Films' Allusions to other films

[Jody Barsch*]

An Allusion is a reference to, or an indirect mention of, a previously existing text.

[There is a also the fabulous, more complex concept of Intertextuality -- A term introduced by Julia Kristeva and widely adopted by literary theorists to designate the complex ways in which a given text is related to other texts. As every text is constructed as a mosaic of other texts, every text is an absorption and transformation of other texts. According to Kristeva, the notion of intertextuality comes to replace that of intersubjectivity.]

I always think these are fun to find. In fact they are all throughout MSCL (episode titles, the use of It’s a Wonderful Life, possible influences from The Wonder Years, etc…)

Swingers – makes a direct reference, and then a visual allusion to Reservoir Dogs; Swingers also features my favorite Godfather allusion about pulling a Fredo

Sandlot – I’m pretty sure that the “you’re killing me Smalls” has its roots in Caddyshack; and the sun tan lotion scene with Wendy Peffercorn comes directly from Cool Hand Luke

Mallrats – the mall security man LaFours (and his straw hat) come directly from the bounty hunter LaForce in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Add to the list!

[Natasha (candygirl)]

http://www.imdb.com is a great resource for this - click on the "movie connections" link and you will see a list of films that are references in the movie in question, as well as other movies that refer to the movie in question. Heh, that sounds a little vague, so just to use Jody's example of Swingers, the movie connections page lists:

References
Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
"You Bet Your Life" (1950)
Odd Couple, The (1968)
THX 1138 (1971)
Godfather, The (1972)
Mean Streets (1973)
Jaws (1975)
Taxi Driver (1976)
"Family Ties" (1982)
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Tapeheads (1988)
Things Change (1988)
Rain Man (1988)
Goodfellas (1990)
Boyz N the Hood (1991)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993)
Clerks. (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Casino (1995)

Referenced in
Don't Ask Me Why (1998)
Clay Pigeons (1998)
Playing by Heart (1998)
Staring at Headlights (1999)
Office Space (1999)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Swing But Were Afraid to Ask (1999)
Go (1999)
Two Ninas (1999)
Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, The (1999)
Chasing Kevin (2000)
Made (2001)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Sweetest Thing, The (2002)
Anger Management (2003)
Burning Annie (2003)
'Elf' Jukebox (2004) (V)
Made Men: The 'GoodFellas' Legacy (2004) (V)

Spoofed in
Swing Blade (1997)
Free Enterprise (1998)
Chasing Kevin (2000)
True Dreams (2002)

Spoofs
Goodfellas (1990)
Boyz N the Hood (1991)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Casino (1995)

Edited into
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Swing But Were Afraid to Ask (1999)
Featured in
Making It in Hollywood (2002) (V)