Explanation

Creating a filter: Since we're just getting started, we'll go slower on our initial approach to this question. First, we should always check the number of the subject and verb of the independent clause. These are okay: "none" is grammatically singular (usually) and "was" is grammatically singular, so they match. There is a dependent clause, and in that clause, the subject and verb match in number once again: "films" and "preceded" are both plural. Second, the tenses of the verbs make tense. We are talking about a period in the past and both verbs use the past tense; nothing more complicated is needed. Having covered the verbs, we can check for pronouns. This sentence contains none of the typical suspicious pronouns, such as "it" or "they."

At this point, we could ask ourselves whether the grammatical expression of the sentence is correctly conveying the intended meaning. But first, the sentence sounds funny, especially around the words "more influential as." This phrase using improper idiom. The word "as" is used for comparisons that express equality; comparisons that express inequality must use the word "than." We'll use this error to filter out incorrect answer choices.

Applying the filter: Let's check for answer choices that use the word "than." That leads us to scan the ends of the answer choices. Choices (A) and (B) are out, while (C) through (E) have a valid "more influential than."

Identifying objective defects: in the remaining choices, (C) and (D) have an odd construction "it is none," which offends my ear and has a pronoun with no clear reference, namely "it." The correct answer is (E).