Images of Film -- On the Net and Unbound

Stephen Russell-Gebbett, blogger-extraordinarie at Checking on My Sausages, and MovieMan0283, another fantastic blogger at The Dancing Image, are really onto something with this widely-proliferating, imaginative meme regarding "images on film," particular images that "stand for so much of what makes Cinema such a rich and exciting medium." MovieMan's post, "In The Beginning" lays out many of the details. Thank you both.

On Thursday, I posted about images of America and America on film, after getting the tip from J.D. at Radiator Heaven. And today, I see that many other fantastic bloggers are posting galleries of the imagery that has captured their imagination over the years. I consider this high level of interest a testament to Stephen's and MovieMan's great idea, and to the way that the images from film history powerfully resonate with audiences. But also, specifically, how individual that sense is. Film -- a medium ostensibly meant for the masses -- ends up seeming particularly personal when you look through this lens.

So today, I just wanted to briefly point out to readers where a couple of new, intriguing and gorgeous galleries are up and available for viewing.

Le0pard13 at Lazy Thoughts from a Boomer has put up a lovely gallery regarding "Heroic Silhouettes" in the Cinema, and I was reminded of this post last night when I watched Book of Eli. There are some iconic heroic silhouettes in that post-apocalyptic thriller, and I think Le0pard13 is really onto something by gathering them together. Suddenly we see that these images are not chance; not coincidence...but an essential ingredient of our collective film "grammar," visual shorthand for a "hero."

Jeffrey at Beers on the Beach has assembled a gallery near and dear to my heart, given my love of all-things outer-space related. His collection is called "The Vastness of Outer Space" and highlights how filmmakers have visualized the unknowable, infinite nature of the final frontier. How do you describe the infinite? Well, filmmakers from Stanley Kubrick to Robert Wise to Ridley Scott to James Cameron have visualized the idea in memorable fashion.

Trick or Treat Pete, another blogger I really admire, has gone the horror genre route (yay!), and in artistic, dedicated fashion created a gallery at Deadly Serious to cinematic "Moments in Madness." Film is a tool which, at its best, tells us something vital about the human condition, the human psychology. And this memorable gallery is a walk on the dark side of human instability and psychosis. I love it!

Sunday Updates: Another one of my favorite bloggers, Sci-Fi Fanatic, has posted his gallery today, and just as I knew it would be, it's a dazzling and thought-provoking treat. At Musings of a Sci-Fi Fanatic, you can see "Science Fiction Images In Techni-COLOR." This is how Sci-Fi Fanatic described this lovely collection: "I love the use of color in cinema in general, but it particularly effective and fun within science fiction. It lends an image, a moment, a scene, a story, a kind of power or mood or feeling or even alienness that would be lost without its accent. Color or lighting, whether in a live action or special effects shot, enhances a picture giving it new meaning or another depth altogether." Well said, and this is a gorgeous and eclectic gallery.

Last, but never least, Will at Secure Immaturity, another blogger I have become a big fan of, presents today "Images of Reflection: Both Dark and Light." This impressive gallery focuses on portraits, on the human face, and on the light upon it. It's a great collection.

I hope you enjoy these image galleries too, and I just want to again thank J.D. for tagging me, and also Stephen and MovieMan0283, for originating and developing fascinating meme that enables all of us to view film in new, personal, and infinitely intriguing ways. Kudos!