Austin Blackburn
George Lucas
Kubrick Influenced Films: Star Wars
George Lucas is one of the most famous directors in the world today for creating one of if not the most popular movie franchise of all time: Star Wars. An action-packed, space adventure story, Star Wars changed the game for what could be accomplished with science fiction, reaching millions with its memorable characters and unique vision of space. However, Lucas’s immensely popular movie franchise owes a lot to Kubrick, specifically to 2001. The influence of Kubrick on Star Wars is clear from the first shot from A New Hope, in which the framing of two spaceships flying near a planet resembles clearly the framing of the ship surrounded by space floating around the Earth in 2001. This time, however, Lucas makes it clear to the audience that what they will be seeing is not a delicate, clean vision of space, gleaming with classical music, but a dirty, warring vision of space (Caffier).
2001's "Blue Danube Scene"
Star Wars "Opening Scene"
Lucas famously claimed 2001 to be “the ultimate science fiction movie” and its inspiration for his own creation is not shy, from the “ hazy, simmering shots of Tatooine that mirror Kubrick’s 4,000,000 BC Africa” to even the design of some of the spacecraft. Kubrick’s innovations in special and visual effects also reside within the effects in Star Wars, with the use of plastic models and miniatures to display spaceships against the vastness of space (Caffier).
Notice Also the Similarities in the Framing of the Ships and the Planets
One of the most famous elements of the Star Wars franchise, hyperspace, is also inspired by Kubrick, as the effect of lightspeed travel is simply a “less colorful version of Dave entering the stargate wormhole by Jupiter” (Caffier).
2001's "Stargate Sequence"
The Millenium Falcon's "Jump to Lightspeed" in Star Wars
Even Darth Vader’s breathing noise is not entirely original, as the sound effect was inspired by Dave’s heavy breathing in his spacesuit in the last third of Kubrick’s space epic (Caffier).