Winter nights are great for curling up with a good movie. How about one where photography has a leading role? Our viewing list below includes everything from light-hearted romance and quirky character studies to fact-based dramas and edge-of-your-seat thrillers. So pop the popcorn, let the snowfall and enjoy!

The Killing Fields (1984) (Drama)
Director: Roland Joffé
John Malkovich plays war photographer to Sam Waterson’s brilliant portrayal of Sydney Schanberg, a NY Times reporter at the height of the civil war in Cambodia. They cover the tragedy of war with the help of local representative Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor in an outstanding, Academy Award-winning role). When the American forces leave and the Khmer Rouge begin moving in, Dith Pran sends his family away but stays to help Schanberg cover the dramatic events. As an American, Schanberg is able to leave without question, but Pran faces a very different and frightening situation. This beautifully filmed movie deservedly won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.

The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) (Drama)
Director: Peter Weir
Foreign correspondent Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) is sent to Indonesia on his first assignment. As the political situation heats up, Guy finds himself in the middle of a hot story with his photographer, Billy Kwan (a powerful Academy Award-winning performance by Linda Hunt). Guy’s affair with diplomat Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver) complicates the moral choices he must deal with as his relationship with Billy reaches a breaking point just as the political crisis in Indonesia reaches its peak.




Blowup (1966) (Drama)
Director/Writer: Michelangelo Antonioni
Shortly after a London fashion photographer meets Jane (Vanessa Redgrave), he takes a photo in a park. Later, as he studies and enlarges his negatives, he discovers he may have accidentally photographed a murder. As he continues to blowup smaller elements in his photos, the puzzle comes together. The photographer’s character is very loosely based on the careers of London fashion photographers David Bailey and Terence Donovan. The photographs featured in the film were taken by Don McCullin, an award-winning photo-journalist who later worked on the documentary War Photographer in 2001.

One Hour Photo (2002) (Drama/Thriller)
Director: Mark Romanek
In a chilling dramatic role, Robin Williams plays Seymour Parrish store photo clerk who has been developing customer photos for 20 years. Living his solitary, lonely life, the photos he processes draw him into the life of the Yorkin family, his customers who seem to have everything in the world. Even as he envies the life they live, he discovers that the Yorkin family is not as perfect as they seem. He sets out in revenge to expose the family’s imperfections and tear them apart.




Rear Window (1954) (Thriller)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Professional photographer L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries (James Stewart) is confined to his New York apartment with a broken leg. With the help of his camera and telephoto lens, he keeps himself occupied looking out over his apartment courtyard and observing his neighbors. What he sees through the window of one apartment makes him suspect that his neighbor has committed murder. Jeff’s society model girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) and his nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) step in to investigate. In the end, old-fashioned flash bulbs save the day.

Funny Face (1957) (Romance)
Director: Stanley Donen
Audrey Hepburn is the bookstore assistant who, by a coincidence that can only happen in a movie, becomes a fashion model. Fred Astaire plays the charming (and dancing) photographer with an eye for beauty; his character was based on photographer Richard Avedon. Most of the photography for the movie, including the famous close-up portrait of Audrey Hepburn revealed in the dark room scene, was set up by Avedon himself. Sit back and enjoy this picture perfect story filmed against the backdrops of Greenwich Village, Paris and Chantilly, France.



Spider-Man (2002)
Director: Sam Raimi
Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) is the nerdy photographer for his high-school newspaper. When he is bitten by a genetically modified spider Parker develops incredible powers, which he decides to use to fight evil. As Spider-Man, he fights crime, injustice and his arch nemesis the Green Goblin (the deliciously bad Willem Dafoe). Peter also finds time to start his freelance photographer career at the Daily Bugle working for editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson, portrayed with comic genius by J.K. Simmons. On the job, Peter shoots with a Canon New F-1 SLR, originally marketed in 1981.



Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) (Thriller)
Director: Irvin Kershner
Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is a successful fashion photographer. When her art photos begin to show similarities to actual crime scenes, a detective (Tommy Lee Jones) becomes suspicious. He discovers that Laura sees events through the eyes of the killer and must persuade her to help him stop the killings. Famed photographers Helmut Newton and Rebecca Blake supplied the prop photos used in the movie. Faye Dunaway was coached for the role by her boyfriend at the time, British photographer Terry O’Neill. The screenplay was written by a master of horror films: John Carpenter.



The Photographer (2000) (Comedy/Drama)
Director: Jeremy Stein
Acclaimed photographer Max Martin (Reg Rogers) has lost his ability to take a decent picture. On the eve of his make-or-break gallery opening, Max winds his way through the city in search of ten mysterious photographs to save his career. In completing his quest, Max discovers the magic in seeing everyday life. Shot in dramatic color, and black and white, New York City is a magical backdrop for this photographer’s personal challenge. Strong supporting performances by Anthony Michael Hall and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The photographs seen in the movie were taken by Howard Schatz for the series “HOMELESS: Portraits of Americans in Hard Times”.

Closer (2004) (Drama/Romance)
Director: Mike Nichols
Julia Roberts plays a photographer opposite Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen in this relationship drama that follows the twists and lies as two couples work through complicated affairs to find the partner they are truly suited for — but in the end was it worth the emotional cost? Julia’s character shoots with a Hasselblad and a Leica M6.






Proof (1991) (Drama/Comedy)
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
With the tagline, “Photographs don’t lie, people do” this black comedy looks at the life of a blind man, Martin (Hugo Weaving). To prove that the world is as others describe it, Martin takes photographs. His life is complicated by his housekeeper Celia, who routinely rearranges the furniture, and with his friend Andy (Russell Crowe) who may not be as trustworthy as Martin believes.

Pecker (1998)
Director: John Waters
A Baltimore sandwich shop employee (played by Edward Furlong) becomes an overnight sensation when his photographs of his quirky family are discovered by a New York City art dealer. But trouble starts after “Pecker” (nicknamed for his habit of pecking at food like a bird), his girlfriend (a laundromat worker played by Christina Ricci) and his unusual family visit the art gallery in New York. He must choose between pursuing a life of fame and fortune that will cost him his family and friends, or keeping his rather humble, poor suburban life. Pecker takes his photos using a Canonet 28 rangefinder camera popular in the 1970s.


Salvador (1986) (Drama)
Director: Oliver Stone
Based on the true story of combat photographer Richard Boyle (portayed by James Woods) who left the U.S. and drove to El Salvador to chronicle the 1980 military dictatorship, including the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. He finds himself working with guerillas in the countryside who want him to get photos into the American media, and with the right-wing military, who want his photographs of the rebels. John Savage plays John Cassady, a fictionalized composite of real-life photographers John Hoaglund, of Newsweek, and Olivier Rebbot.