Blowup

I watched Blowup last night, the 1966 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. I had not watched it since college, when I thought I was going to be a photographer, and watching this movie was a rite of passage for that profession.

It's a fabulous movie. The camera movements are wonderful. The setings, particularly those with grass, are so lush and well lit. It was like seeing the film again, because I had completely forgotten it.

But what I want to write about is only a small scene in the film. The photographer is in his studio, sitting at his desk, looking at two girls who want him to photograph them. He has a coin in his hand, and he is flipping it among his fingers, trying to impress the girls.

The same flipping of the coin among fingers also occurs in Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. It happens late in the film, in the grotto, and it's Captain Jack who does the deed with the gold coin.

Coincidence? Something that happens a lot? Or a salute from Gore Verbinski to Antonioni? I think the latter, but see for yourself.