What inspired the Star Wars movies?

Lucas has said that the plot and characters in the 1958 Japanese film The Hidden Fortress, directed by Akira Kurosawa, was a major inspiration. Additionally, the film influenced Lucas to tell the story of Star Wars from the viewpoint of the humble droids, rather than a major player.

What was Star Wars based on?

Lucas mentioned that he read the American translation of Perry Rhodan, a German science-fiction pulp novel series in the late 1960s and early 1970s and considers the series to be an "inspiration, less strong than Flash Gordon, but it influenced the design of many starships of Star Wars".