How Photography Inspires Cinema

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If photographs help you stop time every hundredth of a second, moving pictures let you run it freely every 24 frames per second. The mediums are so intricately connected that when one ‘freezes’ the moment to portray the details of a scene, then the other expands your horizon with its intense ‘movements.’ But what happens when the latter turns to examine the former’s prowess? Their alchemy touches the hearts of millions, letting them explore a spell-binding story through every frame. Something similar happened when photographer Danny Lyon’s book work on Outlaws Motorcycle Club found its way into director Jeff Nichols’ hands, giving birth to 2023’s most anticipated film, The Bikeriders.

Lyon’s work, created between 1963 and 1967, captures the most intense, intimate, romantic, and awe-inspiring depiction of Chicago’s motorcycle club. The studded leather jackets, glossy Harley Davidsons, and an air of assurance of exquisite men and women are some elements that triumphed over the audience. But what stood out the most was the photographs shot to go beyond voyeurism; instead, they show a camaraderie of rebels who have found a new identity and home. Lyon, a member of the Outlaws for a brief period, also documented these adventurous, charming, and serene moments through interviews with its other members. Moreover, some of the verbatim quotes later comprised 70% of the film’s dialogues.

But this is not the first time a set of photographs—or a photographer—has inspired filmmakers to interpret a subject in their own way. Movies on photography have been around since Alfred Hitchcock’s time. For instance, The Bang Bang Club weaves fiction and the real-life events of four war photographers who documented the harrowing, bone-chilling consequences of apartheid in South Africa. The film provides a glimpse into the lives of the photographers; some became victims of guilt, and others were collateral damage. Similarly, Minamata is another movie that highlights the life of renowned photojournalist Eugene Smith and his final photo essay on the industrial mercury poisoning in Minamata, Japan. If talk about films based on photographers, then Michelangelo Antonioni’s cult masterpiece, Blow-Up, also comes to mind. Somewhat inspired by the life of celebrated fashion and portrait photographer David Bailey, it became one of the most prominent movies on art and art-making. Joining this list recently is Alex Garland’s Civil War, which narrates the story of a dystopian future in America through the lens of photojournalists.

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While there are plenty of books, interviews, and essays on the medium, a movie on photography gives it a whole new definition. Much of this lies in the fascination of the discussions or day-to-day undertakings that we never witness or listen to. For instance, The Public Eye loosely paints the life of eminent daily newspaper photographer Arthur “Weegee” Fellig. The fictional conversations, or the junctures leading up to the making of iconic photographs, bridge the gap between the known and the unfamiliar, allowing one to partake in the narrative unlike any other. But as much as such movies tickle your inquisitiveness, they also became a prominent educational instrument. For instance, my brush with the world of war photography was through a screening of The Bang Bang Club in our diminutive classroom. Until then, the works of James Natchway, Nick Ut, Margaret Bourke-White, Robert Capa, and Gerda Taro were enticing me to take on a frequently glamorized profession with no knowledge of its influence on one’s mental health and society at large.

Although films on photography and art are scarce, their existence is still noteworthy and relevant to the medium. For once, they help the small community feel seen, especially when everyone believes they are a photographer. Similarly, they allow the audience to grasp the nuances and skills that go into building this profession. Lastly, it reminds us that every story you encounter is worth a thousand pictures.

If you are keen on watching movies on photography, here are a few suggestions: