7 classic movies you didn't know were rip-offs

Not that I agree with all of it, but an interesting read:

7 Classic Movies You Didn't Know Were Rip-Offs | Cracked.com

Everyone knows that The Matrix ripped off William Gibson's Neuromancer (which came out in the 1980s), not some comic book that came out in the 1990s.

Black Swan, no real surprise to me as the director who written it actually holds the American rights for doing a remake of the anime (he got them so he could feature the screaming in the bathtub scene from the anime for Requiem for a Dream).

For the Terminator thing, who didn't know that one?

Reservoir Dogs, totally knew that one. Got to see City on Fire a long time ago on IFC, back before I went to FSU. One of the better Chow Yun Fat films.

I'll toss in - the coffin being used as a boat in Pirates 2 was ripped off -- BY ME! I was actually helping Terry with scenes when he was working back through the script and I suggested taking the coffin scene not from Monkey Island (which I promise I'd never heard mentioned while he and Ted were working on the film) but from a Japanese Anime short series called JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. When I showed the series to Terry he fell in love with it and nicked the image of the coffin canoe from it --

Jet Beetle said:

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I'll toss in - the coffin being used as a boat in Pirates 2 was ripped off -- BY ME! I was actually helping Terry with scenes when he was working back through the script and I suggested taking the coffin scene not from Monkey Island (which I promise I'd never heard mentioned while he and Ted were working on the film) but from a Japanese Anime short series called JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. When I showed the series to Terry he fell in love with it and nicked the image of the coffin canoe from it --

I can hear Harlan Ellison knocking on your door not too far in the future, just in case of any potential rip-offs ... and guess what he´ll bring?














A Jupiter II !!!

Cracked is really stretching for ideas. None of that was very valid. And anyone whose seen the Matrix knows it's not "ripping" Its a throw back to what we already know, retold under a new story. Inspired by. Do you have any idea how many comics, games, and movies have bald black guys with round glasses? A lot.

ManfromNaboo said:

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I can hear Harlan Ellison knocking on your door not too far in the future, just in case of any potential rip-offs ... and guess what he´ll bring?




A Jupiter II !!!

I'd confess anything for one of those.

i stopped after "star trek (jj abrams) is really star wars." comparing yoda and spock, also the plot is nothing similar except that 1 planet gets destroyed, but for totally different reasons

whole thing is stupid, sorry...

Actually there are lots of similarities not listed - JJ's Trek is Star Wars. What do you expect, he had Star Wars on the brain the entire time he was making the movie.

Knew about the Monkey Island thing (albeit perhaps not intentionally ripped off), the JJTrek thing was obvious, too.

What movies aren't rip-offs...?

Where do you draw the line between homage and plagiarism?


"I'd say twenty guns; some on the surface, some on the tower."

Raise your hand if you know what I'm talking about...

Works blocked the site :/ is this the thing from Rotten Tomatoes?

They did a pretty good couple of segments called Homage or Stealing or something like that that profiled several of the listed movies in this thread is why I ask. If not, I might still try to find the article when I get home lol

The Lion King / Kimba the White Lion rip off comparison is one of my favorites. Its always annoyed the crap out of me Disney refuses to admit any similarities.

Wolfie said:

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The Lion King / Kimba the White Lion rip off comparison is one of my favorites. Its always annoyed the crap out of me Disney refuses to admit any similarities.

Both stolen from Hamlet. I do enjoy Kimba though.... then again, I like Lion King too.

The only time I think homage becomes rip off is when it's not done as well as the source material.

PHArchivist said:

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"I'd say twenty guns; some on the surface, some on the tower."

Raise your hand if you know what I'm talking about...

Isn't that "The Dam Busters"?


As for JJ's Star Wars movie...


My Favorite Movie (Star Trek vs. Star Wars) - YouTube


Abrams is known for wanting to do Star Wars. So when he was given the green light to do Trek, he got to make his Star Wars movie.

Love you JJ.

Love you.


And that Carpenter guy totally ripped off that "Thing" movie he made. Same goes for Croneberg with his "Fly" film.



Kevin

SSgt Burton said:

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Isn't that "The Dam Busters"?

Exactly. Lifted almost word for word. Hard to call it simply homage...

And that's not all...

Kenobi's dialogue at the wrecked sand crawler (about sand people riding in single file) is likewsie a near-carbon-copy of dialogue from an old film with "Fort Apache" in the tile.

SSgt Burton said:

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And that Carpenter guy totally ripped off that "Thing" movie he made. Same goes for Croneberg with his "Fly" film.

No they didn't. Everyone knows that they are both second adaptations of short written narratives. If anything was even remotely ripped off, the novella Who Goes There? was the only thing, and it only ripped off the concept of the Antarctic setting and something dangerous being found under the ice from H.P. Lovecraft's In the Mountains of Madness (and that's as far as the similarity goes). Adaptions are adaptations.

PHArchivist said:

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Exactly. Lifted almost word for word. Hard to call it simply homage...

And that's not all...

Kenobi's dialogue at the wrecked sand crawler (about sand people riding in single file) is likewsie a near-carbon-copy of dialogue from an old film with "Fort Apache" in the tile.

I'm pretty certain it was this web site that mentioned to two "similarities" I've touched:

Star Wars Origins: How did George Lucas create Star Wars?

Though I cannot today find reference to the Fort Apache one.

I think SSGT Burton was joking..

CB2001 said:

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No they didn't. Everyone knows that they are both second adaptations of short written narratives. If anything was even remotely ripped off, the novella Who Goes There? was the only thing, and it only ripped off the concept of the Antarctic setting and something dangerous being found under the ice from H.P. Lovecraft's In the Mountains of Madness (and that's as far as the similarity goes). Adaptions are adaptations.

PHArchivist said:

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I'm pretty certain it was this web site that mentioned to two "similarities" I've touched:

Star Wars Origins: How did George Lucas create Star Wars?

Though I cannot today find reference to the Fort Apache one.

Lucas did pretty much what Stephen King has done many of times in literature. In fact, the literary term for it is called "modeling." They still teach it at Universities.

I'll go step further and say that Metropolis also applies to the Matrix.

As for Star Trek and Star Wars...I could agree but then again both films employed the "hero's Journey" template of storytelling which has been used for a looooong time.

Jawafive said:

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I think SSGT Burton was joking..

I was.

I figured the + would be enough. I guess we need a "dripping with humourous sarcasm" smiley.


Kevin

DARTH SABER said:

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I'll go step further and say that Metropolis also applies to the Matrix.

As for Star Trek and Star Wars...I could agree but then again both films employed the "hero's Journey" template of storytelling which has been used for a looooong time.

Uhhh if I hear about the "hero's journey" one more time I'm going to punch a kitten. Using Joseph Campbell's template is one thing - copying significant moments and character motivations is another. I was waiting for Nero to tell Kirk he was his father toward the end.

Did somebody say "jupiter 2"?



Jupiter 2

Jet Beetle said:

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Uhhh if I hear about the "hero's journey" one more time I'm going to punch a kitten. Using Joseph Campbell's template is one thing - copying significant moments and character motivations is another. I was waiting for Nero to tell Kirk he was his father toward the end.

Both motivations are part of he hero's journey and the Father element is also part of the hero's journey...go find that kitten.

DARTH SABER said:

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Both motivations are part of he hero's journey and the Father element is also part of the hero's journey...go find that kitten.

Umm... no. Applied in the specific case of JJ Trek the structure of Star Wars was used including the need to live up to a deceased father's legacy -

Heros Journey : Summary of Steps