Top Gun Maverick- Deja Vu all over again, 633 Squadron and Star Wars

[Brian]

Finally got a break and went to see Top Gun Maverick. Great movie. Like watching a 21st century version of the Cliff Robertson movie 633 Squadron. This is the movie that George Lucas cites as inspiration for the original Star Wars attack on the Death Star. A quick search showed up that other reviewers also compared Top Gun 2 with 633 Squadron.

Also- at the end of 633 Squadron it is unclear if Cliff Robertson's character Roy Grant dies at the end of the movie. There were sequels to the Book, so no- he just passed out from exhaustion. One of the Top Gun reviewers mistakenly states that the attack in 633 Squadron was on a heavy water plant, this is wrong: the attack is on a rocket fuel plant.

 

[CraigC]

My brother and I took our Dad this past Sunday as a belated Father’s Day out and all three of us enjoyed it. Some good nostalgia of the original, but a good movie on its own. Those plane scenes, visuals and sound, wow.

 

[CatsAreGods]

Finally got a break and went to see Top Gun Maverick. Great movie. Like watching a 21st century version of the Cliff Robertson movie 633 Squadron. This is the movie that George Lucas cites as inspiration for the original Star Wars attack on the Death Star. A quick search showed up that other reviewers also compared Top Gun 2 with 633 Squadron.

Also- at the end of 633 Squadron it is unclear if Cliff Robertson's character Roy Grant dies at the end of the movie. There were sequels to the Book, so no- he just passed out from exhaustion. One of the Top Gun reviewers mistakenly states that the attack in 633 Squadron was on a heavy water plant, this is wrong: the attack is on a rocket fuel plant.

I don't remember watching 633 Squadron, but when I saw TGM I was just sitting there amazed at all the Star Wars references!

 

[Walter Palmer]

It's a popular story line for certain. Like certain automotive designs become popular. And fashion, and on and on.

But monocultures tend to lead to bad endings, so, as long as other storyline, body styles, and fashion designs continue to proliferate, we should be okay.

Was that a Taurus or a Jaguar? Or was it a Maserati?

 

[Brian]

Interesting article on Star Wars and the tie in to WW-II movies and aircraft.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/star-wars-aircraft-inspiration.html

George Lucas cited that 633 Squadron was an inspiration for the Death Star runs in Star Wars.
Also note that Cliff Robertson as an Airplane enthusiast, and wanted to buy one of the Mosquito's used in the filming.

Tom Cruise Goes Top Gun With New P-51 Mustang

Tom Cruise went Top Gun when he added a vintage WWII P-51 Mustang to his collection of business jets. A qualified pilot, he flies the gleaming "Kiss Me Kate" himself.

www.forbes.com

Tom Cruise owns the Mustang used in the movie.

 

[Andrewmap]

This link cites the Dam Busters film (1955) as well:

This Scene From "Star Wars: A New Hope" Is Exactly The Same As "The Dam Busters"

WWII In Space It's no secret that Star Wars is basically WWII in space. As such, the film series naturally drew upon WWII films that came before it for inspiration. However, some parts of Star Wars are not just closely related to other movies - they're exactly like them, shot for shot. A great e

worldwarwings.com

I remember reading something along these lines back in 1977 when Star Wars was released.

 

[Brian]

I saw The Dam Busters recently- had not seen it in decades. Another great movie about WW-II, also cited by George Lucas.
I saw 633 Squadron when it was first shown in Theaters.
Would be cool for someone to have a Dam Busters - 633 Squadron - Star Wars marathon.

 

[Richard]

A few months ago we arrived home to find an enormous bird poo on the glass of our front door, at about head height. Now, there's an awning above that door which projects out by about a metre. So whatever launched that poo must have done so at quite a high speed, while flying horizontally at the door, and then pulled a tight turn to avoid flying into it.

"It looks like the Dam Busters did it," said my partner.

"No," I replied, "This is the work of 633 Squadron".

-R