Study: Wizard of Oz, not Star Wars, is the most influential movie ever
Researchers in Italy have determined the most influential movie of all time — and it’s probably not the one you expected.
The 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz has had the most impact in Hollywood, according to a report in the journal Applied Network Science.
The team analyzed the impact of more than 47,000 films across 26 genres to determine which titles have had the most industry influence (not including short film or porn movies, which are probably safe to rule out anyway).
The film with the second-greatest impact? 1977’s Star Wars, of course.
In third place: Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller Psycho.
Other high-ranking entries include 1933’s King Kong, 1968’s 2001: A Space Oddessy, 1941’s Citizen Kane, 1927’s Metropolis, 1942’s Casablanca and 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and1931’s Frankenstein.
When it came to ranking directors, the study looked at a couple different metrics. When it came to most influential, George Cukor (who worked on 65 films including uncredited work on Oz and Gone with the Wind) was No. 1. Another golden age filmmaker who is credited on both those films, Victor Fleming, was No. 2. Hitchcock was No. 3, Mervyn LeRoy was No. 4 and Steven Spielberg was No. 5.
A separate director list, ranking “top” directors rather than most “influential,” had Hitchcock and Spielberg in the top two slots.
Interestingly, when it came to ranking most influential actors, the top pick in the study was rather unexpected: Samuel L. Jackson, likely due to starring in a whopping 82, often popular, movies throughout his career. Jackson was followed by Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Wayne.
