3. Ben Hur
For all the hate people fling towards the prequels, in particular The Phantom Menace, there's few people who can fault the pod race. Yes, its a little out of place and
yes, the extended version on the DVD version is too long and
YES the commentators are almost as annoying as Jar Jar Binks, but it's hard to not find it an exciting watch. The build up and aftermath of the sequence dominates the second act of the first film of the trilogy, but its almost entirely lifted from a near identical scene from near the end of roman epic Ben Hur. Ever wondered why Lucas thought having three laps, repeating the same locations, was a good idea in his race? Because theres multiple laps in Ben Hur's (nine in fact, showing some restraint). The desert setting, crowds in high stands, even the morally dubious favourite; its all in there. Whats more startling is that Lucas pulled a Tarantino-esque move for the end of the race; Sebulba and Anakin's racers linking together, leading to Sebulba's destruction is exactly how Ben Hur's race ends.