Edited by james hibberd
Clay Enos/Warner Bros.
HBO Max
release, Zack Snyder's long-awaited cut of the film is officially here. Let’s get to know what influences the blockbuster director.
Matthew Naythons/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images
The literature professor’s work in deconstructing storytelling inspired a generation of filmmakers.
Bettmann/Getty Images
on Joseph Campbell
— Zack Snyder
"A teacher, a prophet, and a genius who decoded archetypes across the centuries. You can find your own stories in the stories he decodes, and he reconnects you with the universe."
nino muñoz for ew
on Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
— Zack Snyder
"It was a look into an impossible dreamscape and the movie that made me buy a movie camera and make movies with my friends in middle school. I was obsessed and it changed the course of my life."
Gardners Books
Snyder selected Bach’s follow-up to Jonathan Livingston Seagull. “I read this book over and over. If you want to talk about anything being possible, read [it].” he explains.
Illusions:
The Adventures
of a Reluctant Messiah
Everett Collection
John Boorman’s 1981 medieval fantasy film serves as a clear inspiration to a director known for masterfully told genre stories that often have an R rating.
Excalibur
Everett Collection
on Excalibur
— Zack Snyder
"He’s a genius rebel filmmaker who basically made the movie for no money in his backyard in Ireland,” Snyder says, “It's an incredibly poignant film about what it’s like to be human and flawed and want to be more."
Barbara Alper/Getty Images
The German photographer was famous for his bold and erotic black and white celebrity shots, from Elizabeth Taylor to Angelina Jolie.
Helmut Newton
Andy Paradise/The Independent/Shutterstock
on Newton’s work
— Zack Snyder
"He surfed popular culture and purely provoked. He couldn’t exist today."
Heavy Metal Magazine
The sci-fi and fantasy mag was famous for its explicit content and stunningly creative visuals.
Heavy Metal magazine
Heavy Metal Magazine
on Heavy Metal magazine
— Zack Snyder
"While my friends were reading Batman and Wonder Woman comics, this pushed my imagination toward original, passionate storytelling. It’s also just rad."
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