Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is lastly upon us, and audiences find it irresistible. The comedy starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling because the eponymous doll and her maybe-boyfriend Ken has made large cash on the field workplace, with audiences and critics each effusively praising the movie’s extravagant manufacturing design and pitch-perfect soundtrack alongside Robbie’s and Gosling’s sensational performances.
Greatness by no means happens in a vacuum, and that goes particularly for Gerwig’s movie. Chatting with Letterboxd previous to the movie’s premiere, the director cited over 30 motion pictures that impressed her whereas engaged on the movie, from musicals and fast-talking comedies starring Gene Kelly and Cary Grant to movies directed by such cinematic icons as Federico Fellini, Stanley Kubrick, Jacques Demy, and Pedro Almodóvar.
In the event you’re aching for extra Barbie-like leisure, we’ve pulled collectively a listing of the place you’ll be able to stream or hire practically all the movies Gerwig has cited as inspiration. Classics like A Matter of Life and Demise, All That Jazz, and Oklahoma! are sadly unavailable on-line, however belief us — there’s lots right here to maintain you occupied.
Gold Diggers of 1935
12 months: 1935Run time: 1h 35mDirector: Busby BerkeleyCast: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart
Gerwig talked about Gold Diggers of 1935 in the identical breath as Fred Zinnemann’s 1955 adaptation of the musical Oklahoma! as a movie that the majority impressed her strategy to filming dance sequences in Barbie. Gold Diggers of 1935 facilities on the romantic antics of a bunch of visitors at an opulent resort resort, amongst them an eccentric millionaire, a rich heiress, and a stage director. “[The film] has this one actually surreal dance quantity with a bunch of steps, Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “There’s, like, one million faucet dancers that undergo one another. It’s type of unreal.”
Gold Diggers of 1935 is out there to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
2001: A House Odyssey
12 months: 1968Run time: 2h 29mDirector: Stanley KubrickCast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, Douglas Rain
Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi opus has exerted a nigh monolithic (pun supposed) affect over the medium of movie and cinematic storytelling because it first landed in theaters in 1968. Among the many movie’s most iconic moments are that of its first scene, whereby a tribe of hominins first encounter the alien artifact that seemingly grants them the ability of intelligence. The affect on Barbie is apparent to anybody who has seen the primary trailer for the movie, whereby a bunch of younger ladies standing in a valley just like the one seen in 2001: A House Odyssey first encounters the doll that might change the historical past of kids’s toys endlessly.
2001: A House Odyssey is out there to stream on Max, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
An American in Paris
12 months: 1951Run time: 1h 54mDirector: Vincente MinnelliCast: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant
Gerwig is a giant fan of Gene Kelly. As she informed Letterboxd, “After I was rising up, Gene Kelly was my crush, which was bizarre.” Not bizarre in any respect, Greta; in any case, he’s a canonical Hollywood dreamboat!
Gerwig singled out the opening scene, wherein Jerry wakes up in his tiny condo and will get prepared for the day, as a inspiration. “There was one thing so satisfying about watching him undergo his morning routine — that was one of many morning routines I liked. Though Barbie has way more of an expanse, I used to be like, ‘It is a nice opening,’” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “Then they’ve Leslie Caron in these very graphic, stunning photographs towards a wholly purple room or a wholly inexperienced room; she’s going via her day. It was these prospers that have been nearly surreal in that movie.”
An American in Paris is out there to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
And the Ship Sails On
12 months: 1983Run time: 2h 8mDirector: Federico FelliniCast: Freddie Jones, Barbara Jefford, Victor Poletti
Federico Fellini just isn’t fairly the primary title you’d consider as a doable inspiration for Barbie. The Italian filmmaker (and avid comedian e book fan) is likely one of the most influential administrators of the twentieth century, identified for such eccentric and fascinating masterpieces as La Strada, La Dolce Vita, and his 1963 magnum opus 8½. Gerwig cites Fellini’s 1983 comedy-drama And the Ship Sails On as an inspiration for her strategy to crafting the extra surreal, sensible results of Barbie — specifically the pretend sea impact as seen in Fellini’s movie.
And the Ship Sails On is out there to stream on Criterion Channel.
Shut Encounters of the Third Sort
12 months: 1977Run time: 2h 18mDirector: Steven SpielbergCast: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon
Gerwig cites Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi drama as one in all her favourite motion pictures and a key inspiration for Barbie. Chatting with Letterboxd, she defined that the movie is “about this maniacal perception in one thing that appeared kind of loopy, however was really true.”
Shut Encounters of the Third Sort is out there to stream on Tubi and Pluto TV, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Grease
12 months: 1978Run time: 1h 50mDirector: Randal KleiserCast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing
Barbie owes a visual debt to the anachronistic aptitude of Grease, Randal Kleiser’s traditional romantic musical starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. “Grease is nice,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “It’s a musical concerning the Nineteen Fifties, however made within the Seventies and all people’s 30. Adore it.”
Grease is out there to stream on Max, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Heaven Can Wait
12 months: 1978Run time: 1h 41mDirector: Warren Beatty, Buck HenryCast: Warren Beatty, James Mason, Julie Christie
In between the fantastical music numbers and wacky set-pieces, Gerwig’s Barbie is punctuated by real moments of existential questioning and despair. Heaven Can Wait, the 1978 drama directed by and starring Warren Beatty, was one of many movies Gerwig seemed to for inspiration in that regard. “One factor I like about Heaven Can Wait is it’s extraordinarily excessive idea, but it surely’s all the time human,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “There’s nothing about it that makes you’re feeling distanced from it. It completely works, despite the fact that in some methods it appears kind of wacky, however if you’re watching, it’s so stunning.”
Heaven Can Wait is out there to stream on Pluto TV, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
His Woman Friday
12 months: 1940Run time: 1h 32mDirector: Howard HawksCast: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
The traditional 1940 screwball comedy stars Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell as a previously married newspaper editor and reporter who fall in love once more whereas investigating the execution of a bookkeeper convicted of homicide. His Woman Friday is likely one of the most iconic examples of the transatlantic accent, a particular fast-talking have an effect on originated to mimic the hustle and bustle of upper-crust metropolitan elites. “His Woman Friday is likely one of the finest fast-talking motion pictures of all time,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd.
His Woman Friday is out there to stream on Prime Video, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Mannequin Store
12 months: 1969Run time: 1h 37mDirector: Jacques DemyCast: Anouk Aimée, Gary Lockwood, Alexandra Hay
Gerwig lists not one, not two, however three Jacques Demy movies as principal influences on Barbie. Demy’s aptitude for fastidiously constructed worlds with an emphasis on shiny colours and complementary costume selections is clear in Gerwig’s personal strategy to the pink-saturated wonderworld of Barbie and her associates.
Mannequin Store is out there to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Fashionable Instances
12 months: 1936Run time: 1h 27mDirector: Charlie ChaplinCast: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman
Charlie Chaplin is the grasp of cinematic bodily humor, a trait evident in practically of all his movies, although particularly obvious on this 1936 satirical romance comedy. Barbie’s varied stunts and chase sequences owe a debt to the inspiration of Chaplin’s character The Tramp, as Gerwig tells Letterboxd in her interview.
Fashionable Instances is out there to stream on Max and Criterion Channel.
Mon Oncle
12 months: 1958Run time: 2h 35mDirector: Jacques TatiCast: Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie
Jacques Tati is a grasp of environmental comedy, identified for his elaborately constructed set-pieces that foreground the delightfully clashing personalities of his characters whereas mischievously critiquing the absurdity of recent society. “Jacques Tati is the king of the gradual joke,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “The best way these motion pictures unfold are simply so excellent. I all the time considered Mattel as present barely in Jacques Tati’s world.”
Mon Oncle is out there to stream on Max and Criterion Channel.
Pee-wee’s Large Journey
12 months: 1985Run time: 1h 30mDirector: Tim BurtonCast: Paul Reubens, E.G. Day by day, Mark Holton
Tim Burton’s feature-length adaptation of Paul Reubens’ iconic youngsters’s TV character closely impressed the fantastical set-pieces and comedic rhythm of Gerwig’s personal Barbie. “There’s that part the place he will get on a practice and is a tramp on a practice and sings songs, then he will get bored of it and falls off the practice and it takes 60 seconds,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “It’s hilarious, but it surely’s only a actually brief factor.”
Pee-Wee’s Large Journey is out there to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Playtime
12 months: 1967Run time: 1h 55mDirector: Jacques TatiCast: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden
As talked about beforehand, Tati’s work was a serious inspiration for Gerwig’s Barbie. Playtime is usually cited as Tati’s magnum opus, following the director’s bumbling protagonist Monsieur Hulot (performed by Tati himself) as he wanders all through a contemporary Parisian cityscape cramped with a dioramic assortment of hilarious and unusual set-pieces.
Playtime is out there to stream on Criterion Channel, or accessible to hire on Amazon and Apple.
Rear Window
12 months: 1954Run time: 1h 52mDirector: Alfred HitchcockCast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
Alfred Hitchcock’s mystery-thriller a couple of photographer in a wheelchair who might or might not have witnessed the homicide of one in all his neighbors in his condo block just isn’t solely one of many director’s most iconic and oft-imitated movies, however a shocking affect on Barbie. In her interview with Letterboxd, Gerwig cited the sensible development of the movie’s units and backgrounds as an inspiration whereas engaged on her personal movie.
Rear Window is out there to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Saturday Evening Fever
12 months: 1977Run time: 1h 59mDirector: John BadhamCast: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller
Barbie is quite a lot of issues: not fairly a musical and never fairly a drama, however a mish-mash of a number of totally different genres with a heavy emphasis on music. Gerwig cites Saturday Evening Fever as an affect on her imaginative and prescient for Barbie as a film supported by an incredible soundtrack. “Saturday Evening Fever clearly has this unimaginable soundtrack by the Bee Gees. […] I assumed Barbie appeared so disco to me in her coronary heart, as a result of Barbie’s kind of — and I’ll say this as a lover of Barbie and disco — a bit of bit dorky in one of the simplest ways,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “Saturday Evening Fever was a film that was pushed by music, however not a musical. I suppose we’re half of a musical.”
Saturday Evening Fever is out there to stream on Prime Video and Paramount Plus, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Singin’ within the Rain
12 months: 1952Run time: 1h 43mDirector: Stanley Donen, Gene KellyCast: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds
Gerwig cites Singin’ within the Rain as not simply one in all her favourite motion pictures, however her very favourite. It’s no shock, then, that the movie would have an plentiful affect on her work on Barbie. “There are such a lot of nice issues in Singin’ within the Rain, however the dream ballet inside the dream ballet is likely one of the most unimaginable, stunning, fully unhinged issues.”
Singin’ within the Rain is out there to stream on Max, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Splash
12 months: 1984Run time: 1h 51mDirector: Ron HowardCast: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy
“Splash is one other film that’s totally charming and works emotionally, despite the fact that it’s so excessive idea and it’s all the way down to Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, who’re so nice,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “I’m positive the tagline was, like, ‘Fish Out of Water.’ It felt like a crossing-worlds film… It’s one I’ve liked since I used to be a child, too.”
Splash is out there to stream on Disney Plus and MGM Plus, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
The Earrings of Madame de…
12 months: 1953Run time: 1h 45mDirector: Max OphülsCast: Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica
Gerwig cites Max Ophüls’ 1953 romantic drama movie as an inspiration on Barbie for its stunning camerawork. “I imply, I can’t imagine a few of these photographs. They’re simply extraordinary; it’s all the time a reminder of what we’re all going for.”
The Earrings of Madame de… is out there to stream on Max and Criterion Channel, or accessible to hire on Amazon and Apple.
The Godfather
12 months: 1972Run time: 2h 55mDirector: Francis Ford CoppolaCast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
Francis Ford Coppola’s crime drama masterpiece is likely one of the most celebrated movies of the twentieth century, so it’s solely pure that Gerwig would discover a option to match a nod to The Godfather in her work on Barbie. If , .
The Godfather is out there to stream on Paramount Plus, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
The Women Man
12 months: 1961Run time: 1h 35mDirector: Jerry LewisCast: Jerry Lewis, Helen Traubel, Pat Stanley
Jerry Lewis’ 1961 comedy a couple of man who takes up a job at a women-only boarding home after breaking apart together with his girlfriend is a key affect on Gerwig’s Barbie, notably in its diorama strategy to set design and iconic opening moments. “They constructed this home that was reduce out, after which they moved across the rooms with a digicam on this one steady shot with all these ladies preparing,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “It’s unimaginable. That’s the place I acquired the concept for the mirror that has nothing in it that you simply look via, and it’s simply her.”
The Women Man is out there to stream on Showtime, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
The Philadelphia Story
12 months: 1940Run time: 1h 52mDirector: George CukorCast: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
Gerwig cited the 1940 comedy The Philadelphia Story as an affect on Barbie, not only for her love of Cary Grant, however as a inspiration for Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Barbie. “One of many causes I liked it — and I stated to Margot to look at it for Barbie as a result of Katharine Hepburn describes herself as being a Grecian statue or one thing — is she’s unflappable after which she begins falling aside, and that’s really the place she finds herself,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “It was really already one in all Margot’s favourite motion pictures; she already had that in her again pocket, because it have been.”
The Philadelphia Story is out there to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
The Purple Footwear
12 months: 1948Run time: 2h 15mDirector: Michael Powell, Emeric PressburgerCast: Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer
The 1948 British drama a couple of ballerina who’s pressured to decide on between her love for her profession and her love for a composer is a dominant inspiration for Gerwig’s Barbie. “The Purple Footwear [is] all around the film. There’s a shot of her strolling as much as that home, which I needed it to really feel like that when Barbie walks as much as [Weird Barbie’s] home. Ryan Gosling wears a pair of glasses which are the cat-eye glasses that the director wears in it, as a result of I used to be like, ‘How trendy and daring that that man’s sporting cat-eye glasses — it’s so enjoyable.’ Then Ryan was like, ‘Can I put on cat-eye glasses?’ and I used to be like, ‘You positively can,’ after which he had two on.”
The Purple Footwear is out there to stream on Max and Criterion Channel, or accessible to hire on Amazon and Apple.
The Truman Present
12 months: 1998Run time: 1h 43mDirector: Peter WeirCast: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich
Peter Weir’s up to date existential comedy a couple of man who discovers that his whole life has been a fastidiously orchestrated “actuality” TV present shares rather a lot in frequent with the spirit of Gerwig’s Barbie. “I needed to embrace The Truman Present each as a result of I watched it once more earlier than I made this film, and since Peter Weir very generously acquired on the cellphone with me earlier than I began taking pictures, and he talked to me for a very long time about how he shot it and the way they made it work.”
The Truman Present is out there to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
12 months: 1964Run time: 1h 31mDirector: Jacques DemyCast: Catherine Deneuve, Anne Vernon, Nino Castelnuovo
As talked about beforehand, Jacques Demy was an enormous affect on the manufacturing design of Gerwig’s Barbie. “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg [is] an incredible film and astonishingly stunning,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “I liked using colour and the surrealness. Rodrigo Prieto and I — he shot the movie and he’s one of many biggest DPs who ever lived — have been speaking about that layering of the colours and the way you’d shoot 5 totally different shades of pink or crimson in a single shot and never have it overwhelm something, that you simply really feel like there’s separation, however that it’s vibrant. Every part feels painterly, and that was a giant a part of it.”
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is out there to stream on Max and Criterion Channel, or accessible to hire on Amazon and Apple.
The Wizard of Oz
12 months: 1939Run time: 1h 42mDirector: Victor FlemingCast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger
The enduring 1939 musical fantasy starring Judy Garland is an apparent inspiration for Gerwig’s movie a couple of woman transported to a world past her creativeness. “In our film, we now have the Pink Brick Street as a substitute of the Yellow Brick Street,” Gerwig informed Letterboxd. “We even have stunning painted backdrops of horizons. We executed it like they might’ve accomplished within the ’30s and ’40s and ’50s soundstage musicals. It was one thing that we saved returning to. I all the time love the ending the place there’s a ceremonial high quality.”
The Wizard of Oz is out there to stream on Max, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
The Younger Ladies of Rochefort
12 months: 1967Run time: 2h 5mDirector: Jacques DemyCast: Catherine Deneuve, George Chakiris, Françoise Dorléac
Jacques Demy’s musical comedy about two extravagantly dressed sisters pining for love was a key affect on Gerwig’s Barbie, notably for the movie’s many flamboyant costume designs. At one level within the movie, Barbie sports activities a hat just like the sisters’ personal.
The Younger Ladies of Rochefort is out there to stream on Max and Criterion Channel, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Twentieth Century
12 months: 1934Run time: 1h 31mDirector: Howard HawksCast: John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, Walter Connolly
Gerwig cites Howard Hawks’ screwball romance Twentieth Century as an affect on Barbie’s heightened sense of emotion-driven comedy. “Margot jogs my memory of Carole Lombard and Ryan jogs my memory of John Barrymore in how humorous he’s. There are scenes the place they’re simply screaming at one another; I used to be like, ‘That is excellent.’ There’s a heightened, dramatic factor that John Barrymore does that I confirmed to Ryan, then he took that and put it in our film.”
Twentieth Century is out there to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
Wings of Need
12 months: 1987Run time: 2h 8mDirector: Wim WendersCast: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander
Among the many vast breadth of Gerwig’s inspirations, Wings of Need may really feel just like the oddest movie to quote as an inspiration for Barbie. It’s a romantic fantasy about an angel that falls in love with a trapeze artist and renounces his immortality in an effort to spend the remainder of his existence on Earth together with her, and Gerwig describes the movie as an affect for the straightforward indisputable fact that it options conversations with an angel — and that’s it!
Wings of Need is out there to stream on Max and Criterion Channel, or accessible to hire on Amazon and Apple.
Ladies on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
12 months: 1988Run time: 1h 28mDirector: Pedro AlmodóvarCast: Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano
Pedro Almodóvar’s 1988 black comedy a couple of tv actress who embarks on a journey of self-discovery in an effort to get to the center of why her lover left her is usually known as one of many director’s finest. Within the case of Gerwig’s Barbie, the movie was an inspiration for its distinctive set design and technique of layering colours on display.
Ladies on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is out there to stream on Freevee, or accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.