Richard Donner
227 connections found
Filmography
Superman 1978 
The Goonies 1985 
The Omen 1976 
Lethal Weapon 1987 
Assassins 1995 
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut 2006 
Lethal Weapon 2 1989 
Maverick 1994 
Lethal Weapon 3 1992 
Lethal Weapon 4 1998 
Scrooged 1988 
16 Blocks 2006 
Timeline 2003 
Ladyhawke 1985 
The Toy 1982 
Conspiracy Theory 1997 
Inside Moves 1980 View:
Connections, in both directions
Herein lies the beginning of innumerable era-appropriate comparisons to Spielberg’s E.T., Stephen King/Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me, and Chris Columbus/Richard Donner’s The Goonies, to name just a few.
Clearly, there are touches of “Poltergeist” and “The Goonies” baked into the idea, as well as “The Fury,” Brian De Palma’s 1978 psychic thriller.
…they ride out into the night streets on their bicycles (a touch of the Goonies and Stand by Me springs to mind)…
Their entire dynamic is undoubtedly inspired by the likes of The Goonies and E.T…
…taps into a potent nostalgia for ’80s-era, kid-friendly supernatural thrillers like The Goonies and E.T.
With its themes of adventure and mystery, this supernatural sensation hearkens back to beloved 80s’ films like E.T or The Goonies, and anyone who’s been missing the magic of youngster escapades will undoubtedly find it here.
The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
Directed by Joe Cornish
influenced by The Goonies (1985)
Themes Plot
“They don’t make ‘em like this anymore,” you may have found yourself exclaiming on your last watch of The Goonies or E.T. Well, they do now…
When Alex soon discovers a sword stuck in concrete, The Kid Who Would Be King shifts gears into a full-on adventure fantasy akin, though never beholden, to ‘80s kids’ adventure films like The Goonies and The Neverending Story.
This time around he's aiming for a younger audience but borrows from an equally diverse range of sources, from 1980s Hollywood favorites like The Goonies and The Terminator to classic English children's books like The Sword in the Stone .
However, Cornish certainly has found his sweet spot with these type of adventure films that evoke some of Steven Spielberg’s classic action-adventures, like The Goonies and E.T. Similar to Spielberg’s films, The Kid Who Would Be King does not talk down to kids or simplify anything for that demographic.
Like The Goonies - and many other films - before it, The Kid Who Would Be King follows a group of kids who may not necessarily get along but who put their personal differences aside in order to save their world.
Adults will smile at elements from The Goonies and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and at Electric Wave Bureau’s synth score, but references to Harry Potter and Game of Thrones are just as prominent.
It (2017)
Directed by Andy Muschietti
influenced by The Goonies (1985), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Lethal Weapon (1987)
Visuals Themes
The way the movie is filmed and the way the young characters humorously interact intentionally replicates the look and feel of '80s Steven Spielberg directed/produced movies like E.T. and, especially, The Goonies.
Especially if it falls into that brief window between, say, E.T. and The Goonies.
“It” is set in the summer of 1989, with “A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5” playing at the local cinema of Derry, Maine, and it very deliberately recalls “The Goonies” — one kid even carries an asthma inhaler– and “Stand by Me” (also based on a King story).
It's a messy mix of Nightmare on Elm Street meets The Goonies and that isn't a compliment.
Although definitely a step up in most regards (aside from an exceptionally key one) from the TV adaptation, this version proves to be a wildly uneven work that at times genuinely seems like the horror classic that it wants to be and other times comes across as little more than “The Goonies” with a significantly higher body count.
It has a vintage retro, throwback feel that recalls several other touchstone movies of its 1980s era, notably Stand By Me (adapted from another Stephen King story) and The Goonies .
If it deliberately recalls films from the 1970s and '80s -- "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" and "The Goonies" especially -- then it also powerfully evokes its own distinct sense of time and place.
From familial discord, the death of a parent, and the like “Super 8” channels these themes from classic Spielberg fare like “Close Encounters,” and “Jaws” with a sprinkle of “Stand By Me” and “The Goonies” for good measure.
In a way, Super 8 is as derivative and familiar as anything in theaters today, only the movies it’s copying are all over a quarter of a century old: Spielbergian fare like The Goonies, E.T., Gremlins and Close Encounters, with echoes of earlier and later films.
The Bigger Picture: We hate to say it, but while Abrams was trying to channel E.T. , The Goonies , and The Monster Club , he accidentally ended up reminding us of M. Night Shyamalan instead.
Less obviously, the rowdy and uncool boys who accompany Joe and Charles through much of this adventure recall Spielberg’s The Goonies, not a comparison you generally want to inspire.
It's clear right from the get-go that Abrams is looking to evoke the feel and tone of such similarly-themed fare as The Goonies , Poltergeist , and, especially, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial , as Super 8 hits on many of the touchstones that one has come to associate with the youth-oriented blockbusters of the 1980s - with the scrappy kids at the narrative's core certainly standing as the most obvious example of this.
Film fans may notice the VHS tapes framing the television, including C.H.U.D. , The Man with Two Brains , The Right Stuff , A Nightmare on Elm Street , and one of three Corey Haim references in the picture, The Goonies .
Instead, it's remembered for The Lost Boys, which is just The Goonies wearing plastic vampire fangs.
Opening with a shot of a television surrounded by VHS tapes that tease at some of the film's possible inspirations ( C.H.U.D. , The Goonies , The Right Stuff ; which of these does not belong?)…
On the shelf next to the TV are VHS tapes of C.H.U.D., The Goonies, and, perhaps most prophetically, The Man with Two Brains.
Clues are scattered throughout that ask us to look for some deep, hidden meaning – starting with the row of 1980s VHS tapes visible at the start of the film's prologue, from The Goonies to The Man With Two Brains .
Interpreting Peele’s silliness — early nods to The Man with Two Brains, C.H.U.D., and The Goonies — doesn’t go beyond his trivializing black American deprivation into junk-movie entertainment.
For fans of the Richard Donner "Superman" movies, there's even a hammy Brando-inflected turn by Ferrell as Metro Man's white-haired Space Dad.
The story has fun with the origins of “Superman” as a baby Megamind ( Will Ferrell ) and another infant are jettisoned from their soon-to-be-destroyed planet.
I liked the idea a lot: A riff on the Superman origin, with another baby that arrived on earth at the same time but turned out to be a super-villain.
The opening act details the history of Megamind and Metroman, life-long nemeses sent to Earth in a sequence that clearly parodies the opening act of “Superman.”
Tina Fey as Roxanne Ritchi: She’s our Lois Lane just like Metroman and Megamind are hybrids of Superman.
His comical homage to Marlon Brando as Jor-El from 1978's Superman is a hoot, and his garbled pronunciation of school and Metro City are reminiscent of Ferrell's goofy riff on San Diego in Anchorman.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Directed by Jason Reitman
influenced by The Goonies (1985)
Themes Visuals
Though the focus is on his dad’s runaway horror-comedy-action hit, the younger director’s sequel is really a swooning ode to a whole decade’s worth of Hollywood multiplex touchstones, from The Goonies to Gremlins and a host of Spielbergisms; even the throwback drive-in diner is something you would have found in a movie made when Reagan-era filmmakers were still obsessed with Eisenhower-era youth culture.
With the shift to the grasslands and mountains of Oklahoma, the color palette is much warmer in tone than the first two films and the small town feel gives it a The Goonies (1985) vibe.
Sweeping aside any reference other sequels, reboots and spin-offs, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” not only resurrects the mythology and bric-a-brac of the original but resituates it all in a supposedly contemporary America that’s actually more reflective of the world of “ET” or “The Goonies,” at one point even tossing in a rambunctious “Gremlins”-like sequence, redone in “Ghostbusters” mode, for good measure.
While the film feels like a love letter to films like Gremlins and The Goonies , the story arc of understanding your family’s legacy is an essential theme explored throughout the film.
As Logan Kim was stealing scenes, it struck me that the movie worked more as a tribute to The Goonies than to Ghostbusters.
Truth be told, the kid-friendly Afterlife has more in common with E.T. and The Goonies than the shits-and-giggles, comedy/horror mashup Jason’s dad and his Second City pals came up with so long ago.
The Heat (2013)
Directed by Paul Feig
influenced by Lethal Weapon (1987)
Characters Themes Visuals Plot
Not long afterwards came Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines in “Running Scared” (1986) and an inspired pairing of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover for the first “Lethal Weapon” film (1987) that really reinforced the loose cannon-conservative lawman match-up.
In the vein of ’80s action classics like 48 Hrs. and Lethal Weapon, The Heat is a modern rendition on the buddy cop film.
Paying homage to its genre roots, The Heat opens with a bouncy '70s-cop-show credit sequence, and follows it by twice mastering the vanishing art of the efficient character introduction; in just a few short minutes, it proves itself as deft as even the likes of Lethal Weapon at nailing down exactly who these two wildly different characters are.
In "The Heat" we're closer to full-on action mode, akin to "48 Hrs." or "Lethal Weapon" territory than a spoofy affair on the order of the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg movie "The Other Guys."
The characters deal with things Lethal Weapon's Murtaugh and Riggs never would have had to worry about.
They're set loose on a flimsy, Lethal Weapon-y drug case, an excuse for the ol' odd-couple tropes to play out: the uncool Ashburn needs to learn not to be so uptight, while the hard Mullins needs to learn to let down her emotional guard.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
Directed by Eli Roth
influenced by The Goonies (1985)
Themes Visuals
Based on the 1973 novel by John Bellairs, who came to specialize in young adult gothic and supernatural mystery stories, it evokes both the live-action Disney films of the 1970s, including Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), Return From Witch Mountain (1978), and The Watcher in the Woods(1980), and the successive series of 1980s suburban fantastic movies—Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985), Explorers (1985), and The Monster Squad (1987)—most of which were either produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment (which produced House) or were inspired by them.
For the most part, Roth is interested in channelling the visuals and atmosphere of an Amblin classic from the 1980s, such as Gremlins or The Goonies , though he never manages to summon up the same emotional charm.
Roth adapts his style well in his attempts to capture the charm and warmth of his inspiration, the 1980s Amblin classics like The Goonies and Gremlins .
Looking back, Amblin Entertainment — that Steven Spielberg-hatched shingle responsible for such films as “Gremlins” and “The Goonies” — may as well have defined the concept of movie magic for a generation, only to see it watered down by all the computer-generated juvenile thrill rides that followed.
Roth and Amblin may have been aiming to make The House With a Clock In Its Walls a return to the Spielberg classics of the ’80s, but it’s missing the sense of adventure, memorable characters, and the imagination that made movies like E.T. and The Goonies so beloved.
Superman (2025)
Directed by James Gunn
influenced by Superman (1978)
Themes Visuals Characters Music Plot
It’s bizarre to think that the right might have some claim over Superman because he was raised in the midwest and fights for the “American way.”
…the icy Fortress of Solitude just borrows the aesthetic of the 1978 Richard Donner film.
Comparing to other depictions of Superman…
Mix in some of Gunn’s trademarked goofy humour, and a riff on John Williams’ classic “Superman” theme and you’re left with a character-driven film that values uplift over angst.
This is not the best Superman film – that remains Richard Donner’s 1978 classic…
The best Superman movie in 44 years…
It was probably an easier decision, in 1978, for the filmmakers behind Superman to embrace the genial, aw-shucksiness of the character.
Continuing the burgeoning subgenre of movies that are vaguely inspired by and decidedly superior to The Goonies , this film by first-time director Joe Cornish follows an alien invasion in a U.K. inner-city housing complex; it's a bit like Goonies and War of the Worlds filtered through the original English version of Skins (which one of the characters makes direct reference to) -- though that high-concept description does little justice to the film's many charms.
Rather, it takes the sense of empowerment kids felt while watching movies like E.T. and The Goonies and updates it, creating an exciting, intense adventure that lives up to the legacy of its predecessors by continuing it rather than simply celebrating accomplishments that were already made.
The film, a low-budget sci-fi/comedy from Britain that some critics have favorably compared to such '80s classics as "Gremlins" and "The Goonies," was ultimately picked up for stateside distribution by Screen Gems and must now rely on good word-of-mouth to draw in audiences as it slowly opens around the country.
The filmmaker achieves a darker version of “The Goonies” here, with the kids hopping on bikes for transportation, while using their underage, thinly ‘stached moxie to outwit adults and aliens, spitting out smartass comments along the way.
The film is something like "The Goonies" with a bit of "Ghostbusters" and then the sensibility of a Mike Leigh kitchen sink drama and the savvy humor of Edgar Wright's "Shaun of the Dead."
A genre hybrid film with influences ranging from “The Warriors” to "The Goonies" to “Critters,” Cornish has created a lean, mean sci-fi action thriller that excels in getting the audience in and out without wasting a single minute.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Directed by Patty Jenkins
influenced by Superman (1978)
Themes Plot Visuals Music
Speaking of Luthor, Wonder Woman 1984 evokes the era of its title with forced, groan-worthy references (“Those are called breakdancers…”) and a corny tone that’s more reminiscent of the gee-whizziness of 1978’s Superman than the regal nobility of its predecessor.
They’re all distinctive parts in a smooth-running narrative engine that channels the buoyancy and big-hearted spectacle of the Richard Donner “Superman” movies, with a few period-appropriate nods to body-swap comedies for good measure.
One of the two villains appears to have been modeled at least in part after Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor and the concept of the main character losing her powers references Superman II.
This opening scene is everything you want from a “Wonder Woman” film and harkens back to the original; it’s thrilling, it soars, it gives you all the awe-inspiring feels, and makes the viewer realize Richard Donner and his original “Superman” movie is going to be the touchstone point here.
It heavily invokes Richard Donner’s “Superman” films, with Hans Zimmer’s score for the opening 1984 scene even mirroring John Williams’ work for the 1978 film.
Wiig is winningly funny as the pre-transformation Minerva, bringing to the role some of the same sort of humor one might remember from the first Christopher Reeve “Superman” movie (as Lord’s secretary, Gabriella Wilde also brings a goofy vibe that could make you think of Valerie Perrine’s Miss Teschmacher from that picture).
The Nice Guys (2016)
Directed by Shane Black
influenced by Lethal Weapon (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Black, who hit it big straight out of college with the screenplay for Lethal Weapon, has made a career out of a “have your cake and eat it, too” mentality, deconstructing clichés even as he gorges himself on them.
Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling star in "The Nice Guys" a new film written and directed by Shane ("Lethal Weapon") Black.
The movie is written and directed by Shane Black, who wrote the first two Lethal Weapon movies and, more recently, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3.
That’s the level of humor in The Nice Guys, the latest endeavor from Shane Black, whose Lethal Weapon helped make him the hottest screenwriter in Hollywood thirty years ago.
The Nice Guys was written and directed by Shane Black, who also wrote The Lethal Weapon movies.
If you were around during the writer/director’s heyday, you’ll remember a precocious and sweary teenage daughter from The Last Boy Scout and both hero and villain plummeting into a swimming pool from a top flight hotel room from Lethal Weapon 2 – but these are good elements, so why not reuse them?
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Directed by Edgar Wright
influenced by Lethal Weapon (1987), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), The Omen (1976)
Visuals Themes Characters
The homages to hugely popular pictures are crystal clear, but the genre-spoofing moviemakers have done their homework – scenes derived from “First Blood,” “Die Hard,” “Lethal Weapon,” Sergio Leone’s “The Man With No Name” trilogy, “Straw Dogs,” “Chinatown,” “Brannigan,” and countless others are lampooned with varying degrees of subtlety, each being every bit as amusing, especially for eagle-eyed action connoisseurs.
Much of the success of "Hot Fuzz" should be credited to director Wright, who accomplishes the delicate balancing act of paying tribute to movies like "Lethal Weapon" and "Bullitt" while poking fun at the same time.
Aside from the obvious nepotism Danny's name might imply, he's also got a rather casual relationship with reality, having informed his police sensibilities with every American Cop Movie from Dirty Harry to Lethal Weapon to Die Hard... but his favorites (and the ones both laughingly paid tribute to and viciously skewered by Hot Fuzz) are Bad Boys II and Point Break.
There’s a good deal of Lethal Weapon references, as well as Terminator 2 ones.
Teaming the all-business/all-the-time Angel and the let's-have-an-ice-cream Butterman is like throwing Laurel and Hardy into Lethal Weapon.
The Matrix series, the Die Hard Series, the Lethal Weapon series, and John Woo’s films are only the tip of the iceberg.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Directed by Daniel Scheinert
influenced by The Goonies (1985)
Equally revelatory is Quan, the erstwhile child star of "The Goonies" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" who retired from acting over the lack of opportunities for Asian Americans but returned after being inspired by "Crazy Rich Asians" (which also featured Yeoh).
The former child actor who once played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies —two seminal and legendarily problematic roles that helped define Asian representation for Gen-X audiences—ends up being the most inspired casting choice of the year.
He is best known for his child roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies , except he quit acting until Crazy Rich Asians convinced him to consider trying again.
Quan is also a delight to watch: Gen X kids will appreciate the young star of “The Goonies” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” in such a multifaceted, impressive comeback of sorts.
But it’s hard to fault a movie that shows such heart, or one that reunites audiences with Quan, whom you may remember as Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , or Data from The Goonies .
The legendary James Hong plays her father, while Ke Huy Quan—perhaps best known until now as Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data from the Goonies —delivers a jaw-dropping performance as her husband, Waymond.
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
Directed by Bilall Fallah
influenced by Lethal Weapon (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
Characters Themes Plot
While “Lethal Weapon 4” kind of poked fun at Riggs and Murtaugh directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah manage to show the pair here at a crossroads in their lives where they don’t think jumping in to a hail of bullets is fun anymore.
It veered close to parody of the quip-laden rogue cop movies of the 1980s like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard.
Back in the day, the Bad Boys films were attempts to push the tried-and-tired cop-buddy thriller into increasingly more ludicrous and offensive territory; they were extravagant and silly and morally dodgy in ways that even over-the-top hits like Lethal Weapon wouldn’t dare match.
Bad Boys ’ dusty 1980s roots finally get some nourishment too, as the story (which doesn’t really matter, but is competently written by Joe Carnahan, Peter Craig, and Chris Bremner) is essentially what would happen if you fell asleep in the middle of a classic Miami Vice episode and tried explaining it the next morning: Will Smith is Sonny Crockett, Martin Lawrence is... well, he's less Ricardo Tubbs than he is Lethal Weapon ’s Roger Murtaugh, but that's '80s as hell, so it still tracks.
Arguably, a series about two Miami cops taking down bad guys has been better than it had any right to be, but it managed to break away from being a Lethal Weapon clone and do its own thing on the strength of its leads and the cartoonish set pieces.
But as obnoxiously convoluted as things might get (Sony originally flirted with filming two Bad Boys sequels back-to-back and it shows), there is an intense focus on Mike and Marcus’ relationship that reminded me a little of Lethal Weapon 2 .
There’s a smart gender-reverse tribute to an iconic scene in the first Christopher Reeve “Superman,” a scene of Wonder Woman breaking free of bondage, while the lasso of truth gets a good workout as a lie detector and a cool weapon.
“Wonder Woman” evokes not only the spirit of Richard Donner’s “Superman,” but also Joe Johnston’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” while still being its own thing.
One of the first things you may notice about “Wonder Woman” is that it doesn’t seem as bleak as previous DC films, even though the bulk of the story takes place during World War I. There’s an overall lightness to the movie, both visually and tonally, that harkens back to Richard Donner’s “Superman,” and in many respects, it feels like Jenkins has taken a page from the Marvel cinematic playbook.
We saw the potential in Batman v Superman, but Wonder Woman confirms it -- this is an example of top-tier actor-to-character merging in the genre, akin to Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Christopher Reeve as Superman, or Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
She and Jenkins have leaned toward Christopher Reeve’s first “Superman” as a model for how to play the role: strong but innocent, a fish out of water.
The effect is eerily similar to seeing Christopher Reeve in the 1978 “Superman” — Gadot understands that her character is the one unironic figure in a cynical world, and she lets the humor of the situations happen around her rather than catering to it.
The End of Oak Street (2026)
Directed by David Robert Mitchell
influenced by The Goonies (1985)
Themes
…while echoes of E.T., Poltergeist, Gremlins, and The Goonies reverberate through its suburban setting and family dynamics.
…not to mention gems like The Goonies and Gremlins…
Par for the course for many ‘80s gems like Back to the Future and The Goonies, the film plants its seeds in the fractures of the family’s complicated dynamic.
…less eager to win the audience’s love, than classic Amblin comps like The Goonies…
He re-creates Errol Flynn's splendid slides down a sail from The Seahawk (which in turn was inspired by Douglas Fairbanks' similar feat in The Black Pirate.