Reprise » Heroic Silhouette Images in Film
My good friend and movie blogger, J.D. from RADIATOR HEAVEN, tagged me with a meme awhile back. One that made the rounds in 2010, and naturally close to my heart since I tend to be visual. I’m so inclined…just ask my wife. Plus, my love of film made it fun to participate. The original meme, begun at Stephen Russell-Gebbett’s Checking on My Sausages blog, asked that those participating submit…
“… a gallery of images… to stand for so much of what makes Cinema such a rich and exciting medium.”
Blogger Jeremy Rickey, of the Moon in the Gutter blog, tagged J.D. and seized upon another’s (The Dancing Image) lead of offering up some stills that captured a certain theme byway of his image collection. J.D.’s meme post followed suit, centering on director Michael Mann’s protagonists in isolation. Wonderfully, I might add. Who was I to buck such a trend?
Back then, I chose the theme of heroic silhouette images in cinema. This visual outlining technique, which has been noted to be tied with mythology, continues to be well used in motion pictures, for many decades now. Primarily, it’s brought into play to portray and/or identify the hero, or protagonists, on film. It’s a technique that has drawn me to its use for many years.
Shouldn’t surprise — I think I’ve made it clear by now that high-contrast images capture my interest.
So, the rules of the meme were:
- Pick as many pictures as you want — but make them screen-captures. These need to be moments that speak to you that perhaps haven’t been represented as stills before.
- Pick a theme, any theme.
- You MUST link to Stephen’s original gallery (see above) and my post if I am tagging you and you choose to participate.
- Tag five blogs.
Back in 2010 I made my five blogger selections for continuing this image meme, if interested in participating or hadn’t already done so. For today’s reprise, I’ll leave it to any reader who’d want to reopen this idea. You’re all invited partake.
Obviously, I think highly of the silhouetted image I’ve used for my post’s lead. Bruce Wayne as you-know-who in Batman Begins. The following are my favorites for this category.
Capt. James T. Kirk, Star Trek II – The Wrath of Khan
King Leonidas, 300
Stephen McCaffrey, Backdraft
El Mariachi, Desperado
John McClane, Die Hard
The Stranger, High Plains Drifter
Indy, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Bride, Kill Bill Vol. 1
The Bride, Kill Bill Vol. 2
Arthur, King Arthur
Will Graham, Manhunter
Maggie Fitzgerald, Million Dollar Baby
Josey Wales, The Outlaw Josey Wales
Hartigan, Sin City
Sgt. Todd (as chased by Caine 607), Soldier
Harry Callahan, Sudden Impact
Dale ‘Mac’ McKussic & Nick Frecia, Tequila Sunrise
Father Merrin, The Exorcist
Ethan Edwards, The Searchers
Col. Jonathan ‘Jack’ O’Neil, Stargate
David Dunn, Unbreakable
Maximus, Gladiator
River Tam, Serenity
William Munny, Unforgiven
It Rains... You Get Wet 
26 Responses to “Reprise » Heroic Silhouette Images in Film”
Very cool idea, post and dissertation!
I’d add the final moments silhouette of Cornel Wilde’s Detective Lieutenant Leonard Diamond wrpped in diffused light, smoke and shadow. After the final gunfight with Richard Conte’s crime Kingpin, Mr. Brown in the way ahead of its time Noir gem, The Big Combo .
Could also add Omar Sharif on camel back riding through the desert heat haze before meeting Peter O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia. And Orson Welle’s Harry Lime being pursued by Calloway and company through the Vienna sewers in The Third Man.
LikeLike
Some more grand examples, Kevin. Well done, my friend. Thank you.
LikeLike
D’OH!
Sorry for the continuous italics.
LikeLike
No problem. I’ve fixed it 😉
LikeLike
These are great!
LikeLike
Thank you very much, Abbi 🙂
LikeLike
Fun, fun, fun. Great gallery.
LikeLike
Thank you kindly, Cindy 🙂
LikeLike
WHOA!! These. are. awesome. I LOVE your picks Michael, esp that first one of Batman. I LOVE the Leonidas one too, very artistic! Oh and the one from The Exorcist always gives me chills.
LikeLike
It was fun coming up with this list. Thank you very much, Ruth 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve always like silhouette images as long as they don’t feel forced. Those are some great picks.
LikeLike
Thank you, ckckred 🙂
LikeLike
Very cool!
LikeLike
Thank you, Fernando! 🙂
LikeLike
[…] just happened across a post at one of my favorite on-line haunts, that featured a look at heroic silhouette images. Well here is one to add to the collection, as Roy Hobbs prepares to step out of the dark that has […]
My hometown colleague, Richard Kirkham, linked to this article and featured a rather great one himself for this 80s classic.
LikeLike
Awesome post here, Michael. So many great shots.
LikeLike
Thanks very much for the read and comment, Eric 🙂
LikeLike
That Sudden Impact silhouette with Clint holding the .44 Automag has always been a personal favorite among movie scenes. When I was in college, I’d have loved to have had a poster of that to hang in my dorm room. Sadly, I never found one for sale anywhere.
LikeLike
It was pretty darn striking that image of Clint with the Automag, for sure. It would have made a great poster, too. Thanks, John. 🙂
LikeLike
Great gallery Mike!
I don’t think I ever paid attention to silhouette before.
LikeLike
Thank you very kindly, Novoz 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you for making this. I am currently working on a video essay on silhouettes and this gave me a bunch of ideas. Do you consider the ending of Fight Club to be an example of characters in silhouette? I can’t decide since you can still see some detail in their figures. Having a hard time deciding on the end of The Searchers as well. Thanks!
LikeLike
Thanks and welcome, Jake. I would consider those frames of which you speak in Fight Club and The Searchers as characters in silhouette. Could be just me, but I don’t think the silhouette has to be a totally shadowed one (as in blacked out) to qualify for this outlining technique. Best of luck with your video essay. If you posted it online, please leave me a link to catch it.
LikeLike
Thank you for the reply! And I agree with you. Just wanted the opinion of a fellow silhouette enthusiast haha. And I will be sure to send you the Vimeo link when it is completed. Thanks again!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Here’s the link to Jake’s splendid silhouette video essay:
http://vimeo.com/112001790
LikeLike
[…] video essay in this quarterly highlight reel. Especially, since he kindly stopped by and read an article of mine as part of his exhaustive research on the subject he […]
LikeLike