Dozens of films have incorporated, to one degree or another, solar eclipses as a spectacular scenic backdrop or dramatic plot point, or maybe as a mere throwaway nod to bizarre celestial shenanigans. Here are some of the more notable filmic uses of the ever-mysterious solar eclipse.
Barabbas (1962)
Talk about fantastic effects without CGI: Director Richard Fleischer and producer Dino De Laurentis delayed the shooting of the crucifixion scene in order to use a real-time southern Europe total eclipse (Feb. 15, 1961) as background. While Anthony Quinn (as Barabbas) watches Jesus being crucified, the sun disappears and the proceedings are enveloped in darkness. Hysteria ensues.
The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
It may be Disney and it may be PG, but it scared the bejesus out of kids and their unsuspecting parents. Understandable when you consider it's a highly atmospheric horror fest replete with seances, alien possession, gloomy woods and creaky mansions, and — most frightening of all — a septuagenarian Bette Davis. The dramatic solar eclipse comes at the end of the film, ratcheting up the quotient of Disney-fed nightmares.
The Doors (1982)
Oliver Stone channels the spirit of Jim Morrison and The Doors in this rock biopic. While communing with shamanic spirits (read: peyote, LSD, et al) in the desert outside Los Angeles, Morrison experiences a total solar eclipse. It makes for one powerful hallucinogenic-infused scene: his mind as disturbed as the heavens.
Dolores Claiborne (1985)
Kathy Bates, as is her wont, appears in a Stephen King thriller, her down-home Maine accent as inscrutable and indecipherable as those Mayans in Gibson's Apocalypto (keep reading). The eclipse here is based on a total solar eclipse of July 20, 1963 and is part of a flashback sequence as Dolores remembers "the eclipse lasted 6 1/2 minutes…hell of a lot more than a thunderhead passing across the sun. It was beautiful."
Ladyhawke (1985)
Director Richard Donner and actors Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer offer up a convoluted plot set in medieval France. The Bishop of Aquik has cast a curse on Ill-fated lovers Etienne and Isabeau — forever separated because one becomes a wolf at night and the other a hawk by day. The curse can only be broken by confronting the Bishop during a solar eclipse. Don't ask.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
OK, OK, we don't see an actual eclipse in this Frank Oz adaption of the off-Broadway musical. But everything gets underway because the alien plant Audrey II is a product of a rare celestial event. The blood-sucking, meat-eating plant appears during a total eclipse of the sun and proceeds to ingest huge amounts of human flesh — all good, campy, rock-music fun.
Hellboy (2004)
Ron Perlman plays title character, a non-threatening demon (yes, there are such creatures) who lives in Hell and serves as a doorman. Mad monk Rasputin convinces Hellboy to open the gates of Hell and unleash the Seven Gods of Chaos to torment and destroy the planet. The catch is that the Gates must be opened during a solar eclipse. Hellboy has to choose between obeying or defying Rasputin's evil intent. The fate of the planet is at stake, so do not stare at the eclipse without protective glasses.
Apocalypto (2006)
Mel Gibson treats us to a movie in which all dialogue is in a totally indecipherable Yucatec Mayan tongue from the Mayan Empire 500 years ago. The protagonist nearly loses his head in a ritualistic human sacrifice but is saved when all goes dark around him. Lots of half-naked Mayans with shaved chests, ink, piercings and man buns predict our own future. Famous for their apocalyptic obsession with death and destruction, the Mayans view the eclipse as a prophecy of their own demise. Guess the calendar was right.
Ben Wiley reviews films for CL. Meet him Aug. 27 at Tampa Theatre when he leads a post-screening chatback about Casablanca.
This article appears in Aug 10-17, 2017.