10 of the most influential, trend-setting, jaw-dropping summer releases of the past four decades.

10. The Sixth Sense (1999)

M.N. Shyamalan blew ghost stories and traditional big, loud summer fare out of the water with this unheralded smash. Alas, his later efforts haven’t come close. Spiritual descendant: The Others (2001)

9. Independence Day (1996)

Summer biggies are one thing, but this one brought event movies to a whole new level, being big, bold, unpretentious fun and delivering on the hype. Mechanical offspring: Transformers (2007)

8. Jurassic Park (1993)

Come on ? dinosaurs never looked so alive before this. And who doesn’t love dinos? Raised the bar for utterly convincing special effects. From the same DNA, but not quite family: Godzilla (1998)

7. Die Hard (1988)

The best Christmas movie with hot lead and explosions (I say this to pacify those It’s A Wonderful Life traditionalists), a perfectly executed action thriller with a now-iconic hero, a fine villain and great sidekicks on both sides. Pint-size descendant: Home Alone (1990). All kidding aside.

6. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Simply put, it raised the bar on stunts, action and special effects and thrust Robert Patrick upon the world. Alternate future descendant: Terminator: Salvation (2009) ? we hope.

5. Jaws (1975)

Would we even have summer movies without this one? A largely unproven young director named Spielberg took a mediocre bestseller and turned it into a terrific adventure/suspense yarn that spawned dozens of imitators (and, unfortunately, a few crappy sequels of its own). Worthy progeny: The Ghost and the Darkness (1996); black sheep of the family (a.k.a. guilty pleasure): Anaconda (1997); disinherited relative: Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

4. The Matrix (1999)

Wow. This film inspired a new generation of film geeks after our #1 film, and in fact it was the film many a geek would have loved to make, if we only had the money and talent. Back in its day, The Matrix redefined “cool” for the upcoming millennium. Underrated clone: Equilibrium (2002)

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Yeah, I’m just going to ignore the revised title. This one was just perfect as it was, and no alternate-dimensional beings and flying-saucers-that-aren’t-really-UFOs can sully its memory. Goddaughter: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

2. Blade Runner (1982)

Sure, E.T. made tons more money and buried films like this one at the ’82 boxoffice slaughter, but here’s the thing: I can’t sit through E.T. any more, while there are a good many Blade Runner viewings in me yet (and no, it’s NOT because of all the revised editions that keep coming out). Its vision of the future, philosophy, characters, story and score all came together to create ? man, what else can you call it but cinematic poetry. Replicant: Battlestar Galactica with its meaning-of-life-seeking Cylons (the 2004 series, of course)

1. Star Wars (1977)

Forget the prequels, the tacked-on “episode title”, the cynical merchandising overkill, or the way our youthful memories were dashed to smithereens in recent years. What other unheralded movies can you think of that had such a profound effect on the dreams and imaginations of so many millions? No ? I am your father: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), a sequel that was even better in some ways than the original (which still had the benefit of novelty, though).