20 Suspiciously Similar Movie Scenes You Never Noticed

2.The Phantom Menace/Ben Hur

George Lucas is akin to the family friendly Saturday matinee version of Quentin Tarantino: all of his films are derivatives of other movies in some way or another. Though it is picked apart more regularly than any film, Star Wars Episode One in its entirety can be seen as a sci-fi version of Ben-Hur. Lucas simply took aspects of the slavery story from William Wyler's and adapted it for Anakin Skywalker. The scene where this is most readily apparent is the pod racing sequence, which is completely lifted from the chariot race sequence in Ben-Hur. The same elements are there, of the slave attempting to escape his master, seeking vengeance against an old enemy with dirty tactics, and of victory in the face of adversity. Only for Lucas, there's more fuel, obviously.

In Episode I, the Ben-Hur figure is obviously Anakin, who races for his freedom, and to take revenge (though it's more a matter of pride here) over Sebulba, the veteran, champion racer. Anakin ultimately wins, despite Sebulba's cheating, and his opponent is vanquished and destroyed.

It's hard to resist the idea of Lucas seeking cinematic one-upmanship, in his attempt to create a new and improved chariot race for his generation. He sought to channel the excitement of roman racing pushed to the extreme with ultra cool rockets, and though he fudged the execution somewhat, you really can't fault Lucas' inner child for trying.