This scene, from Young Einstein (“A Serious Film”). Even the first time I saw the movie, I was struck by this image; I thought it looked familiar. But I’ve never been able to identify it, so I’m here requesting Doper help. Was this scene inspired by a painting, or a drawing, or a scene in another movie, or did I just experience some kind of déjà vu thing way back when I first thought it was familiar?
Hm. I can’t think of any one specific image that the scene references, but the backturned figures on the right recall certain paintings by Rene Magritte.
or
The Son of Man (well, it’s not a backturned figure, but a similar hatted figure with arms by his side).
That shot also reminds me of a similarly composed scene in Peter Greenaway’s film, A Zed and Two Noughts. This is one of the shots (that I can’t find from a quick google search) from the scene: http://www.timeout.com/film/newyork/gallery/reviews/78519/a-zed-amp-two-noughts.html There’s another shot with the two figures standing up that is even closer in feel to the Magritte paintings and the Young Einstein scene.
It reminds me of a scene in The Darjeeling Limited, when the three brothers are looking at a train.
It’s Griffith Ocean Baths in Newcastle. This site says it’s been the subject of many photographers. I’ve an idea that the scene reproduces an old photograph but I’m unable to say by whom.
Missed editing…maybe Max Dupain?
Thanks, all! Götterfunken and elfkin477, it’s surprising how often peoples’ backs are part of art, isn’t it? bathsheba, it’s definitely an image of the Griffith Ocean Baths in Newcastle that I’m after - thanks for naming it for me. I had no idea what it was. But it isn’t Dupain, as the colors (he did B&W photography, right?) and framing of that image (ie, the partial wall on the left, etc) were part of what I was after. I’m off to see what I can find with some actual names to work with. If anyone else can pin it down further, that would be great.