CORPSE BRIDE | TIM BURTON (2005)
If blue is your favorite color, then this stop-motion film by American filmmaker and animator Tim Burton, is the perfect fit for you. Love, betrayal, and mischief follow the characters Victor and Emily through life, death and rebirth in this Victorian-era fantasy musical. The blue-tinged palette, ranging from a light, sky blue, to a deep navy, set the eerie mood perfectly.
WES ANDERSON
We couldn’t pick just one, because this eccentric American director is just too good at conveying mood through color, and creating vivid visual imagery that is one-of-a-kind: whether it’s the rose-tinted nostalgia of ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’,
the moody orange and browns of ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’,
the American adventure comedy-drama ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’,
or the youthful greens and yellows of ‘Moonrise Kingdom’. These movies are art in their own right.
THE COLOR PURPLE | STEVEN SPIELBERG (1985)
This movie is a classic in more ways than one. Based on the novel of the same name by Alice Walker, this blockbuster was nominated for 11 academy awards, due to its strong, black and primarily female cast, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. Follow the lives of two young, African-American women and their struggle for autonomy in the restrictive social structures of early 20th century Southern America. The movie is also said to pertain to LGBTQ themes, which is already hinted at in the title, as purple is also the color of pride!
HER | SPIKE JONZE (2013)
Quirky, soulful, and heartbreaking, this movie explores the possibilities of human-machine relationships, from friendship to love. And what better way to underline this theme than with the color of love and lust?
MOONLIGHT | BARRY JENKINS (2016)
This heartfelt coming-of-age movie shows three chapters of a young, black man’s life, growing up in Miami and coming to terms with his identity and sexuality. ‘Moonlight’ won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2016, and with good reason: here the blue and purple hues underline the mystery, melancholy, and turbulence of growing up.
MIDSOMMAR | ARI ASTER (2019)
Calling all adrenaline junkies! This horror movie, said to be Florence Pugh’s breakthrough role, is one of the few that might actually be nice to look at – and it’s because of its luminous, impactful colors, that never fail to foreshadow the scary scene.
LOCAL COLOR | GEORGE GALLO (2006)
A riveting story of an unlikely friendship between an established, alcoholic artist and his student. Not only are the scenes colored in lush, artful greens, but the storyline centers around all things art.
THE COLOR ROOM | CLAIRE MCCARTHY (2021)
Last but not least, a romantic period drama with feminist undertones about a woman who revolutionized pottery production in 1920s England.
Art Fix: One of our favorite new Art Fix artists, Anna Freeman Bentley, created a series of paintings based on the film set of this very movie. The color compositions of both the film and Freeman Bentley’s impactful paintings have a deep emotional resonance.
