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Lucas' Inspirations for Star Wars — Page 2

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It isn’t just the Lensman series but also the Skylark series by E.E. Doc Smith that inspired Lucas.
I’m also convinced he read Edmund Hamilton and Leigh Brackett.
I know he read Dune, Galactic Patrol, at least the first trilogy of Burroughs Mars tales and the Foundation trilogy.

He was a big fan of comic magazines and newspaper comics. He liked Hal Foster, Alex Raymond. Wally Wood, Al Williamson and Frank Frazetta.

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ZkinandBonez said:

I was looking through some old pulp magazine covers and came across these two images that gave me quite the Death Star vibe.

The first one is a reprint of H.G. Welles The First Men in the Moon and the orb is only a few meters across, however in this cover art it look gigantic, like its looming over the lunar surface. I wonder if Lucas might have seen either of these and been inspired.


Amazing Stories Volume 02 #11 (1928)


Amazing Stories Volume 07 #07 (1932)

Well spotted! Of course, the cover title on later Amazing Stories issues (like this one from March 1941) was the inspiration for the Raiders logo…

“That Darth Vader, man. Sure does love eating Jedi.”

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ZkinandBonez said:

I was looking through some old pulp magazine covers and came across these two images that gave me quite the Death Star vibe.

The first one is a reprint of H.G. Welles The First Men in the Moon and the orb is only a few meters across, however in this cover art it look gigantic, like its looming over the lunar surface. I wonder if Lucas might have seen either of these and been inspired.


Amazing Stories Volume 02 #11 (1928)


Amazing Stories Volume 07 #07 (1932)

That second cover has a lot of similarity to Ralph McQuarrie’s concept painting of the Y wings diving on the Death Star , especially the shapes on the bottom , which are flipped to the top in McQuarrie’s painting …https://gmd3ddesigns.com/2012/03/04/rip-ralph-mcquarrie-1929-2012/

https://screamsinthevoid.deviantart.com/

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I’m not sure even Lucas could point out all the influences of all the pieces. We know that the core was inspired by Flash Gordon and Hidden Fortress. But I bet Buck Rogers, Foundation, Dune, Burrough Mars, other Samurai movies, and a lot of other things went in to what we got. Cool to see the old covers and their visuals and see yet another influence.

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This seems like an appropriate video to post here.

https://youtu.be/vqnjzVX8EKA

It covers a lot of the lesser known influences that inspired George like Canyon Cinema and Triumph of the Will.

“Heroes come in all sizes, and you don’t have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It’s just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibility for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people - these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives.” - George Lucas

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Tobar said:

Loving this thread. A couple years ago I was really into researching the various inspirations for Star Wars, sadly I’ve forgotten a lot of it. I did end up adding the Lensman series to my reading list but have yet to get around to it. Coincidentally, last night I think I might have stumbled something. I was browsing around Netflix when I came across High Noon and this image came up:

Lucas was definitely inspired by westerns. The Searchers, in particular, had a clear influence on both Star Wars and Attack of the Clones.

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This question might be slightly off topic, but I didn’t see a better place to post it and didn’t want to start an unnecessary thread. I seem to remember George saying something along the lines of “if one person creates something, the result appeals to one type of person, but when a group of people make something together they produce something that appeals to a wider audience.” That’s probably not the exact phrasing, but you get the idea. I remember it being from a younger George during the making of the Originals.

It’s a concept that has informed my view on lots of things since I was a kid. I’ve searched for the source many times over the years but I’ve never been able to find anything. They say every time we remember something, our brains change it slightly. I could be way off as my brain has been around a long time. Thought I would see if anyone knows of an instance where George or anyone attached to Star Wars might have said something like this.

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They are both clearly inspired by the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

Han: Hey Lando! You kept your promise, right? Not a scratch?
Lando: Well, what’s left of her isn’t scratched. All the scratched parts got knocked off along the way.
Han (exasperated): Knocked off?!

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Looks like the Jet the X-men fly in. I suppose they were inspired by a real life aircraft.

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The X-Men travel in a modified (fictional) version of the SR-71. But in this case the Naboo ship design connection also is correct.

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Erich Korngold’s score for The Sea Hawk was an influence on the score for A New Hope.

https://indianapublicmedia.org/ethergame/sea-4.php

I also see seeds of the sampled score years later on Duel of the Fates.

The swashbuckler in general was a major influence.

“Heroes come in all sizes, and you don’t have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It’s just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibility for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people - these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives.” - George Lucas