It's quite understandable that one genre Lucas would be influenced by for his saga is war movies. The clue is in the title. A number of them can be found in the movies, but the most clear cut example is that of The Dam Busters, the 1954 film based on the real-life Operation Chastise, which was the mission to bomb German dams. The attack on the Death Star at the end of A New Hope, and more specifically the strategy they have to use to carry this out, with only one shot at getting the explosion, is a direct mirror of the end of Dam Busters, with a very particular formation and a special weapon being needed to hit a target with pinpoint accuracy. The shooting of the scene in Star Wars, and some of the dialogue, is clear homage to the war film, with lines such as "get set for your attack run" taken verbatim. Other war movies that had an influence include 633 Squadron, which again bears similarities to the assault on the Death Star, and the Guns of Navarone, with the weaponry of the Death Star being portrayed similarly to the super-cannons in that film.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
