This week, to celebrate the release of The Simpsons Movie on Friday, we’ll be bringing you the 20 best movie references from The Simpsons (that’s four a day, Poindexter!). Here’s the first bunch. Click here to watch the trailer.

1. GOODFELLAS

Martin Scorsese’s seminal gangster flick formed the basis of the 1991 episode Bart The Murderer, in which Bart Simpson begins working for the ‘Legitimate Businessmen’s Social Club’, the crime syndicate led by Fat Tony and his ‘business associates’ Legs, Louie and Joey. “Supoib.”

Classic quote: (Chief Wiggum): “Fat Tony is a cancer on this fair city, and I am the… uh… what cures cancer?”

2. CAPE FEAR

There’s more Martin Scorsese in the classic episode Cape Feare, in which the Simpsons are pursued to ‘Terror Lake’ by former Krusty the Klown sidekick Sideshow Bob, recently released from prison and out for revenge on the person who put him there: Bart Simpson.

Classic quote: (Bart Simpson): “But who’d want to hurt me? I’m this century’s Dennis the Menace!”

3. THE GRADUATE

In the episode Lady Bouvier’s Lover, Bart’s grampa Abe Simpson interrupts the nuptials of Jacqueline Bouvier (Marge’s mom) and Mr Burns, in a scene directly taken from the 1970s classic starring Dustin Hoffman. The episode continues the homage as Abe and Ms Bouvier escape on a minibus to the strains of a Simon and Garfunkel’s Sounds Of Silence sound-alike.

4. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

Every Halloween, Simpsons fans are treated to a Treehouse Of Horror, in which normal programming is replaced by horror stories featuring the Simpson family. One of the first features an segment entitled Dial ‘Z’ for Zombie, in which Springfield is overrun by zombies who emerge from the grave to devour the living – just like George Romero’s 1968 classic Night Of The Living Dead, the daddy of all zombie flicks.

Classic quote: (Bart Simpson): “Please, Lisa, they prefer to be called the
living-impaired.”

Tune in to D+CFilm tomorrow for numbers five to, um, whatever (we’re not big on the ‘math’).

Posted by Thin White Duke

This entry was posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 7:53 pm and is filed under National, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.