It's doubly fitting that John Williams, that master appropriator of the composing world, scored this movie, because there's hardly an original bone beneath its sleek, entertaining skin. Lucas liberally borrowed from dozens of other films in his latest creation.
Here are many of the movies, TV shows, and occasional video games that Lucas and his crew made little and not-so-little homages to throughout Clones (or at least the ones that Lucy-S and I were able to spot and remember after a single viewing; if you have others to add to the list, send me a message.):
- A.I. (much of the 3-D neon look of the Coruscant scenes -- thanks to Walter for reminding me)
- Akira (parts of the duel between Yoda and Tyranus; also, some of the other action sequences, as well as Anakin's characterization -- thanks to gnarl for this catch)
- A Man Called Horse (Anakin's mother's death scene was directly lifted from this movie)
- Apocalypse Now (lots of the over-the-shoulder shots on the gunships)
- The Black Cat (the Roger Corman version) (the lightning duel between Yoda and Tyranus)
- Blade Runner (most of the rest of the look of Coruscant not borrowed from A.I.)
- Captain From Castille (the scene where Amidala is stalked by the millipede-like alien creatures)
- Chicken Run (the whole conveyor belt sequence; though anotherone felt it was just reheated Sonic the Hedgehog)
- Close Encounters
- The Court Jester (there's a couple of shots of Christopher Lee in the lightsaber duel that are framed much like Basil Rathbone's swordfighting scenes)
- Easy Rider (the framing of several of the shots of Anakin flying off on his hoverbike on Tattooine)
- The Fifth Element (oh, the hovercar chase scene gave me such flashbacks to this movie!)
- Forbidden Planet
- The French Connection (the hovercar chase also borrowed moves from TFC)
- Gladiator (the entire arena sequence)
- Glory (some of the ground-fighting shots between the clone and robot armies)
- Go Tell The Spartans
- Invasion of the Saucer Men
- Johnny Quest (robotic spiders, anyone?)
- The Killer (near the end of the movie, there's a shot of Anakin and Obi-Wan standing back-to-back as the camera spins around; Woo used an identical shot in The Killer)
- Killer Klowns From Outer Space
- Lawrence of Arabia (the shot where the two armies run directly into each other)
- The Maltese Falcon (the sequence when Obi-Wan is being escorted in to meet the ambassador on Camino is reminiscent of when Humphrey Bogart is taken in to meet Mr. Cairo)
- The Matrix (the scene on the conveyor belt in which a large, Lovecraftian robot grabs C-3PO by his head; also, the clone incubators are reminiscent of the fetus farm in The Matrix)
- Mimic (the attack of the winged, insectoid aliens in the caverns)
- Platoon (the scene in which the gunships drop down into the arena to rescue the Jedis)
- Robinson Crusoe on Mars (the sequence in which Obi-Wan is trapped on the ridge is framed exactly like a similar scene in RCoM)
- Robin Hood (the Errol Flynn version)
- Ronin (the hovercar chase scene also borrowed heavily from this film)
- Seven Days in May (the chamber scenes with Mace Windu and Yoda are framed almost exactly like all the scenes between Frederick March and Burt Lancaster, but without the luxury of Rod Serling's script)
- The Sound of Music (the look of the scenes of Anakin and Amidala frolicking on grassy hills -- thanks to BlueDragon for this one)
- Spartacus (the scene where Dooku is circling Obi-Wan, trying to convince the Jedi to join him, is a recreation of the scene between Charles Laughton and Kirk Douglas)
- StarCraft (Phssthpok says that the six-legged creatures in the arena scene are modeled on the Lurkers from this video game)
- Star Trek ("Fire on those Federation Starships immediately!" Also, the solar sailer spacecraft was reminiscent of the replica of the ancient Bajoran craft Sisko and Jake made in DS9 -- thanks to Silverai_me)
- Star Wars
- THX 1138 (more parts of the hovercraft chase; also, the look of the interior scenes on Camino)
- Ulzana's Raid (the scene where the clone trooper finds Amidala lying stunned on the sand and they go off to round up everyone else to go rescue Anakin and Obi-Wan)
- The Wild Bunch (the scene at the end of the arena sequence where the Jedis are standing in a circle, surrounded by enemies, is a direct recreation of one of the most memorable shots from The Wild Bunch)