Edward Hopper and cinema
When thinking of painters whose work feels cinematic, one that certainly comes to mind is Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967), a painter of both cities and small towns, disquieting atmosphere, solitary figures and introspection.
On what would be his 142nd birthday, let’s explore some of the most obvious connections between his work and cinema.
The New York Movie (1939) by Edward Hopper.
Influenced by films
Before becoming a painter, Hopper had a successful career as an illustrator—something that didn’t interest him, but he was good at it and it brought money. Besides working for magazines, he was paid to watch silent movies and make poster illustrations (unfortunately, no copies of the films for which Hopper made posters have survived). In the process, he attended dozens of silent films and became an avid filmgoer. In this period he also made three trips to Paris which exposed him to European art (impressionism) and films (Expressionist cinema), both hugely influential elements.
Night Shadows (1921) by Edward Hopper and a still from M (1931) by Fritz Lang.
In the 1940’s and 1950’s he frequented New York City cinemas, often with his wife Jo Hopper (a painter as well), just as film noir was at its height. The genre’s play with light, creative use of camera angles, dark urban settings had an effect on his work. His paintings showed objects, buildings and glimpses of people’s everyday lives with a perspective of a film camera. Scenes he painted were mysterious, like isolated stills out of a movie, making us wonder what happened and what is going to happen next.
A still from Strangers on a Train (1951) by Alfred Hitchcock and Chair Car (1965) by Edward Hopper.
Cinema has always been his refuge when he found it difficult to paint. Sometimes, they saw a film more than once, as was the case with Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve (Hopper thought it was the best thing to come out of Hollywood). He once admitted that he could have painted more if he had not loved movies so much.
A still from Shadow of a Doubt (1943) by Alfred Hitchcock and Rooms for Tourists (1945) by Edward Hopper.
“When I don’t feel in the mood for painting I go to the movies for a week or more. I go on a regular movie binge.”
A still from The Savage Eye (1959) and People in the Sun (1960) by Edward Hopper.
Hopper influencing cinema
As much as he drew inspiration from films, soon other artists and many filmmakers started using Hopper’s art in their own work. His attention to location, perspective and lightning made an understandable influence on filmmakers. Hopper can be placed in connection with dozens of films from the noir period and beyond. Using windows, hotels, elevated viewpoints, high-rising architecture and flat city roofs are all Hopperesque elements.
Night Windows (1928) by Edward Hopper.
Stills from Don't Bother to Knock (1952) by Roy Ward Baker and L’eclisse (1962) by Michelangelo Antonioni.
Many film directors, contemporaries of Hopper, were both impacted by his work while also serving as influences on the painter himself. Two best examples of this are Elia Kazan (Hopper enjoyed many Kazan’s films and Kazan cited Hopper in his memoirs as one of the artists he most admired) and Alfred Hitchcock. Some of the younger filmmakers that also frequently found inspiration in Hopper are Michelangelo Antonioni, Ridley Scott, Wim Wenders, David Lynch and Jim Jarmusch.
City Roofs (1931) by Edward Hopper and a still from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) by Elia Kazan.
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock and Hopper share many affinities: high-angle perspectives, suspense, peeking through windows, voyeurism…
The most famous and obvious reference happened in Psycho (1960) when Hopper’s House by the Railroad (1925) served as a basis for the eerie Bates mansion (a similar house design appeared again in 1978 when Terrence Malick shot Days of Heaven). The Hoppers learned about Hitchcock getting inspired through newspapers and were delighted by the fact.
House by the Railroad (1925) by Edward Hopper, Alfred Hitchcock showing his Bates mansion from Psycho (1960) and a still from Days of Heaven (1978) by Terrence Malick.
A still from Psycho (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock and Hotel Room (1931) by Edward Hopper.
The motif of unknowingly being observed appears in both Hopper’s and Hitchcock’s work. One film which offers many points of comparison is Rear Window (1954), a story of a photojournalist with a broken leg who spies on his neighbours in the opposite apartment block as they carry out their peculiar daily routines. The suggestion of life beyond these windows is what feels very close to Hopper.
Left: Room in New York (1932) and Apartment Houses (1923) by Edward Hopper. Right: stills from Rear Window (1954) by Alfred Hitchcock.
Wim Wenders
A filmmaker to whom the discovery of Hopper’s work was extremely significant was Wim Wenders, a key figure of the German New Wave. It happened in 1972 at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The impact of seeing the paintings made him show them to all his friends, most importantly to Robby Müller, his cinematographer. From then on, the two of them adopted Hopper as a model, starting with their next film, The American Friend from 1977.
“The greatest mystery is how Hopper manages to make us wonder what is going on and what is going to happen next. His characters are in a state of expectation.”
Stills from The American Friend (1977) and Million Dollar Hotel (2000) by Wim Wenders.
Other Wenders films indebted to the painter include The End of Violence (1977), Paris, Texas (1984), The Million Dollar Hotel (2000), Don’t Come Knocking (2005).
A still from The End of Violence (1977) by Wim Wenders which includes a recreation of the famous Nighthawks diner.
In 2020, on the occasion of a big Hopper exhibition at the Beyeler Foundation, Wenders made another tribute to the great painter, in the form of a 14-minute 3D film titled Two or Three Things I Know about Edward Hopper.
Stills from Two or Three Things I Know about Edward Hopper (2020) by Wim Wenders.
Sources
Websites
Edward Hopper and the movies
How Edward Hopper Inspired Wim Wenders, David Lynch and More
Wim Wenders casts Edward Hopper’s lonely figures
BOOKS & DISSERTATIONS
Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography by Gail Levin - University of California Press (2023)
Edward Hopper Encyclopedia by Lenora Mamunes - McFarland & Company (2011)
Edward Hopper and Film: The Interdisciplinary of His Art and the Cinema by Lola Wallis - University of Bristol (2015)
Videos
Edward Hopper and the Blank Canvas (2012) - a documentary directed by Jean-Pierre Devilliers