Edgar Wright's Baby Driver, which hits theaters next week, is one of our most highly anticipated movies this summer. And for good reason—the dude has never made a bad film. Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End and, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World are all multi-layered, hysterical and consistently fresh flicks.
One of the reasons they are such a treat to behold is because you can literally trace Wright's influences through the tropes he chooses to include in each film. Each entry is heavily genre based and it's fascinating to watch how he can take something we've seen again and again, put his skew on it, and make it feel so original. So what are the films from which he draws inspiration?
Last week, Empire Magazine published its list of the 100 greatest movies ever made. They reached out to both readers and directors to give their input, and Wright (who has already released his 1000 favorite films of all time) was quick to respond with his own list of 40 movies. Though the list came with the stipulation that his top films are constantly in flux, you can tell that the movies on this list have clearly been influenced his own work. Wright has already noted thatThe Driver, in particular, played a huge part in the production of his upcoming film.
Check out the full list below:
"Raiders of the Lost Ark"
Credit: Paramount Pictures
- Raising Arizona
- An American Werewolf in London
- Carrie
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
- Taxi Driver
- Don't Look Now
- Dirty Harry
- The Driver
- This Is Spinal Tap
- Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- Boogie Nights
- Reservoir Dogs
- Alien
- Phantom of the Paradise
- Brazil
- Evil Dead 2
- Psycho
"Evil Dead II"
Credit: Rosebud Releasing
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- Dames
- Halloween
- Suspiria
- The Blues Brothers
- Rosemary's Baby
- The Last of Sheila
- Black Narcissus
- The Wild Bunch
- Notorious (Hitchcock)
- Duck Soup
- Take the Money and Run
- Paper Moon
- Run Lola Run
- Singing in the Rain
- Thunderbolt v. Lightfoot
- Silence of the Lambs
- Goodfellas
- The French Connection
- Moonrise Kingdom
