7 films with colorful titles
Many films name a color in their title. It can be felt throughout the whole work, visually and symbolically. DW gives you a selection of intensely hued movies.
'The Color Purple' (Steven Spielberg, 1985)
Celie and Shug walk though a field of flowers while reflecting on God's possible vanity: "I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it," Shug declares. Faith plays a strong role in this film about the oppression of African American women. The color purple has strong symbolism in Christianity — it wasn't chosen by coincidence.
'The Red Shoes' (The Archers, 1948)
Ballerina Vicki (Moira Shearer) falls in love with the composer of a ballet — and has to choose between him and ballet in the end. The color red, which reoccurs in her ballet shoes, the color of her hair and the lighting, stands for the vitality of dancing but also for Vicki's passion and doom. The dance film also features a creative use of Technicolor.
'Black Swan' (Darren Aronofsky, 2010)
Once again ballet, but 62 years later: To become a prima ballerina requires hard training, both physical and mental. The goal is to be better than all others. To obtain the double role of the white and the black swan in Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," Nina (Natalie Portman) gives everything she has, leading to her self-destruction. The film plays with the symbolism of white and black, or good and bad.
'Blue Velvet' (David Lynch, 1986)
A dark blue velvet curtain opens onto a colorful world: Red roses, a white garden fence and a clear blue sky — the American small-town idyll. Behind the scenes, however, violence, corruption and sadomasochistic games take place. The lead female character Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini) wears a blue velvet bathrobe, while Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" plays.
'The Green Mile' (Frank Darabont, 1999)
In the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, prisoner John has supernatural healing powers. He has been sentenced to death after unjustly being convicted of murder. The floors of the death row corridors are green, hence the title. Green stands for hope — could John's good soul save him from execution?
'The Big Blue' (Luc Besson, 1988)
This drama based on the story of free divers features the sea's endless blue depths. Two childhood friends who become champion free divers, swimmers who can remain underwater for long periods without breathing gear, spend their lives competing against other — with fatal consequences.
'The Pink Panther' (Blake Edwards, 1963)
Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is trailing a jewel thief who's stolen the largest diamond in the world, called the "Pink Panther." His wife is also having an affair with the thief. The comedy exquisitely parodies detective and secret agent films of the 1960s. In its opening credits sequence, the film introduced the Pink Panther cartoon character, which would later get its own series.