Film-makers have been inspired by Escher’s work for decades, translating ideas of repetition and illusion to the screen.
Dr Anna Dzenis takes a look at the continuing appeal of Escher’s prints to directors and introduces a series of Escher-inspired films each Sunday in February.
Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson that tells the story of Sarah, a fifteen-year-old on a journey to reach the centre of a maze to rescue her brother, including making her way through a room inspired by one of Escher’s staircase drawings.
This film has closed captions.
Footlight Parade is a 1933 American film with musical performances created by choreographer and director Busby Berkeley, whose elaborate production numbers often incorporated geometric patterns that are reminiscent of Escher’s complex prints.
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MirrorMask is a 2005 fantasy film that tells the story of Helen, a fifteen-year old girl who finds herself trapped in fantasy world after an argument with her mother. In order to get back home she must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom.
This film has closed captions.
Writer and director Christopher Nolan’s science fiction film Inception follows a group of professional thieves who steal information by infiltrating their targets subconscious. With unsettling images of buildings and streetscapes folding in on themselves and the play on perspective and time, Nolan draws the inspiration for the film from the work of M. C. Escher.
This film has closed captions.