5 Short Films That Inspired George Lucas

We here at Comingsoon.net could not be more excited about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker coming this December. As anticipation builds here — and across the known galaxy — we have elected to compile a list short films that inspired Star Wars‘ founding father George Lucas a long time ago in a southern California film school far, far away. Be sure to check out our slideshow below!

It is sometimes difficult to keep in mind that cinematic greats weren’t born as masters but instead as more humble beings. Like many of us, they had to start at the bottom. George Lucas would go on to make the films THX-1138 and American Grafitti before creating his coup de grace: the space fantasy franchise we know as Star Wars that continues to be gigantic even today. Yet even he began his life as a filmmaker at the University of Southern California’s film school, back when going to school for filmmaking was a relatively new concept.

While at the University of Southern California, Lucas was able to watch many films he had never before seen because of the lack of access to many films in the pre-digital age. Among these films were a number of interesting shorts from filmmakers he had never heard of. We all know where Lucas’s career ended up, but it can be nice to also see where it began. Below you’ll find five short films he cited as inspirational to him.