Movies That Use People's Shadows

[Mal12345]

Lately I've been thinking about the various movies I've seen that use shadows of people in dramatic ways. But at the moment the only movie I can think of is Clockwork Orange, in the scene where Alex and his droogs are walking up on the homeless drunk at night, with a bright light shining behind the four. I think I recall shadows used in that movie in some other dramatic ways whenever evil Alex is lurking around.

What are some other examples of movies which use shadows in artistic ways, particularly people shadows?

 

[Poindexter Arachnid]

Off-the-top-of-my-head:

-Attack of the Clones before Anakin sets off to rescue his mother "Searchers" style.
-Paranormal Activity showed a shadow of the demon spirit, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Mal12345]

Off-the-top-of-my-head:

-Attack of the Clones before Anakin sets off to rescue his mother "Searchers" style.
-Paranormal Activity showed a shadow of the demon spirit, if I'm not mistaken.

Aren't you forgetting one you should know? Older movie, black-and-white...

 

[Poindexter Arachnid]

I give up.
What is it?

 

[Totenkindly]

I give up.
What is it?

I'm gonna guess it involves a shower.

 

[93JC]

Nobody's going to say Nosferatu?

 

[Totenkindly]

 

[Poindexter Arachnid]

...There was a shower in Nosferatu?

 

[Mal12345]

I give up.
What is it?

It involves a shower.

 

[Vasilisa]

Peter Pan's shadow gets loose and they have to sew it back on and that always freaked me.

 

[93JC]

 

[Poindexter Arachnid]

So you're all ganging up and calling me a psycho. Thanks, guys.

 

[93JC]

Peter Pan's shadow gets loose and they have to sew it back on and that always freaked me.

Wasn't it sewn back on to his shoe? That's not so bad.

 

[Vasilisa]

Wasn't it sewn back on to his shoe? That's not so bad.

Perhaps so, but the idea that it got loose and wanted to be free of him to do nefarious things... I guess its all very Jungian, but I was just unsettled by the idea of shadows on the loose from their corresponding forms, that they had their own mind and it wasn't associated with your own.

 

[Totenkindly]

Wasn't it sewn back on to his shoe? That's not so bad.

That's funny. For some reason I always thought it was sewn right onto his foot (which always weirded me out).

Perhaps so, but the idea that it got loose and wanted to be free of him to do nefarious things... I guess its all very Jungian, but I was just unsettled by the idea of shadows on the loose from their corresponding forms, that they had their own mind and it wasn't associated with your own.

And then along came Ally MacBeal and that damned dancing baby!

But seriously, yes... that would be kind of weird. Because it's like it's you, but suddenly not you at all.

 

[93JC]

Perhaps so, but the idea that it got loose and wanted to be free of him to do nefarious things... I guess its all very Jungian, but I was just unsettled by the idea of shadows on the loose from their corresponding forms, that they had their own mind and it wasn't associated with your own.

Oh, I see. That could be quite unsettling.

I think of the shadow as a prankster mostly, not really nefarious. In a way his shadow was Peter's oldest, dearest friend. They played tricks on each other in a way only old, dear friends do.

 

[Vasilisa]

Oh, I see. That could be quite unsettling.

I think of the shadow as a prankster mostly, not really nefarious. In a way his shadow was Peter's oldest, dearest friend. They played tricks on each other in a way only old, dear friends do.

Thanks for explaining, I admit I did not read the book, I am only talking about the Disney animated movie, my memory of which is poor because it was not one of my most favorites, partially because of the shadow scene.

 

[1487610420]

Lucky Luke (there's a movie, but idk if the shadow theme made it - never watched it )

 

[Mal12345]

Shadows deployed strategically in a movie often form a subconscious presence for the viewer. The unconscious mind is seen as a source of mental shadows, barely-conceived symbols, the vaguely seen, felt, and understood. The shadow of the man at Dagny's office door in Atlas Shrugged (the novel) also made for a very interesting scene.

There are numerous scenes where someone in a movie or tv show enters a room and throws a shadow on the desk of someone sitting there, or on the wall, which gets the person's attention. It creates an aura of mystery and adds a bit of tension. But the really powerful scenes which begin (or end) with a shadow stick in the mind, while the shadow itself remains behind.

I recall now a scene from a movie which consisted of shadows in action. It may have been from a Godfather movie from the 1970s. In the scene, the viewer can see the woman's husband being beaten to death as shadows on the wall.

 

[Red Herring]

Huge shadows on walls are very prominent in The Third Man (1949) as well as Odd Man Out (1947) (both directed by Carol Reed) as well as a lot of film noir.

If you wanna go back even more, it is an essential style element in the German expressionist film of the 1920s that inspired much of that look of film noir.