Influences on each film

[Reel]

Licorice Pizza
Feature Films
American Graffiti (1973)
The Apartment (1960)
Breezy (1973)
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Gloria (1980)
S.O.B. (1981)

I watched Hal Ashby's "Shampoo" for the first time today, and it seemed like essential viewing for having a full grasp of the world of Licorice Pizza through the lens of Jon Peters' character ( called George Roundy in this film.) Specifically in that we're seeing the worlds of the valley people and the hills people collide when Alana & Gary meet Jon and to watch 'Shampoo' is to fully immerse yourself in the free sprited lifestyle of this fictional Peters. Watching the nuances of Beatty's performance and really wrapping your head around what makes this guy tick adds a depth and legacy to this character that you're truly missing out on if you haven't seen it.

[RudyBlatnoyd]

I don't know if anyone here has mentioned it before (they probably have) but I've been watching some Alan Rudolph films lately and there are definite points of similarity between his work and PTA's.

Rudolph was a protege of Robert Altman and his films are actually perhaps slightly more of a precursor to Anderson's than those of his forebear: they have the roving and graceful camera movements of Altman, but in place of his frequent ironic detachment there's a greater emotional immediacy, but with the same feel for outlandish, even psychologically unstable characters.

I've found a few references online to Rudolph's and PT's shared interest in strange, mercurial, tonally complex character studies, but I'd say a longer critical comparison is merited.