The art of painting has clearly inspired many a film-maker. Single shots have drawn on subjects common to painting for atmosphere or symbolism. Works have been recreated (Godard's Passion, Derek Jarman's Caravaggio, Raul Ruiz's Klimt etc.) or manipulated for humour or political capital. The lighting of scenes, their texture, the balance of the people and objects within the frame owe something, consciously or unconsciously, to the brushstrokes of artists who established a language of encoding and decoding emotion and abstract ideas.
But of course maybe they are merely inspired by the same thing that inspire great paintings : to be pleasing to the eye. In other words, beauty.
From Top :
Lullaby (Nana Janelidze)
Faust (Aleksandr Sokurov)
Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky)
Forever Mozart (Jean-Luc Godard)
Viridiana (Luis Bunuel)
War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk)
El Sol del Membrillo (Victor Erice)
Legend of Suram Fortress (Sergei Parajanov)
Survival of the Dead (George Romero)
Stephen, this is a timeless correlation and one that will eternally bond art and the cinema. Your selection here is rather iconic if I might say so, and I immediately recognized the Bunuel, Tarkovsky, Paradjanov and Bondarchuk, but was unhappy with myself for not nailing the others. Some other directors that would lend themselves to ravishing cinematic transcription of their canvasses would include Peter Greenaway, Terrence Davies and Terrence Mailick among others. Great lead in reference points too, including the magnificent Jarman's CARAVAGGIO.
ReplyDeleteAs always you raise the bar for creative posting!
Thanks Sam!
ReplyDeleteI have heard so much praise for Terence Davies but still haven't seen any of his films.