Edgar Wright: The Definitive Guide To Homages, Influences And References

By Edward Owen /

A lot of filmmakers wear their influences on their sleeve, but perhaps they aren€™t nearly as overt as Edgar Wright. The man was brought up on a bevy of different films, from horror to action and all in between, and references to everything and anything can be found in his films. After all, a man doesn€™t name his big debut (not counting a Fistful of Fingers) after one of the definitive horror movies of all time without having some sort of knowledge of filmic history. But Wright €“ often with his friend and co-writer Simon Pegg €“ doesn€™t just know like you or I, his knowledge is encyclopaedic, and only matched by his ability to sneak this knowledge into his films. There€™s a reason why filmmakers of a generation before €“ chief among them Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez €“ are impressed with Wright€™s work. Much like those auteurs before him, Wright isn't afraid to profess his love for both the schlock and the classics, meaning you might find references to both Casablanca and Christopher Lee B-Movies under the same roof. Yet what marks him out, even among such exalted company, is his love of geekdom. Wright, Pegg and collaborator Nick Frost are all unashamed geeks, even in their early days of TV series such as Asylum and Spaced. Hollywood is full of great filmmakers, but only a handful would ever dare to crowbar Timesplitters 2 into their big break. The Blood and Ice Cream/Cornetto trilogy of which Wright is most famous for is full of these nods, yet it€™s his work on Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World that this really comes to the fore. Like any good cinephile, his films are practically fit to burst with knowing winks and nods to all sorts of films, television shows and music. Some of them are pretty obvious and some of them are almost mind-bogglingly obscure, yet it€™s always good fun to sit down and see how many you can get first time round. It€™s the equivalent of geek bingo, and you€™re never, ever going to get a Full House... So without further ado, welcome to our Definitive Guide to Homages, Influence and References In Edgar Wright Movies.