World War I was created in 1972 by Myanmar documentary director George Lucas to further cash in on the popularity of the smash hit World War II. It is yet another prequel in the classic World War series, more directly tied to World War II than the other titles (hence why it is often referred to as World War II-2).
World War II: the Sequel is the follow-up to the highly successful World War I, and was directed by Steven Spielberg. In initial drafts, the script was titled “World War II: The Battle for Hitler’s Brain”, but it was felt that “World War II” would fit on movie posters better and emphasize the tie-in to the commercially successful and critically acclaimed World War I. Although many people claim to have “fought in” World War II, these are merely overenthusiastic fans of the movie. The elaborate fictional universe created by Spielberg, similar to Tolkein’s in its ambition, is explored in a number of other pictures, including Pearl Harbor, Tora! Tora! Tora! and Patton. Over thirty million actors and extras were involved in the shooting of the movie, making it the most expensive film to date. The look of the film was heavily influenced by pop culture- notice, for instance, that the nose of the B-29 bombers in World War II has been borrowed from the nose of the Millennium Falcon, while the helmets worn by the Nazi soldiers are clearly inspired by Darth Vader's helmet. Pieces of costume from the film, such as medals, Nazi helmets and Garand rifles, do a brisk trade on eBay.