Cowboy Bebop Inspirations

by YeastOfEden | created - 18 Nov 2015 | updated - 06 Dec 2015 | Public

A list of films and TV shows that influenced Shinichirō Watanabe in his creation of the late 90's anime series "Cowboy Bebop". The show itself is a spaghetti western, a 70's New York noir, and a Hong Kong action movie...set in space!

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1. Taxi Driver (1976)

R | 114 min | Crime, Drama

94 Metascore

A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks

Votes: 920,230 | Gross: $28.26M

2. The Way of the Dragon (1972)

R | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

58 Metascore

A man visits his relatives at their restaurant in Italy and has to help them defend against brutal gangsters harassing them.

Director: Bruce Lee | Stars: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao, Ping-Ou Wei

Votes: 41,019 | Gross: $4.06M

3. Enter the Dragon (1973)

R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

83 Metascore

A Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.

Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri

Votes: 112,959 | Gross: $25.00M

4. Django (1966)

Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Drama, Western

75 Metascore

A coffin-dragging gunslinger and a prostitute become embroiled in a bitter feud between a Klan of Southern racists and a band of Mexican Revolutionaries.

Director: Sergio Corbucci | Stars: Franco Nero, José Canalejas, José Bódalo, Loredana Nusciak

Votes: 30,983 | Gross: $0.03M

5. My Name Is Nobody (1973)

PG | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Western

68 Metascore

A young, easy-going gunman worships and competes with a famed gunfighter, insisting that he must face down a gang of 150 outlaws before he can retire.

Director: Tonino Valerii | Stars: Terence Hill, Henry Fonda, Jean Martin, R.G. Armstrong

Votes: 29,560 | Gross: $0.39M

6. Lupin the 3rd (1977–1980)

TV-PG | 30 min | Animation, Action, Adventure

The master thief Lupin III and his cronies continue their globe-trotting exploits, with the stubborn Inspector Zenigata ever at their trail.

Stars: Yasuo Yamada, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Gorô Naya, Makio Inoue

Votes: 1,973

7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

PG | 110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

66 Metascore

In 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.

Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin

Votes: 226,668 | Gross: $102.31M

8. Alien (1979)

R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

89 Metascore

The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright

Votes: 950,039 | Gross: $78.90M

9. Midnight Run (1988)

R | 126 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

78 Metascore

A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.

Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton

Votes: 94,205 | Gross: $38.41M

10. The Killer (1989)

R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama

82 Metascore

A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded.

Director: John Woo | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu

Votes: 51,067

11. Hard Boiled (1992)

R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.

Director: John Woo | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan

Votes: 54,007

12. Game of Death (1978)

R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Drama

36 Metascore

A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.

Directors: Robert Clouse, Bruce Lee | Stars: Bruce Lee, Gig Young, Dean Jagger, Hugh O'Brian

Votes: 22,347 | Gross: $10.00M

13. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

90 Metascore

Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.

Director: George Lucas | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness

Votes: 1,449,143 | Gross: $322.74M

14. Desperado (1995)

R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama

55 Metascore

Former musician and gunslinger El Mariachi arrives at a small Mexican border town after being away for a long time. His past quickly catches up with him and he soon gets entangled with the local drug kingpin Bucho and his gang.

Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Cheech Marin

Votes: 197,610 | Gross: $25.63M

15. Truck Rascals (1975)

98 min | Action, Comedy, Romance

A pair of truckers show off their driving skills to each other while evading pursuing law enforcement.

Director: Norifumi Suzuki | Stars: Bunta Sugawara, Junko Natsu, Yutaka Nakajima, Masayuki Yuhara

Votes: 129

16. Convoy (1978)

PG | 110 min | Action, Drama

47 Metascore

Truckers form a mile-long "convoy" in support of a trucker's vendetta with an abusive sheriff - Based on the country song of the same title by C.W. McCall.

Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, Burt Young

Votes: 18,592 | Gross: $45.00M

17. DuckTales (1987–1990)

TV-G | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure

Huey, Dewey, and Louie are in for an epic surprise when they meet their wealthy but reclusive uncle, Scrooge McDuck. The family embark on globe-trotting adventures and treasure hunts, uncover family secrets, and face dangerous enemies.

Stars: Alan Young, Russi Taylor, Terence McGovern, Chuck McCann

Votes: 34,995

18. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter

Votes: 719,216 | Gross: $56.95M

19. Coffy (1973)

R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

60 Metascore

A sexy Black nurse takes vigilante justice against inner-city drug dealers after her sister becomes their latest victim.

Director: Jack Hill | Stars: Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott

Votes: 12,926

20. Jackie Brown (1997)

R | 154 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

62 Metascore

A flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.

Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda

Votes: 374,850 | Gross: $39.67M

21. Shaft (1971)

R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

66 Metascore

A crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

Director: Gordon Parks | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John

Votes: 21,013 | Gross: $16.69M

22. Blade Runner (1982)

R | 117 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos

Votes: 822,822 | Gross: $32.87M

23. CHiPs (1977–1983)

TV-PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

The adventures of two California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers.

Stars: Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Robert Pine, Paul Linke

Votes: 11,493

24. A Better Tomorrow (1986)

Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama

78 Metascore

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

Director: John Woo | Stars: Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Emily Chu

Votes: 25,455

25. A Better Tomorrow II (1987)

Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.

Director: John Woo | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Lung Ti, Dean Shek

Votes: 11,316

26. Flash Gordon (1936)

Passed | 245 min | Action, Adventure, Family

Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.

Directors: Frederick Stephani, Ray Taylor | Stars: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson

Votes: 2,658

27. Flash Gordon (1980)

PG | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

58 Metascore

A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.

Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol

Votes: 61,508

28. A Better Tomorrow (1986)

Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama

78 Metascore

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

Director: John Woo | Stars: Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Emily Chu

Votes: 25,455

29. Con Air (1997)

R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

52 Metascore

Newly-paroled ex-con and former U.S. Ranger Cameron Poe finds himself trapped in a prisoner-transport plane when the passengers seize control.

Director: Simon West | Stars: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Colm Meaney

Votes: 319,156 | Gross: $101.12M



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