华晨宝马及宝马(中国)召回562辆
I am going to go out on a limb and say that you’ve probably have seen, if not heard of, The Wizard of Oz. It is practically one of the most inescapable movies of all time, and with good reason. It is a timeless classic that continues to entertain generation after generation. While not the first film to be filmed in color, it is often seen today as one the film that helped to popularize the Technicolor process. Its place in film history is important, with it being rereleased numerous times before the advent of home media. So as one of the most popular and most seen films in history, is it any wonder why Lucas decided to crib it for material?
Now compared to a lot of the films Lucas was inspired by, most of the material here he utilizes is all cosmetic. It either involves just a simple plot point or a design feature, it does not add much thematically that he references Oz. The use of matte paintings stands out particularly. While this was a common filmmaking technique, its use in the Death Star is notable. The Death Star is depicted as having a giant hole that travels down the center of the space station, it appears to be a bottomless chasm. This is eerily similar to the Wicked Witch of the West’s Castle in Oz. Our heroes also break into these fortresses the same way in both films, by disguising themselves as members of the enemy troops. The sequences set in these fortresses also end with people dying and disappearing into thin air, though I would not make any other comparisons between The Wicked Witch of the West and Obi-wan Kenobi.
Other than that, Lucas just takes some design ques. The holograms, specifically the ones of the Emperor, are designed off the Wizard’s own illusions. Jawas are sort of similar to munchkins I guess. C3-PO might have some of the Tin-man in him (though he has more in common with another influence I’ll get to another day). Of course the entrance of Jabba’s palace is strikingly similar to that of the Emerald City. Overall I’d say that while this was perhaps one of the most famous examples of films Lucas was influenced by, outside of the Death Star I’d say Lucas avoided making Star Wars too similar from The Wizard of Oz. Oz is a little contradictory to the hero’s journey as it presents Dorothy’s ultimate goal as getting back home, rather than learning to move on. In Star Wars there is certainly no place like home, that is because there is a whole universe out there waiting for our heroes.
