Movies

James Mangold Tweets Ten Inspirations For 'The Wolverine'

By Germain Lussier/

Everything we've heard about The Wolverine has sold it as a very unique superhero movie. Star Hugh Jackman and director James Mangold have repeatedly explained how, though this is an X-Men movie, it's much more character-based and emotional than most films derived from comic books. The foreign setting and international cast also lends a feel that is different from the average tentpole. Whether or not their ambitions have come to fruition probably won't be revealed until The Wolverine is released on July 26. (Or maybe sooner when we finally get a trailer.)

Mangold bolstered these statements over the weekend when he took to Twitter to post ten images from films that influenced his style and storytelling on The Wolverine. Can you pick out what they are?

Here are Mangold's ten influences on The Wolverine. The answers are below.

How many did you guess/have you seen? Here are the answers

  • Chungking Express
  • The Outlaw Josey Wales
  • The Samurai Trilogy
  • Floating Weeds
  • Black Narcissus
  • Happy Together
  • 13 Assassins
  • The French Connection
  • Chinatown
  • Shane

    • Most of the above films are available on Blu-ray, some even from Criterion, and would make very good prep leading into the latest film about everyone's favorite adamantium laced madman.

    Also starring Will Yun Lee, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, and Brian Tee, The Wolverine lands in theaters July 26.

    Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine, the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before.

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