Courtesy of Bill Kramer
By Amy Wang | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Throughout history and across cultures, eclipses like the one occurring across Oregon and much of the U.S. Aug. 21 have often been seen as bad omens. Filmmakers and screenwriters have taken advantage of that belief, using eclipses as visual cues or key plot points. Here’s a look at 15 movies where eclipses play a role – astronomically accurate or not. How many do you remember?
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
In this 2016 “Star Wars” prequel, rebels working to steal the plans for the Galactic Empire’s Death Star are on the moon Jedha when the Empire tests its new weapon, aiming it at Jedha’s holy city. A solar eclipse provides an ominous backdrop just before the city is destroyed and the rebels barely escape with their lives.
Mel Gibson’s 2006 film about the ancient Mayan empire depicts a crowd trembling in fear as the sun is blotted out during a ritual sacrifice. The Mayan leaders have a completely different take on the eclipse. Astronomy purists, take note: Solar eclipses take place only when the moon is in the “new moon” phase, but the eclipse in “Apocalypto” is followed by a full moon. Also, the eclipse isn’t paced accurately.
This 2004 film, adapted from a comic book series, is named after a wisecracking demon who works covertly for the U.S. government in a “Ghostbusters”-type role. All’s going about as well as could be expected until the Nazis who originally summoned Hellboy to Earth return for him – with his help, they can open a portal to another dimension during an upcoming eclipse.
"The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration"
Solar eclipses are among the many “wonders of nature” spotted by the little dinosaur Littlefoot and his family in this 2003 animated film, part of a series for kids.
This 2001 Angelina Jolie film adaptation of a video game did very well at the box office but got two thumbs down on the Bad Astronomy blog, in part for its inaccurate depiction of a solar eclipse.
In this 2000 science fiction-horror film, a spaceship crashes onto a moon where the native monsters prefer night to day – and where a lengthy eclipse turns the surviving humans into easy prey. Vin Diesel plays Riddick, a convict who conveniently has had surgery that helps him see in the dark.
The title character in this 1995 adaptation of a Stephen King novel takes advantage of a solar eclipse, which distracts the rest of her small island community, to corner her abusive and deceitful husband, an encounter that ends very badly. Kathy Bates stars as Dolores.
“You remember that total eclipse of the sun about a week ago?” That’s when Audrey II, a homicidal plant from outer space, arrives on Earth and changes the life of florist’s assistant Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) in the 1986 musical comedy “Little Shop of Horrors.”
Michelle Pfeiffer, Rutger Hauer and Matthew Broderick star in this 1985 fantasy action-adventure flick in which two medieval lovers trapped in a curse are freed by, of all things, a solar eclipse.
Eclipses bookend the plot of this 1980 supernatural horror movie (from Disney!) about two sisters who stumble onto a 30-year-old mystery about a girl's disappearance. Bette Davis, in one of her last roles, plays the bereaved mother. A Lifetime remake, featuring Anjelica Huston and directed by Melissa Joan Hart, is scheduled to premiere Oct. 21.
This 1968 science fiction epic opens with an eclipse – viewed from outer space as the Earth, moon and sun all align. Later, astronauts experience an eclipse-like moment as they make contact with a mysterious monolith. The two scenes are among numerous indelible moments from the minds of screenwriters Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke (he also wrote the original novel).
This 1961 drama, starring Anthony Quinn, tells the story of Barabbas, the thief who was pardoned instead of Christ. Director Richard Fleischer scheduled the filming of the crucifixion scene around a total solar eclipse that crossed Europe in 1961. The Bible says the sun was "obscured" during the crucifixion; NASA's eclipse website notes a partial lunar eclipse in the year 33 with the comment "Crucifixion of Christ?"
English explorers in this 1885 adventure novel set in southern Africa take advantage of their knowledge that an eclipse is approaching to get a leg up in a dispute. The book has been adapted for film multiple times; the best-known version, from 1950, starred Stewart Granger as “Great White Hunter” Allen Quatermain and Deborah Kerr as the woman who accompanies him to “the dark continent.”
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"
Mark Twain's classic satire of industrialization uses a solar eclipse as a key plot point. When Hank Morgan unexpectedly travels back in time from 19th-century Hartford to 6th-century England, he swiftly finds himself in trouble – and just as swiftly gets out of it by using his knowledge of an upcoming solar eclipse. Of the multiple film adaptations of Twain's novel, perhaps the most notable stars Bing Crosby in a sprightly 1949 musical version.
"King Lear"
William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of a father betrayed by greedy daughters has an Act 1 passage citing “these late eclipses” and warning that they “portend no good to us.” The Bard used celestial imagery in numerous plays, but some scholars think he may have been referring here to actual events: A half-dozen solar and lunar eclipses were recorded in England in the eight years before the play’s first performance. “King Lear” has been adapted for film and television numerous times (with yet another version in development as we type). Options include Laurence Olivier’s 1983 Emmy Award-winning TV movie; Ian McKellen’s 2008 television version directed by Trevor Nunn; a 1971 film starring Paul Scofield, an Oscar winner; and a well-regarded 2015 Canadian adaptation.
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