10 Most Important And Influential Summer Blockbusters Of All-Time
3. Star Wars
The 1970s was the decade when a gang of bearded mavericks burst onto the scene and changed the entire landscape of American cinema, and while Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola found themselves showered in critical acclaim, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas appealed more directly to the masses.
Star Wars is one of the most important movies ever made in any genre, one that reshaped the industry in its own image and remains as influential now as it was over 40 years ago.
Not only did it become the biggest hit of all-time, but Lucas' approach to merchandising revolutionized tie-ins and marketing forever, while the groundbreaking special effects saw ILM completely change the perception of what was possible to bring to life on the big screen.
Many of the industry's biggest hitters have admitted their love for Star Wars and how it would define and inspire their own careers, and you can't really argue with the impact made by a movie that widened both the eyes and imaginations of James Cameron, Kevin Feige, John Lasseter, David Fincher, Peter Jackson and Christopher Nolan to name just a very small few.