For over 20 years The Simpsons has been referencing movies from Citizen Kane (1941) to Basic Instinct (1992).
The show has been running for so long that when you do a comprehensive list like this it reads like an index to a history of cinema.
A French website (‘The Simpsons Park’) has collected an incredible gallery of screen shots and animated gifs that lays out the original Simpsons episode alongside the particular film.
The range is astonishing: Kubrick, Bergman, Hitchcock, Scorsese, Lumet, Spielberg, Coppola and Truffaut are just some of the many directors referenced.
Just click on the links below to visit the relevant page – they aren’t in English, but the visuals speak for themselves.
- 101 Dalmatians (1961)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
- Goodfellas (1990)
- After Hours (1985)
- Logan’s Run (1976)
- Aladdin (1992)
- Alien Trilogy (1979-1992)
- American Beauty (1999)
- Animal House (1978)
- American Graffiti (1973)
- The Amityville Horror (1979)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
- Raising Arizona (1987)
- Lethal Weapon (1987)
- Catch Me If You Can (2002)
- Austin Powers (1997)
- Gone with the Wind (1939)
- Basic Instinct (1992)
- Batman (1989)
- Beetlejuice (1988)
- Lady and the Tramp (1955)
- Ben Hur (1959)
- Big (1988)
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
- Stripes (1981)
- The Blob (1988)
- The Blues Brothers (1980)
- Body Double (1984)
- Brain Donors (1992)
- Braveheart (1995)
- Bullitt (1968)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1968)
- Caddyshack (1980)
- Casablanca (1942)
- Chariots of Fire (1981)
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
- Un Chien Andalou (1929)
- Saboteur (1942)
- Citizen Kane (1942)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000)
- The Conversation (1974)
- Run Lola Run (1998)
- Crocodile Dundee (1986)
- Deliverance (1972)
- Jaws (1975)
- The Last Emperor (1987)
- Dr. Strangelove (1964)
- Dracula (1992)
- E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
- Edward Scissorhands (1990)
- The Wild One (1953)
- The Right Stuff (1983)
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- The Exorcist (1973)
- Von Ryan’s Express (1965)
- Fantasia (1940)
- The Maltese Falcon (1941)
- Rear Window (1954)
- The Firm (1993)
- Flashdance (1983)
- Footloose (1983)
- Forrest Gump (1994)
- The French Connection (1971)
- Basket Case (1982)
- The Fugitive (1993)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- Dazed and Confused (1993)
- Good Night, And Good Luck (2005)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- Harvey (1950)
- A Beautiful Mind (2001)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- The Untouchables (1987)
- Indiana Jones Trilogy (1981-89)
- James Bond (1962- )
- The Longest Day (1962)
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
- Days of Thunder (1990)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- The Karate Kid (1984)
- The Killer (1989)
- King Kong (1933)
- Ice Age (2002)
- The Public Enemy (1931)
- Rebel Without a Cause (1951)
- The Great Escape (1962)
- Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
- The Graduate (1967)
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- Dead Poets Society (1989)
- Sorcerer (1977)
- The 400 Blows (1959)
- All the President’s Men (1976)
- Fatal Attraction (1987)
- The Green Mile (1999)
- Cool Hand Luke (1967)
- Mad Max (1979)
- The Wizard of Oz (1939)
- Home Alone (1990)
- Mars Attacks! (1996)
- Mary Poppins (1964)
- The Matrix (1999)
- The Natural (1984)
- Men In Black (1997)
- Midnight Express (1978)
- Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
- It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
- Westworld (1973)
- North by Northwest (1959)
- The Fly (1958 & 1987)
- Mr. And Mrs. Smith (2005)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
- Cape Fear (1991)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- Night of the Hunter (1955)
- An Officer and a Gentleman (1981)
- The Birds (1963)
- A Clockwork Orange (1971)
- Over the Top (1986)
- The Godfather (1971)
- The Passion of Christ (2004)
- Patton (1970)
- Persona (1966)
- The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Pinocchio (1940)
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- Forbidden Planet (1956)
- Fail Safe (1964)
- Poltergeist (1982)
- The Prince of Tides (1991)
- The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- Psycho (1960)
- Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Raging Bull (1980)
- Rain Man (1988)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
- Requiem for a Dream (2000)
- Reservoir Dogs (1991)
- Back to the Future (1985)
- Risky Business (1983)
- Robocop (1987)
- Rocky (1976)
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
- The Lion King (1994)
- The Gold Rush (1925)
- Lord of the Flies (1963)
- Free Willy (1993)
- Scarface (1983)
- Scream (1996)
- Brokeback Mountain (2005)
- The Lord of the Rings (2003-2005)
- The Shining (1980)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Soylent Green (1973)
- I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
- Spider-Man (2002)
- Star Wars (1977-2005)
- Steamboat Willie (1928)
- Vertigo (1958)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- Modern Times (1936)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- The Music Man (1962)
- The Paper Chase (1973)
- Thelma and Louise (1991)
- Titanic (1997)
- Tom Jones (1963)
- Trainspotting (1996)
- The Treasury of the Sierra Madre (1948)
- Pride of the Yankees (1942)
- Friday the 13th (1980)
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
- Village of the Damned (1960 & 1995)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
- The Deer Hunter (1979)
- The Warriors (1979)
- Waterworld (1995)
- Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)
- Wild Wild West (1998)
- Witness (1985)
> Matt Groening & Al Jean on The Simpsons Movie
> Find out more about The Simpsons at Wikipedia
4 replies on “Movie References in The Simpsons”
After Hours (1995) ? It’s 1985 !
Good spot. Now corrected.
Actually; the connection between BasIc Instint and The Simpsons started during the production of the movie. In a dramatic scene about 5 minutes before the end, Nick’s therapist walks into his apartment with a spare set f keys. In the key ring? Burt Simpson. Ha!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’s date can’t be right, they’re referencing episodes that aired before 2000… other than that, great article