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Friday, June 19, 2009

The 50 Greatest Simpsons Movie References


The 50 Greatest Simpsons Movie References

Smart and funny riffs on classic cinema moments...

BY Nathan Ditum

The sharpest, smartest show on TV is famed for its sly nods to movies.

The beautifully observed homages vary from blink-and-miss single frames to shot-by-shot recreations of entire scenes.

Here's our top 50...

50. Requiem For A Dream (2000)

Episode: I’m Spelling As Fast As I Can (Season 14)

The original moment: The scuzzy lives of various Brighton Beach addicts are reduced to flick-book moments of monotonous quick snap repetition – powder-snort-hit-high – in Darren Aronofsky’s sharp drama.

The Simpsons moment: Homer becomes addicted to the latest Krusty Burger product, the Ribwich (tag line: ‘I don’t mind the taste!’), his instant-hit happiness shown with Requiem-style quick cuts. It works best if you see it in motion here.

49. The Great Escape (1963)

Episode: A Streetcar Named Marge (Season 4)

The original moment: Steve McQueen’s repeat escapist Captain Virgil Hilts is sent to solitary confinement of ‘the cooler’, and passes the time throwing a baseball against the wall over and over.

The Simpsons moment: With Marge rehearsing for her theatre production of A Streetcar Named Desire, Maggie spends the day in the Ayn Rand School For Tots. After organising a failed escape with the other babies she’s sent to a playpen called ‘the box’ and bounces a ball off the walls.

48. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Episode: Treehouse Of Horror III (Season 4)

The original moment: In a dystopian near-future England, Malcolm McDowell is Alex, the leader of a brutal gang of youths elaborately dressed in bowler hats, white shirts and eye makeup.

The Simpsons moment: In the opening segment for season four’s Halloween episode there’s a party at the Simpsons’ house, and Bart comes dressed as Alex. In the same episode there’s a King Kong spoof called King Homer.

Next: The Silence Of The Lambs, Steamboat Willie, Risky Business...

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