I was just surprised that Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan wasn't on there. The ONLY Trek film to have any real cinematic integrity, as opposed to just being for the fans.

Edited: Because "Wratch" isn't a word.

Agreed, Gandalfe, it should have been there.

An overactor says what?

I don't wish to start a kerfluffle.

Uh oh. If I sounded kerfuffly it was completely unintentional. On re-read, I think I sound snootier than intended, because my reaction was basically "Oooo, I have a half-formed thesis about this in my head and you have given me an opportunity to mention it, goody!" Your question was totally reasonable; "western in space" is thrown about a lot. I think it's thrown around incorrectly, but I'm not all, "How dare you!" about it. If anything, I was curious to see how quickly someone would pick a hole in what I'd said. 'Cause that's fun.

Anyway, my apologies if you thought I was snapping at you (or just snapping, period). I should have said something to distinguish the part that was actually in response to you from the part that was just pontificating.

Edited: Because "Wratch" isn't a word.

It's not? Damn! *scratches wratch from his dickshonehairy*

Actually, the only thing that makes Star Wars science fiction is the spaceships, lasers and aliens. All of which could be substitued for horses/cars/tanks, six-shooters/katanas/sub-machine guns and "Indians"/rival clans/Nazis (or North Koreans).

The final attack on the Death Star was "stolen" from the Korean War movie, The Bridges at Toko-Ri. Lucas also "borrowed" heavily from a Kurosawa movie but it was Hidden Fortress more than Yojimbo. He was also influenced by a bunch of other movies from a variety of genres. All of which he has readily admitted to in interviews, or so I've been led to believe.

Just to weigh in on the Star Wars discussion, Kurosawa constantly acknowledged that his greatest influence as a scriptwriter and director was John Ford. His movies were rarely well-received in Japan until the end of his career (which partially explains his two decades of silence between the 60s and the 80s), but always played well in the West, where audiences were more familiar with his Western tropes. Personally, I think Kurosawa's samurai movies are typically better Westerns than the Westerns based on them. Yojimbo and Sanjuro, for instance, are ten times as gritty as A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More, and The Magnificent Seven is barely comparable to The Seven Samurai. Even The Hidden Fortress, which at least partially inspired Star Wars (well, at least, part of the plot, many of the characters, and the silly-fun screen-wipes), has its origins in The Searchers, which was one of Kurosawa's favorite films.

xpost with Evil Jimi.

He was also influenced by a bunch of other movies from a variety of genres.

Including TRIUMPH OF THE WILL.

Uh oh. If I sounded kerfuffly it was completely unintentional.

Oh, not at all! This is just one of those gerund-like topics that seem to always end in tears and recriminations.

Uh oh. If I sounded kerfuffly it was completely unintentional.

Oh, not at all! This is just one of those gerund-like topics that seem to always end in tears and recriminations.

Jessica got here before me to say the same thing. There was a kerfluffle in the past about this very issue (though I didn't know it, because I don't subscribe to the thread in which it happened), so it has Kerfluffle Bait writ large all over it.

My God. They made a sequel to Baby Geniuses.

Jon Voight called into a local radio station this morning to promote this piece of go-su (or the equivalant Chinese spelling for the word shit).

He said something about being the 'villian' and that was the last word spoken about the film. The rest of the interview consisted of the djs fawning over films he made 30 years ago.

I'd have been sad for him except...I'm pretty sure he's a creep. Or maybe just someone I'd rather not know. Which is convenient, since it's very unlikely I ever might.

Are y'all saying that people fight over whether or not Star Wars is a space western?