The influence of these movies and franchises on cinema history cannot be overstated. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most influential movies that either created a genre or inspired endless copycats in their wake.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans
00:03and bring me the passengers. I want them alive!
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:09for the most influential movies that either created a genre
00:13or inspired endless copycats in their wake.
00:16Because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes
00:19was purely and simply evil.
00:23Number 20. Pulp Fiction.
00:26What do they call it?
00:26They call it Royale with Chiefs.
00:29Royale with Chiefs.
00:31That's right.
00:31Reservoir Dogs is a great little movie,
00:34but it was Pulp Fiction that brought Quentin Tarantino worldwide renown.
00:39The movie won the Palm Door at Cannes and swept the world throughout the fall of 1994,
00:45grossing over $200 million and becoming an immediate cultural sensation.
00:50Pulp Fiction instantly shook up the movie landscape with its impeccably cool style,
00:55creative dialogue, and non-linear structure.
00:59And before long, everyone was trying to be the next Tarantino.
01:03It also reinvigorated some past loves, including cultural obsessions with neo-noir
01:09and leading man John Travolta, whose waning career was saved by the film.
01:14And finally, it legitimized the art of low-budget indie filmmaking,
01:19a business that has been riding the coattails of Pulp Fiction for decades.
01:23I do believe Marsalis, my husband, your boss,
01:26told you to take me out and do whatever I wanted.
01:29Now I want to dance, I want to win, I want that trophy.
01:32Number 19.
01:34Saw.
01:34He wants us to cut through our feet.
01:36And speaking of indie filmmaking, it doesn't get much more indie than the first Saw.
01:41Made mostly in a dingy bathroom set on a minuscule budget,
01:45Saw helped redefine the horror genre and launched more than a few prominent careers.
01:51The film turned a huge profit, grossing over $100 million
01:55and inspiring many up-and-coming filmmakers to try their hand at indie horror.
02:01It not only inspired the genre to go smaller and more personal,
02:05it also gave rise to the torture-focused film's phenomenon of the mid-2000s,
02:10resulting in films like Wolf Creek and Eli Roth's Hostel.
02:14Number 18.
02:15Clerks.
02:16You're loitering and causing a disturbance.
02:18I'm a disturbance?
02:19You're the disturbance, pal!
02:21No, we were wrong.
02:22It doesn't get more indie than Clerks.
02:25Kevin Smith wrote, directed, and produced this little slacker comedy
02:29that inspired a wave of imitators.
02:31Smith funded the movie by maxing out various credit cards,
02:34not advised, and filmed at the same convenience store in which he worked during the day.
02:40Despite a shooting budget of little more than $25,000,
02:44Clerks had a profound effect on the movie industry.
02:46It landed on multiple best-of-the-year lists
02:49and was praised for its gritty realism and clever dialogue.
02:53Clerks also helped popularize day-in-the-life comedies,
02:57young slacker protagonists, and even geek culture.
03:00Basically, Kevin Smith became the voice of Gen X with his little movie that could.
03:05Hey, I wish you'd go back to school.
03:06Jesus, will you stop it?
03:07You're making my head hurt.
03:09Number 17.
03:10Goldfinger.
03:11Do you expect me to talk?
03:13No, Mr. Bunt, I expect you to die!
03:15There were already two James Bond films by the time Goldfinger released in 1964,
03:21but it was this movie that solidified the personality of the franchise.
03:25The movie introduced a number of elements to the series,
03:28including a cold open, goofy gadgets, a briefing by Q, and a tricked-out car.
03:34The basic structure and style of Goldfinger became a template for all future Bond movies,
03:39and it kickstarted the spy craze of the 1960s.
03:42Movies like Our Man Flint were made as an answer to James Bond,
03:47and most modern spy films have Bond to thank for their existence.
03:51Endless parodies have also come throughout the years,
03:54goofing on the tropes of the spy genre,
03:57tropes that Goldfinger single-handedly established.
04:00Look out!
04:00Ow!
04:04That really hurt!
04:07I'm gonna have a lump there, you idiot!
04:09Number 16.
04:10Animal House.
04:12Gonna hump our brains out, aren't you?
04:14Boone, I anticipate a deeply religious experience.
04:18Grossing over 140 million dollars,
04:21Animal House became the most successful comedy film of its time,
04:24so you better believe it inspired some imitators hoping to get a piece of the pie.
04:29As Goldfinger created the spy genre,
04:31Animal House created the raunchy comedy.
04:34Movies like Porky's and Revenge of the Nerds were made to capitalize on the new trend,
04:38and later films like American Pie and Old School borrowed the Animal House DNA.
04:44A snowball effect soon occurred,
04:46with the movies getting raunchier and raunchier,
04:49and taboo humor becoming widely accepted.
04:51Animal House was also a major launchpad for talent,
04:55with producer Ivan Reitman,
04:56writer Harold Ramis,
04:58and director John Landis going on to have major careers in the comedy genre.
05:02It's bigger than that.
05:05I beg your pardon?
05:06Oh, my cucumber.
05:07Number 15.
05:09Wait a minute.
05:10If we let it in, the ship could be infected.
05:12You know the quarantine procedures.
05:1424 hours for decontamination.
05:16This horror masterpiece from Ridley Scott was a product of its time,
05:20capitalizing on the success of sci-fi epics like Star Wars and slasher movies like Halloween.
05:26But this is the nature of true artistry.
05:28Borrow from what came before and make something new.
05:32And that's what Alien did,
05:34essentially creating the sci-fi horror hybrid.
05:37The early 1980s was inundated with these types of movies,
05:40including Forbidden World, Galaxy of Terror, and Contamination,
05:44which is basically just a cheaper version of Alien that plagiarized its iconic ideas.
05:49But despite the numerous imitators,
05:51none have managed to recapture the magic of Alien.
05:54As Roger Ebert brilliantly said,
05:57the films it influenced studied its thrills, but not its thinking.
06:01My God.
06:07Number 14, The Godfather.
06:10Until that day,
06:13accept this justice as a gift on my daughter's wedding day.
06:16The gangster genre can be split between BG and AG,
06:20before The Godfather and after The Godfather.
06:23This film had a profound influence not just on the gangster genre,
06:27but cinema as a whole and the cultural depiction of Italian Americans.
06:31A number of imitators came in the wake of The Godfather,
06:34and it directly influenced future creations like Goodfellas and The Sopranos.
06:39Virtually all aspects of the film's production helped define the mob genre,
06:44including the use of the title Godfather,
06:46which was made up by the book's author, Mario Puzo.
06:50A study conducted by the Italic Institute of America
06:53proved that some 400 movies centered around the Italian-American mafia
06:58were made after The Godfather,
07:00proving its undying influence on the industry.
07:02Fredo, you're my older brother and I love you.
07:09But don't ever take sides with anyone against the family again.
07:15Ever.
07:15Number 13, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
07:18So be it.
07:21You shall be the Fellowship of the Rings.
07:24Just as Tolkien's book had an impact on literature,
07:27so too did the movie adaptation have a profound impact on film.
07:31A flurry of epic fantasy movies followed Jackson's trilogy,
07:35most of which attempted to capture its sense of grandeur.
07:38The Chronicles of Narnia, The Golden Compass,
07:40Aragorn, and Beowulf, to name a few.
07:43They all shared close similarities with The Lord of the Rings,
07:46with most taking place in fantasy lands with monsters,
07:49fictional races, and mythical battles between good and evil.
07:53Yes, most of these movies were based on existing stories,
07:56but it's telling that they were greenlit in the wake of The Lord of the Rings.
07:59And it's no secret why, with the trilogy combining for nearly three billion dollars.
08:05Because it's my birthday and I want it.
08:10Number 12, The Matrix.
08:12Okay, so what do you need?
08:14Besides a miracle.
08:16Guns. Lots of guns.
08:20With some movies, you can tell right away that they're going to be a sensation.
08:24That was certainly the case with The Matrix,
08:26which took the world by storm in the spring of 1999.
08:29Many aspects of the movie were instantly noted and endlessly copied in the coming years,
08:35including its grungy production design, cool costuming,
08:39innovative use of bullet time, and simulation storyline.
08:43Movies, video games, comics, the influence was everywhere.
08:47Furthermore, the movie's use of Asian martial arts had a profound impact on action choreography
08:53and the popularization of wuxia films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
08:58Even Chad Stahelski admitted that The Matrix directly governed his John Wick films,
09:04proving that the influence is still spreading to this day.
09:07But now, yeah, I'm thinking I'm back.
09:10Number 11, Godzilla.
09:19Obviously, the original Godzilla appears quite dated today,
09:23but there was nothing like it back in 1954.
09:26Part epic monster movie, part social commentary,
09:29Godzilla was a visual extravaganza with a brain.
09:32While Godzilla actually received a mixed critical reception upon release,
09:36it was instantly popular with moviegoers and, naturally, spawned a host of rip-offs.
09:42Godzilla itself became a template for destructive monster movies,
09:45and it birthed the entire kaiju genre, which is still going strong to this day.
09:50The film also influenced many modern directors,
09:54with Steven Spielberg citing Godzilla as a major influence on Jurassic Park.
09:58As film scholar Ryusuke Hikawa has claimed,
10:02Godzilla, quote,
10:03"...created the template for the Japanese movie business."
10:11Number 10, The Blair Witch Project.
10:14Please help us!
10:18Horror fans seeking out the roots of found-footage-style fright
10:22need look no further than this 1999 film,
10:25a low-budget independent picture that managed to make a remarkable amount of noise,
10:30thanks to a highly successful marketing campaign.
10:33The Blair Witch Project scared audiences and filmmakers alike with its shaky,
10:38first-person camera angles and realistic acting performances
10:41replacing a traditional reliance upon special effects or extravagant sets.
10:46Indeed, it's highly likely that we would have never seen the likes of a paranormal activity
10:50or a wreck without Blair Witch and its bold, stylistic direction.
10:55Whether or not this is a good thing is up for debate,
10:58but there's no question that the Blair Witch Project was beyond influential.
11:02Alright, we'll relax, we'll break down the tent.
11:04When he's back, we'll be ready to go, okay?
11:07I'm losing my mind, Mike.
11:09Number 9, The Dark Knight.
11:11Any psychotic ex-boyfriends I should be aware of?
11:13Oh, you have no idea.
11:15Sure, comic book movies weren't exactly all bright and cheery
11:18prior to the release of The Dark Knight in 2008.
11:21We're looking at you, Blade.
11:23But there's no denying that the incredible success of director Christopher Nolan's film
11:27resulted in a drastically dark shift in tone when it came to big-budget comic adaptations.
11:33Much of this success was thanks to the career-defining performance of Heath Ledger
11:37as Batman's arch-nemesis, the Joker.
11:40But Nolan's decision to embrace a comparatively down-to-earth and realistic approach
11:45set The Dark Knight apart from the broad and occasionally campy direction
11:48comic adaptations had been taking before its release.
11:52The results were a film that set a seriously high bar for its competition.
11:56To them, you're just a freak.
11:59Like me.
12:00Number 8, Jaws.
12:02Ten thousand dollars for me by myself.
12:05For that, you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.
12:09We're gonna need a bigger screen to contain this monster.
12:12A frighteningly popular 1975 success story,
12:16which arguably ushered in the summer blockbuster.
12:19Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel was an early effort for the director,
12:25who, until that time, was primarily known for the TV movie Duel.
12:29Jaws was fraught with production issues,
12:32and was seen at the time as a make-or-break film for Spielberg.
12:35In the end, though, it was one that almost single-handedly made the man's career.
12:40It also kick-started a legion of killer animal imitators in its wake,
12:44from killer whales and piranha to the seemingly endless series of shark flicks
12:49that would try to hitch their wagons to Spielberg's gravy train.
12:53Two sharks down, Nolan. One demon fish to go. Can I get an amen?
12:58Number 7, Airplane.
12:59I just want to tell you both, good luck. We're all counting on you.
13:03Younger movie fans may not recognize the Zucker brothers for their contributions to comedy cinema,
13:08but the duo, along with co-director Jim Abrams,
13:11were right there at the forefront with Airplane,
13:14a riotous and raunchy satire of 1970s disaster flicks.
13:18The Zuckers had already proved their boundary-pushing abilities
13:22with 1977's The Kentucky Fried Movie,
13:25but it was Airplane that saw the siblings firing on all creative cylinders,
13:30creating a film that still works remarkably well today.
13:33So influential was Airplane that films still copy its style today,
13:38from Movie 43 to Disaster Movie to the Scary Movie franchise,
13:42two of which feature Zucker brother David as director.
13:46This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.
13:48A hospital? What is it?
13:50It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.
13:52Number 6, Rocky.
13:54Wanna know for the first time in my life, see?
14:00I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.
14:02The odds are probably pretty fair that you've seen a sports movie about a plucky underdog
14:07who rises to the top of his or her field to challenge the top dog.
14:11It's highly unlikely, however, that you've seen one constructed with as much heart,
14:16soul, and passion as Sylvester Stallone's 1976 triumph, Rocky.
14:21From that iconic theme music by composer Bill Conti,
14:25to the cast's tremendous performances, to the film's powerful ending,
14:29Rocky not only laid the groundwork for a franchise that continues to this day,
14:34it also set the gold standard for all sports films that followed.
14:39Apollo Creed meets the Italian Stallion.
14:44Sounds like a damn monster movie.
14:46Number 5, Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope.
14:50This R2 unit of yours seems a bit beat up. You want a new one?
14:53Not on your life. That little droid and I have been through a lot together.
14:56Out of all the films on this list, it's quite possible that this one has the most
15:00shameless ripoffs to its credit. Of course, when you're one of the most important and
15:04financially successful films in the world, it's easy to measure your success in imitators.
15:09In fact, the influence of Star Wars is so massive that it's effectively gone on to
15:14become part of our cultural lexicon, as evidenced by the legions of films that
15:18have sought to set their space operas in a galaxy far, far away.
15:22Some have been more successful than others, but as the saying goes,
15:26you just can't improve on perfection.
15:28The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but a learner. Now I am the master.
15:35Number 4, Die Hard.
15:37Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs.
15:40It's more than an action movie. It's more than a Christmas movie. It's Die Hard.
15:44And it serves as the template for the explosive, engaging summer action blockbuster.
15:49The film may have started life as an adaptation of Roderick Thorpe's book
15:54Nothing Lasts Forever, but director John McTiernan and company ended up with the
15:59archetypal survival story of one man standing tall against insurmountable odds.
16:04The role of John McClane was actually offered first to Frank Sinatra,
16:08who had starred in an earlier Thorpe adaptation, The Detective. But of course,
16:13the job was eventually taken on by Bruce Willis, resulting in one of the actor's
16:17most classic and defining performances. And one hell of a copied movie.
16:22Now I have a machine gun. Ho, ho, ho.
16:28Number 3, 2001 A Space Odyssey.
16:32The four million year old black monolith has remained completely inert.
16:37It's origin and purpose still a total mystery.
16:42Cheesy sci-fi? Forget about it. Stanley Kubrick was never a filmmaker to do anything by half
16:47measures. And the proof of that is in the proverbial pudding with his 1968 masterpiece,
16:532001 A Space Odyssey. Drive-in, B-movie science fiction tales were forgotten in the face of
16:59Kubrick's mixture of heady, hard sci-fi screenwriting, and old-fashioned,
17:04hard sci-fi screenwriting and ultra-expensive, boundary-pushing visuals. The legacy of the
17:10film is one whose impact continues to be felt in films like Interstellar and Ex Machina,
17:15as Kubrick and 2001 managed to rewrite the book on just how well intelligent
17:21science fiction could be brought to the silver screen.
17:24Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
17:27I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
17:31Number 2, Halloween.
17:33Death has come to your little town, Sheriff.
17:36Just as director Tobey Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre turned horror on its
17:41ear in 1974 with its deadly serious atmosphere and grime, so too did John Carpenter's iconic
17:48Halloween change the game when it debuted four years later. Carpenter's film served as a jumping
17:54off point for the modern slasher movie, which alongside such like Black Christmas, Friday the
18:0013th, and Mario Bava's A Bay of Blood, set up many of the established tropes utilized by the
18:07genre to this day. First-person camera work, a mysterious masked killer, and an ultra-classic
18:14musical score all combined to create cinema history in Halloween, a time-tested effort
18:20that put Carpenter and his crew on the horror movie map.
18:23Watch the boogeyman.
18:30As a matter of fact, it was.
18:33Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
18:38our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
18:44If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
18:49Number 1, Psycho.
18:51Dirty night.
18:52Do you have a vacancy?
18:54No, we have 12 vacancies.
18:55Psychological horror starts here.
18:58Director Alfred Hitchcock begged audiences not to reveal the devilish twist that occurred in this
19:041960 classic, a black-and-white creep fest that's gone on to become one of the most influential and
19:10inspiring films in the world. Psycho not only served as the template for showcasing police
19:15procedural drama, evocative cinematography, and a tortured, disturbed antagonist, it also made
19:22history with Hitchcock's promotional tactics. Taglines accompanied the film stating that,
19:27quote,
19:28No one will be seated after the start.
19:30While audiences were also implored to not give away the film's classic ending,
19:35melding together creativity and showmanship in a way that would go on to inspire generations
19:40of filmmakers.
19:42Laughing in the tears and the cruel eyes studying you.
19:46Do you prefer these original films or their copycats? Let us know in the comments.
19:52You want to go to a movie with me?
19:56Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
20:00and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.