If imitation is the highest form of flattery, classic Hollywood would have surely blushed at all the small-screen homages crafted in its honour by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. Last week, a supercut of the movie references embedded throughout Seinfeld was uploaded, earning YouTuber Yaron Baruch some viral fame. The breakdown isn’t just an extremely clickable stroll down memory lane, but also a brilliantly edited bit of media to consume whenever you have a quiet moment.
As both a massive fan of the legendary sitcom and a self-proclaimed cinephile, this is truly a sight to behold for several reasons. In addition to the sheer breadth of film-based Easter eggs, many of the movie references in Seinfeld have been executed with such a degree of subtlety, a few probably flew over heads on the show’s first watch through (present company shamefully included).
The complete run of cinematic tributes ranges from your more obvious cultural milestones – such as all three The Godfather instalments directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino, Citizen Kane directed by Orson Welles, etc. – to some less obvious selections – such as Absence of Malice directed by Sydney Pollack, Broadway Danny Rose directed by Woody Allen, Duck Soup directed by Leo McCarey, etc.
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Incidentally, series cast member Wayne Knight – who portrayed the iconic Newman – has appeared in two of the parodied flicks, Basic Instinct and JFK, as well as taking on an active role in the subsequent recreations. Easy wins, really. If you have the perfect tools for the job, why not use them?
Here’s a rundown of what we’ve seen across all nine seasons of Seinfeld:
- JFK (1991) dir. by Oliver Stone
- In the Line of Fire (1993) dir. by Wolfgang Petersen
- The Fugitive (1993) dir. by Andrew Davis
- Marathon Man (1976) dir. by John Schlesinger
- Three Days of the Condor (1975) dir. by Sydney Pollack
- Basic Instinct (1992) dir. by Paul Verhoeven
- The Godfather (1972) dir. by Francis Ford Coppola
- The Godfather Part II (1974) dir. by Francis Ford Coppola
- The Godfather Part III (1990) dir. by Francis Ford Coppola
- Apocalypse Now (1979) dir. by Francis Ford Coppola
- Pulp Fiction (1994) dir. by Quentin Tarantino
- Absence of Malice (1981) dir. by Sydney Pollack
- Elephant Man (1980) dir. by David Lynch
- A Cry in the Dark (1988) dir. by Fred Schepisi
- A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) dir. by Elia Kazan
- Scent of a Woman (1992) dir. by Martin Brest
- Batman (1989) dir. by Tim Burton
- A Few Good Men (1992) dir. by Rob Reiner
- Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) dir. by Robert Aldrich
- Dark Victory (1939) dir. by Edmund Goulding
- Patton (1970) dir. by Franklin J. Schaffner
- Citizen Kane (1941) dir. by Orson Wells
- The Last of the Mohicans (1992) dir. by Michael Mann
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) dir. by Nicholas Meye
- The Hustler (1961) dir. by Robert Rossen
- Broadway Danny Rose (1984) dir. by Woody Allen
- Duck Soup (1933) dir. by Leo McCarey
- Taxi Driver (1976) dir. by Martin Scorsese
- Sunset Boulevard (1950) dir. bu Billy Wilder
- The Graduate (1967) dir. by Mike Nichols
- Midnight Cowboy (1969) dir. by John Schlesinger
- Frankenstein (1931) dir. by James Whale
- Thelma & Louise (1991) dir. by Ridley Scott
- Casablanca (1942) dir. by Michael Curtiz
Important Note: Some of the Seinfeld movie references listed are missing from the video linked above, so perhaps “every” in the headline may be a tad misleading. Sorry!
