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You get some popcorn and press "play." As the film is rolling, you suddenly realize that particular shot… you’ve seen it somewhere before. Call it déjà vu or a glitch in the matrix, but what if sometimes, it’s actually true?

This Twitter thread initiated by @THECOCODIARY compiled some of the most interesting examples of artistic references spotted in movies—from cult films that bear a striking resemblance to the surreal paintings of Rene Magritte, to Lars von Trier’s scene from Melancholia looking as if was taken from the iconic painting by John Everett Millais, Ophelia.

The thread has since gone viral with 133.9k likes and 36.8k retweets, and Bored Panda reached out to its author Coco, who said it started with a post she saw last year about The Lighthouse and its art references. “I started doing research to see if other movies had references too. And I found a lot, a lot of movies and references. I didn’t want to keep this little discovery for myself, so I created this thread.”

Read the full interview below, and don’t forget to upvote your favorite references shared in the thread.

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The author of the viral thread, Coco, said that she couldn’t believe the thread would blow up as much and as fast as it did. “The thread even appeared on my dearest friend’s timeline. I guess it’s the power of Twitter to make everything viral!”

When asked whether Coco thinks the references were coincidental or deliberate, she said that the ones inspired by René Magritte's and Vincent Van Gogh's paintings were probably done on purpose. “Throughout my research, I realized how much René Magritte inspired the cinema industry. I think also that some of them are simply coincidental, and aren’t they fascinating?”

Coco’s favorite references are the ones from The Truman Show and The Fifth Element. “It's just genius to choose Architecture au clair de lune by René Magritte for this scene with Jim Carrey going up the stairs.” Moreover, “Jean-Paul Gaultier for his spring/summer 1998 collection was fully inspired by Frida Kahlo’s unique style. And I’m convinced that he was inspired by her for Leeloo’s (Milla Jovovich’s character) costume.”

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Marcellus the Third
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This appears so regularly, in The End of Violence e.g. And Simpsons have it at least once.

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Navy Blue Bandana
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*SPOILER ALERT* ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ I find this one especially interesting. I never noticed this before, but I think the image of a skull is foreshadowing of Alma's death.

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chi-wei shen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange is one of the most memorable villains in movie history.

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FunFactBot Requiem
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3 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

(I don’t wanna do fun facts or jojo references anymore. Comment on my latest post and reccomend what I should do instead that won’t get boring)

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tuzdayschild
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most of these scenes are influenced by art. This one is a flat out recreation.

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Sori
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No need to think it was, it was. The whole movies look is out lined in her room before the adventure starts, and there is images of his there.

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H Edwards
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Makes sense that Wolf Hall would have used paintings of Cromwell as inspiration

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Grumble O'Pug
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ingres was a lovely back fetishist. Having seen several in person, he wouldn't be excited by that skinny boney one, to be sure.

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Dana
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jesus: Can we have a table for 26, please? Waitress: Um, there are 13 of you Jesus: We are all just going to sit on one side

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Alexandru Bucur
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And in this case it was not only intentional it was meant as an ironic echo, considering the Japanese are about to invade...

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Hooked
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ehhh...a van Gogh painting reference in a film about van Gogh is not that unusual...

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Note: this post originally had 46 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.