Many of Hitchcock's films - not just VERTIGO - have shots based on paintings. A case in point is the underrated TOPAZ (1969) - now released with some of its previously deleted footage restored (deleted because Rank in England wanted time for an intermission to sell candies - true!). The scene where the Russian defector's daughter plays the piano in a safe-house outside Washington, D.C., begins with a restful-looking shot that is modelled after Vermeer. (The Cuban scenes with the hero's mistress, on the other hand, are starker, and include both a shot that resembles Delvaux's 'Venus Asleep' and a 'Pieta' shot of a tortured couple that is described as such in the film's script.) Speaking of VERTIGO, a couple of correspondents recently sent me an anecdote about the film RUN LOLA RUN. I'll append it here. - Ken Mogg (Ed., 'The MacGuffin'). Website: http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~muffin ----- > After doing one take of the scene in the casino where Lola cashes in her chips > and the camera pans up to the clock on the back wall, director Tom Tykwer > decided there was too much wall. He told his art director to paint a picture > on the wall. "Of what?" said the art director. "Of Kim Novak" said Tykwer. "I > don't know what Kim Novak looks like," replied the art director, "Then paint > the back of her head," Tykwer told him and proceeded to shoot all the other > casino shots while the art director painted. Tykwer says you can see how fresh > the paint is because it's so shiny. http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0130827 On the DVD commentary Tykwer starts by saying "paint something from Vertigo." After the exchange reported above, the artist did in in a matter of fifteen minutes or so! The painting is a sort of re-imagining of the painting of Carlotta from Vertigoo. Tykwer evidently wanted (consciously or unconsciously, I forget) the painting to fit in with a pronounced spiral motif he has in the film (and he noted this in his commentary that it fits in with that). He also reported he now has the painting in his home. ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html