livio Bioglio of the University of Turin said: ‘We have developed an algorithm that uses references between movies as a measure for success.’
Dr Bioglio, whose study is published in Applied Network Science, said it was an alternative to using box office takings or critical acclaim to assess a film’s impact. Star Wars spawned a hugely successful franchise of prequels and sequels, and as a result the 1977 film has been renamed Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Although itself influential, it leant heavily on other movies – including The Wizard Of Oz.
Dorothy lives with her aunt and uncle and is accompanied along the Yellow Brick Road by the Tin Man, comical Scarecrow and the furry Cowardly Lion.
Luke Skywalker lives with his aunt and uncle and is accompanied on his quest into space by robot C-3PO, insecure droid R2D2 and furry Chewbacca.
Mark Hamill, who played Luke, has referred to his character as being like ‘Dorothy’ in interviews. Reviewing Star Wars, critic Roger Ebert wrote: ‘The golden robot, lion-faced space pilot and insecure little computer on wheels must have been suggested by the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow.’
Star Wars director George Lucas was also heavily influenced by Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film The Hidden Fortress, about the rescue of an imprisoned princess, and by sci-fi movies including 2001.
‘Hugely successful franchise’