Table of contents:
- How to Steal a Million, 1966
- The Thomas Crown Affair, 1999
- Big Eyes, 2014
- Gambit, 2012
- "Nude Mach", 1999
- "Secrets of the" Night Watch ", 2007
- "Trans", 2013
- Flemish plaque, 1995
Video: 8 films about works of art that provoked crimes
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Art and human life are inseparable. But, as imperfect beings, people often commit crimes. Does this mean that art and crime can interact? Perhaps, yes: thieves can covet paintings or sculptures, or the object of art itself captures the moment of the crime, and the artist can "plunge" into a bad story. And such interweaving of fate becomes an inspiration for the next masterpiece and another confirmation that art and crime are marching side by side on the road of life.
How to Steal a Million, 1966
Stylish and beautiful comedy by William Wyler about love, masterpieces of art and a crime in the name of saving the latter. The family of forgers has been successfully copying famous paintings and sculptures for more than one generation. And then one day the priceless masterpiece must be subjected to modern diagnostic methods in order to confirm its authenticity. Of course, this is unacceptable, and the artist's adorable daughter (Audrey Hepburn) together with a professional thief (Peter O'Toole) are trying to rob the museum.
Perhaps this film was included in the lists of the most beloved foreign comedies by the Soviet audience, because according to official data, the picture was seen by 24.6 million people. It is curious that during the preparation for the shooting, the art director of the painting, Alexander Trauner, spent $ 100,000 of the budget on a collection of the best fakes of famous paintings, and another $ 50,000 was spent on the purchase of historically accurate antique frames. Work on the painting began with the scene when the main characters are hiding in a cramped museum closet in anticipation of a crime. But young and cheerful Audrey and Peter giggled so much that the cameraman could not manage to get a good take. As a result, several scenes were filmed over eleven days. It is sad that this cute and talented film did not receive any awards.
The Thomas Crown Affair, 1999
Multimillionaire Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is too bored to be a respectable businessman. He makes up for the lack of sharpness in life with an unusual hobby - in his free time he steals objects of art. This time the perfect theft was committed in the New York Metropolitan Museum - the work of Monet's brush "San Giorgio Maggiore at dusk" was stolen. Insurance company inspector Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is also investigating the case and meets the millionaire adventurer. But that's what a criminal melodrama is for, to boldly weave love, masculine charm and criminal intent. This picture was a remake of the 1968 film by Norman Jewison. However, the main difference was the location of the robbery - in the initial version it was a bank.
Big Eyes, 2014
Narrated by director Tim Burton, this story focuses on the real-life drama of artist Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) and her husband. The enterprising husband immediately discerned his wife's talent - her paintings depicting children with huge eyes, full of trust and defenselessness, were liked by the public. However, the cunning businessman realized that America of the 50s would not be ready to recognize a woman artist because of the sexual discrimination that reigned in those years. Therefore, the fraudster attributed the authorship to himself. And he also took up the replication of paintings, because with the help of a good printing press, you can get much more money.
Gambit, 2012
This time, the crime comedy from Michael Hoffman tells about another substitution. Art critic Harry Dean (Colin Firth) decides to cheat on his millionaire patron Lionel Shabandar (Alan Rickman). He finds a skilled artist (Tom Courtney), who recreates Claude Monet's painting "Haystacks at Sunset". For the granddaughter of an officer who saves one of the pearls of the collection of Hermann Goering during the war, the attacker gives out PJ Pazanovski (Cameron Diaz). However, the plans of the criminal were not destined to come true. This film is a remake of a similar painting by Ronald Nimes, but it features a famous sculpture in the script.
"Nude Mach", 1999
The film by the Spanish director Jose Juan Bigas Luna was shot with his inherent witty shocking and provocation. The plot revolves around the sudden death of one of the most beautiful and loving women of the 19th century - Dona Maria del Pilar, Duchess of Alba. She was both the mistress of Prime Minister Godoy (Jordi Molla) and the famous painter Francisco de Goya (Jorge Perugorria). However, the artist had another model - another lover of Godoy, Pepita Tudi (Penelope Cruz), who posed for him for the painting "Nude Mach". So what or who provoked the sudden death of the famous duchess?
"Secrets of the" Night Watch ", 2007
Painting as a story of a political conspiracy is the main idea of the work of British filmmaker Peter Greenaway. In an action-packed drama, he decided to tell how a young and successful artist Rembrandt van Rijn agrees to an excellent offer - city dwellers invite him to paint a group portrait of wealthy burghers from the city militia. However, in the course of the work, it becomes clear to the painter that the death of the previous commander was a well-planned crime. Rembrandt encrypts the hints in detail. However, his plan is revealed, and influential officers are trying in every way to destroy the family of the seer.
The cinematic work won two awards at the Venice Film Festival and was continued in the form of the documentary “Rembrandt. I blame."
"Trans", 2013
27 million pounds - this is the cost of the painting by Francisco de Goya "Witches in the air". The auction worker Simon (James McAvoy), who attracted professional robbers to steal a unique lot, has coveted such a serious jackpot. But in the process of the raid, he receives a serious head injury - he was stunned with a blunt object, and not only forgets all the details of the crime, but even loses memories of where the priceless masterpiece is buried. To speed up the process of restoring memory, the leader of the bandits (Vincent Cassel) hires a woman psychotherapist (Rosario Dawson). However, the consequences of hypnosis sessions are quite unusual.
Flemish plaque, 1995
Recommended for lovers of intelligent detectives! Director Jim McBride directed a thriller based on the novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Restorer Julia (young Kate Beckinsale) gets to work another masterpiece - a painting by a Flemish artist of the 15th century, which depicts a pair of men bending over a chessboard and a woman standing in thought by the window. In the course of scanning with X-rays, an inscription in Latin is found on the canvas, shedding light on a crime committed in distant times. This discovery brings with it other murders that are already being carried out in our time. Julia realizes that she will be able to stop them only when she has solved the chess game.
Recommended:
10 famous literary works based on real crimes
It often happens that a high-profile crime that attracts public attention becomes a source of inspiration for a writer. It should be added that detective stories and novels, which describe criminal incidents, are always popular with readers. In our review of 10 world famous books, the plot of which is based on real life crimes
Non-Soviet relations: Why the film "School Waltz" provoked a scandal
When in the late 1970s. director Pavel Lyubimov started shooting the film "School Waltz", almost the entire film crew doubted that the film would be released. The topic was very "slippery" - the love story of tenth graders was not chaste, moreover, the film had such plot moves that it was difficult to imagine in Soviet cinema before! What most of all angered critics and viewers of mature age, and why "School Waltz" received scandalous fame - further in the review
Behind the scenes "Scarecrows": Why the film provoked a scandal, and how the fate of the child actors developed
35 years ago, the premiere of this film took place only after the intervention of Andropov - the officials did not want to release it on the screens due to the fact that Soviet children were shown too cruel. The appearance of "Scarecrow" caused a very violent reaction from both viewers and critics: the director Rolan Bykov was accused of excessive portrayal of child cruelty and forcing black paints, not suspecting that the plot was based not on a fictional, but on a real story. A few years later, the film received Gospre
The man who provoked the outbreak of the First world war: what led the most famous terrorist of the twentieth century
On July 25, 1894, a man was born who played a fatal role in world history. Gavrilo Princip in 1914 shot the heir to the Austrian throne Franz Ferdinand, which was the reason for the outbreak of the First World War. Who was the most famous terrorist of the twentieth century, in fact, and what was driving him at that moment?
Lost Films: Where Films Gone and Which Films Going to Be Sensational
It is now that any film, by whom and no matter how it was shot, has a place in the memory - if not humanity, then at least electronic digital devices. It has become more difficult, on the contrary, to destroy the footage without a trace. But not so long ago, one after the other, films and animation works disappeared into oblivion. The history of the first decades of these forms of art is a history of numerous losses, fortunately, in some cases - replenishment