There is a body of films featuring
stellar eclipses and
eclipses of natural satellites. Compared to other astronomical events featured in films, such as
full moons and
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
strikes, solar eclipses are less commonly seen. When they have featured in films, they often drive the plot and have a portentous presence.
's
Glen Weldon said that films use eclipses "to signal to audiences that the normal rules have temporarily lifted, and things are about to get weird". The first film to feature a solar eclipse was the 1907 silent film ''
The Eclipse, or the Courtship of the Sun and Moon'' that featured a solar eclipse as a fantastical consummation between the Sun and the Moon.
Eclipses have been seen as bad omens throughout history, so filmmakers leverage that belief "as visual cues or key plot points", according to ''
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
''s Amy Wang.
The most accurate depiction of a solar eclipse in film is seen in the 1961 religious epic film ''
Barabbas
According to the New Testament, Barabbas () was a Jewish bandit and rabble-rouser who was imprisoned by the Judaea (Roman province), Roman occupation in Jerusalem, only to be chosen over Jesus by a crowd to be pardoned by Roman governor Pontius ...
'' due to the filming of an actual solar eclipse during its crucifixion scene (see
solar eclipse of February 15, 1961).
List of films
References
External links
How solar eclipses are used in TV and filmat BirthMoviesDeath.com
The Oldest Film of a Solar Eclipse Has Been Restored and Released Onlineat ''
Smithsonian''
{{Solar eclipses, state=collapsed
Films featuring eclipses, List of
Eclipses, list of films featuring