“If I’m going to reference another film in my film, why not use something from my past?”.
A thought that many famous film directors have made. It could be out of narcissism or vanity, it could be just a joke, a small comment or a need for a revision of a past work. In any case, self-references are always noticed and celebrated by critics and the audience, so below is a collection of 25 directors who just couldn’t resist referencing their own films.
1. Mel Brooks: Young Frankenstein in Silent Movie
2. Brian De Palma: Murder à la Mod in Blow Out
3. Lisandro Alonso: Los Muertos in Fantasma
4. Edgar Wright: Shaun of the Dead in Hot Fuzz
5. Samuel Fuller: Shock Corridor in The Naked Kiss
6. Andrei Tarkovsky: Andrei Rublev in The Mirror
7. King Vidor: Bardelys the Magnificent in Show People
8. Vincente Minnelli: The Bad and the Beautiful in Two Weeks in Another Town
9. Steven Spielberg: Jaws in Jurassic Park
10. Richard Donner: Ladyhawke in Conspiracy Theory
11. Roy Del Ruth: Side Show in Taxi!
12. Stanley Kubrick: 2001: A Space Odyssey in A Clockwork Orange
13. Im Sang-soo: Tears in A Good Lawyer’s Wife
14. Fritz Lang: Metropolis in Spione
15. Jean-Luc Godard: Le Petit Soldat in Pierrot le Fou
16. Edward F. Cline: The Bank Dick in Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
17. Clint Eastwood: High Plains Drifter in Breezy
18. Preston Sturges: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek in Hail the Conquering Hero
19. Wes Craven: Summer of Fear in Deadly Blessing
20. Terry Gilliam: Brazil in The Fisher King
21. Tobe Hooper: Lifeforce in Invaders from Mars
22. Brian Trenchard-Smith: The Man from Hong Kong in Dead End Drive-In
23. Mario Bava: Black Sabbath in Hatchet for the Honeymoon
24. Bruce Beresford: Don’s Party in Puberty Blues
25. Abbas Kiarostami: Where is the Friend’s Home? in Life and Nothing More…
