Cinema has pushed the boundaries of its form several times by borrowing from different art forms. Theseworks of art inspire filmmakers visuallyand sometimes also contribute to the costume design of characters. In many cases, filmmakers depend on paintings to depict a past before the invention of the camera, as paintings become the only way of understanding history visually.
Some films experiment with metaphors of what a painting represents by juxtaposing it with the character’s journey. It is observed thatthe works of Vincent van Gogh have inspired several filmmakersto interpret mood, colors and the state of mind of characters. Likewise, here are several films that borrowed from famous works of art as a catalyst to tell a visually immersive story.
10Django Unchained from The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough
The Blue Boyby Thomas Gainsborough has inspired and interpreted several works in popular media. In the case ofDjango Unchained, the painting helped in designing the costumes for the main character. The film was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and was a tribute to the Italian filmDjangoand the genre of Spaghetti Westerns. The film follows the life of Django Freeman, a black slaveplayed by Jamie Foxx, who is assisted by a German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz, played by Christopher Waltz, to reunite with his wife, played by Kerry Washington.
In the film, Django wears a valet outfit akin to the subject ofThe Blue Boywhen he is freed. The painting is considered one of Gainsborough’s most popular paintings, but the identity of the young man modeled in the painting is still debated. The painting today is studied to analyze the aristocracy and gender expression of the 18th century.
9Gladiator from Pollice Verso by Jean-Léon Gérome
Most historical epics depend on paintings to visualize their cinematic universe, andGladiatoris one of them. The film was directed by Ridley Scott and follows Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius,played by Russel Crowe, who is forced into to slavery once his father is killed by Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and stripped of his throne. Maximum transforms into a gladiator and has to fight in the arena to prove his might.
The producers of the film approached Scott with the painting ofPollice Versoby Jean-Léon Gérome before the director read the script, and the glory and brutality of the painting hooked the director to visualize the film. There is a direct reference to the painting where Commodus holds out his thumb to spare Maximum, which is directly taken from the gestures shown in the painting.
8Shutter Island from The Kiss by Gustav Klimt
Shutter Islandis a psychological thriller with a devastating love story at its center. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Deputy U.S. Marshal Edward Daniels who partners with Chuck, played by Mark Ruffalo in investigating the case of a missing patient in an asylum on Shutter Island. As the story progresses, the island exposes its dark secrets and Daniels has to confront his own fears and lies he has been hiding from.
The film alsostars Michelle Williams as Daniels’s mentally troubled wife. In one scene, Daniels embraces his shattered partner as she loses her grasp on reality. The scene recreates the paintingThe Kissby Gustav Klimt, where a man holds his lover as the woman bends by the weight of the lover, with a golden background behind the couple. In the scene, a similar ethereal effect is imposed as the couple embrace each other and glitter pops up from the sides to recreate the passion of the two entwining lovers from the painting.
7Loving Vincent from Paintings of Vincent van Gough
Loving Vincentpays tribute to the Dutch painter Vincent van Goghfor his form and legacy. The film goes behind the last days of the painter when he was mentally ill, and tragically committed suicide. Directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, the film is set in 1890 France and is the first film that is fully painted frame by frame. The film was first made as a short film by Kobiela who is also a painter and later developed into a feature film after studying van Gogh’s paintings and letters.
The film wasmade in collaboration of 125 artistsacross the globe who incorporated van Gogh’s oil painting techniques on canvas. It was nominated for an Academy Award as well as a Golden Award and was a unique achievement in cinema for merging different types of art in one in the most fitting tributes to one of the most celebrated artists in the world.
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6The Shining from Identical Twins by Diane Arbus
Stanley Kubrick uses a pair of twins as a horror motif inThe Shining. The film is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name andstars Jack Nicholson as a writerwho is takes his family to the Overlook Hotel, where he accepts the offer as the off-season caretaker. However, Jack loses his sanity as the winter storm leaves the family snowbound and paranormal activities in the hotel begin to resurface.
Jack’s son Danny possesses the psychic ability, which makes him see the murders that previously happened in the hotel, which includes a pair of twins that keep following Danny and inviting him to play with them. The haunting scene is shown several times, inspired by Diane Arbus’ photograph of identical twins, Cathleen and Colleen. The pictures show the sisters sharing identical physical features but differing temperaments, which is equal parts intriguing and strange.
5A Clockwork Orange from Prisoners Exercising by Vincent van Gogh
Stanley Kubrick’sA Clockwork Orangeis set in England and is known for its graphic depiction of violence. The film follows Alex, played by Malcolm McDowell, and his gang of criminals named Droogs who moonlight as murderers. However, Alex is caught after brutally murdering a woman and agrees to undergo a behavior modification technique to expel his violent tendencies.
When Alex is arrested, he is sent to aprison which recreates one of Van Gogh’s paintings,Prisoners’ Round. The oil painting was created when the artist was at the Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy and depicts a group of prisoners walking in a circle in a congested space. The painting had a grim mood with a grayish blue tint which captivates the depressive environment of a prison. This was recreated in the film where the prisoners in the film, along with Alex, move in a circle to create a similar atmosphere in the prison.
4Melancholia from Ophelia by John Everett Millais
Melancholiaborrows heavily from John Everett Millais’s paintingOpheliain its prologue. The film follows the lives of two sisters as they approach doomsday. One of the sisters, played by Kristen Dunst marries right before a rogue planet collides with earth. The film is the second installment to Lars von Trier’sDepression Trilogy,the first and the third beingAntichristandNymphomaniac.
The painting ofOpheliaisadapted from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as the character of Ophelia sings lying in the stream, unknowing of the danger as she approaches her death. The imagery evoked the prologue of the film, where Dunst floats in a slow moving stream in her wedding dress. The scene evokes the similar themes of beauty and death as both the characters in the scene and the painting approach their end.
3Dreams from Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent van Gogh
Dreamsby Akira Kurosawais intriguing in so many ways, as it is an active interpretation of its director’s dreams. The film was directed by Akira Kurosawa and was the first film he made after a sabbatical of 45 years. The film incorporates elements of magic realism in an anthology of eight films that explores the themes of childhood, art, spirituality and other existential questions of human nature.
One of the vignettes is titledCrowsandstars Martin Scorsese as Vincent van Gogh, and the visual effects for the segment were provided by George Lucas. In the vignette, an art student finds himself inside the art works of Vincent van Gogh and meets the artist making one of his paintings,Wheat Field with Crows,in front of a field. The film is surreal and is immersive in creating Van Gogh’s world as the student travels through several of the artist’s landscapes.
2The Truman Show from Architecture au clair de lune by René Magritte
The Truman Showis another film that recreates the surreal world of one of René Magritte’s paintings in its climax. The filmstars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank,who is unknowingly raised in isolation as a star of a reality show. Unbeknownst to him, he becomes a star for being ordinary, but later chooses life over being a spectacle. The film is often analyzed for its themes of reality television culture and also channels the god complex the show’s producer has.
At the end, Truman is successful in escaping his stimulated world and climbs up the stairs to open the door to the real world. This scene is created by borrowing from the paintingArchitecture au clair de luneby René Magritte, where a white staircase is contrasted under a moonlit sky. Magritte is known for choosing everyday objects contextualized in surreal backdrops to blur the lines between reality and imagination, and the same happens with Truman, as he chooses real life once he escapes from the door.
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1Picnic at Hanging Rock from Lost by Frederick McCubbin
The Australian filmPicnic at Hanging Rockis known for its visual style, which is inspired by the works of Australian Impressionism likeLostby Frederick McCubbin. The film was directed by Peter Weir and is a mystery which explores the disappearance of the group of school girls who went missing during a picnic at Hanging Rock in Victoria, Australia. The film was an adaptation of the novel by the same name, written by Cliff Green, and is considered a popular example of the Australian New Wave which emerged in the 1970s. The film was also inspired by the photography of the British photographer David Hamilton,who created a soft-focus on his photographsby draping different veils on his lens. Cinematographer Russell Boyd did the same to achieve the dream-like effect in the film.
