By searching "rogue one film inspirations" I've found some sites citing movies that Gareth Edwards claims are inspirations for Rogue One. http://screenrant.com/movies-inspired-star-wars-rogue-one/?view=all When Saw took a breath from his mask I instantly thought of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. I brushed it off because I couldn't imagine Disney putting a reference to a drug-abusing criminal who had a desire for violent-sex acts and cross-dressing. But given Saw's reputation with the alliance, Kassian's mention of getting through the door without getting blown up, and Saw's treatment of Bodhi then it does seem plausible that he's just as radical and violent as DH's character in Blue Velvet, but with different overtones to keep Saw looking like a good guy. Assuming there are such inspirations would homages also be observed? One insignificant detail I keep seeing is the stormtrooper sitting down, lifeless, against the wall where Kassian and Jyn are fighting off other stormtroopers and hiding in a corridor. A corridor that is not unlike the village where the US soldier posed for a picture with a dead Vietnamese soldier (google that - picture / video is graphic). The area in FMJ is a bit more open - the corridor is not covered like it is in Rogue One - but the setting seems similar to me. Do you see any connection? I also see a similarity with The Final Countdown (1980 film).
Saw and all the scenes associated with him have a clear Apocalypse Now vibe for me. Some of the coolest moments in Star Wars, IMO.
The shot from space of the Death Star aligning itself to the center of Jedha recalls the opening shot of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Check out the 1:40 mark. This is all I could think of when the alliance base was asking Bohdi for a call sign. The voice is almost the same as well. Rogue one could have used any voice... It could have been a female with a British accent, it could have been a robotic voice, there didn't have to be any call sign request at all ... But what voice do they use as the tower control operator? To me it's unmistakable .
The scenes with Saw and Bodhi brought to mind Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart (when Harry Dean Stanton was tied up), and Dune. The wave of debris as well as K-2SO reminded me of "Interstellar." Jyn and Cassian on the beach reminded me of "Deep Impact." Speaking of the stormtrooper sitting down reminds me of the one sitting in the transport before Jyn's rescue. I do believe that is the first time seeing a stormtrooper sitting down in a Star Wars movie.
I was thinking a little of ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' with the three (Jyn, Cassian and K-2SO) left to complete the mission.
The prologue reminded me of the prologue of Inglorious Basterds: Krennic and his black troopers pay an unexpected visit to a farm, Galen tries to deceive him and fails - but Jyn gets away, to exact her revenge later on.
When the Rogues were showing up to go with Jyn and without authorization, they reminded me of The Dirty Dozen.
There was certainly a "Seven Samurai in space" vibe there, but in particular, the scene of Baze’s sacrifice by taking down the death troopers that killed Chirrut reminded me of Kikuchiyo’s sacrifice by going after the bandit that shot Kyuzo. Chirrut and Kyuzo both represented the true spirit of the Force/samurai in their respective movies and Baze and Kikuchiyo were like the nonbeliever, mocking brutes, who got emotionally inspired by the former and died like badass heroes.
There were several shots on Scarif which very much evoked the Errol Flynn film Objective: Burma. Also, Winston Churchill.
The Death Star shooting on Jedha was also very reminiscent of the White House destruction in Independence Day, so yeah, I think Gareth took some inspiration from Roland Emmerich's movies.
Wow, excellent observations! Make no mistake I have no objection to these similarities (the way some people don't like how the attack on the Death Star was ripped from the dambusters...) I think these are all great comparisons and I think they were done beautifully.
Off the top of my head... 1) Jedha city looked very similar to how we would consider a Middle Eastern city to look. In that opening aerial shot of the city you can clearly see a building in the foreground that looks like a mosque. Many of the inhabitants have qualities about them that could be associated with people from the Middle East. Even Jyn's head piece that she wears while walking through the city is reminiscent of that. Also, when Saw's troops begin firing on the Stormtroopers, after concealing their weapons in robes, is not dissimilar from tactics used against US troops in Iraq. Take away all the high tech sci-fi stuff, and Jedha city could easily be interpreted as a Middle Eastern city center. 2) The crash landing scene on Eadu looked very similar to the crash landing scene on the asteroid in Armageddon. Terrible movie, I know, but watch it if you don't believe me. 3) The approach of the Rogue One crew onto Scarif seemed very reminiscent of TESB, in which Han, Leia, and Luke approached Endor in a similar fashion......stolen ship, outdated entry code, etc. 4) The look of some of the Rebel soldiers, in particular, their helmets, was very similar to those used by many soldiers during various wars throughout US history. Just a very classic, historical soldier look, not anything high tech that one might assume would be used in the SW universe. 5) When the Death Star fires on Scarif, and it hits the big communications tower before hitting the planet itself, if you pay close attention, you will notice that the communications tower beings to crumble in the exact same manner that the World Trade Center towers crumbled on 9/11.
From Spaceballs. A planetary shield with only 1 gate. However I was told that SB took it from Buck Rodgers. Also using a palm print ID to open a door from a knocked out bad guy.
The over the shoulder shots of the partisans sniping from buildings during the ambush on Jedha City were very much like certain shots from Saving Private Ryan
A lot of what takes place on Jedha feels inspired by The Battle of Algiers, one of the best films about political rebellion and revolution. The trailer speaks for itself:
Yeah I can definitely see a clear influence there, it does highlight I think that Edwards understood SW's influences much better than Abrams rather than just lifting elements of the previous films. The standard Severn Samurai "bringing the team together" plot has of course been used many many times by Hollywood(including in the obviously SW influences Battle Beyond the Stars) but he actually avoided playing that up in favour of something less common that was I think more effective. Whatever his other weaknesses(no dog saving in RO luckly) I do think Emmerich was excellent at setting up his big action/disaster moments like this. Edwards also expands on his idea of the effect of the blast increasing afterwards, indeed taking it further by having the initial destruction almost silent and then having the surface of the planet rip apart afterwards.
Posters have made a lot of good points. Could not help agreeing with most. I particularly get the impression that the city looks like a Muslim or Jewish city. Very reminiscent of desert towns.
