Although solar eclipses are a rare breed in movies when compared to shooting stars, full moons and huge asteroids, solar eclipse scenes can be found across a variety of genres. It is not just limited to science fiction. These genres range from drama, thrillers, musicals, historical epics to deceptively terrifying Disney films.
The following list has eight movies, of which just one features a real solar eclipse scene:
Apocalypto (2006)
Set during the collapse of the Mayan Empire in the early 16th century, Mel Gibson’s bonkers — and critically lauded — “Apocalypto” revolves around one such scenario. After being taken captive and forced to watch a parade of grisly ritual human sacrifices, protagonist Jaguar Paw avoids losing his head, literally, thanks to a fortuitously timed solar eclipse, a phenomenon rife with superstition in Mayan culture.
Bloody Birthday (1981)
Featuring 85 minutes of shooting, stabbing, strangulation and astrological mumbo-jumbo about the moon and sun both blocking out Saturn, “Bloody Birthday” is a well-deserved cult classic that got lost among the many horror movies of the era revolving around holidays or special occasions. The plot of the movie focuses around three children who were born during a total eclipse of the sun. Ten years later, they share a terrible compulsion to kill and no one can stop them.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949)
While not the most recent adaptation, the 1949 film musical version of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” starring Bing Crosby, is perhaps the most beloved.
As for the solar eclipse, it plays a major role in the Camelot-set story, occurring at a most convenient time. Right as protagonist Hank Morgan (renamed Hank Martin in the film) is to be put to death, a total eclipse occurs. Frightened by the sudden astronomical event, the court is convinced by smooth-talking, musically inclined Hank that he made the sun cross in front of the moon with his magical powers. (Hank actually knew the eclipse would happen thanks to history lessons back home in 20th-century Hartford.) Needless to say, Hank’s captors let him go, he’s reunited with his love interest and a big happy musical number ensues.
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
A melodramatic thriller about memory, motherhood and unwavering devotion, “Dolores Claiborne” also features one heck of an eclipse in a harrowing, climatic flashback scene. The eclipse portrayed in the film is based on the total solar eclipse of July 20, 1963, a real astronomical event that’s also woven into the plot of another 1992 King thriller, “Gerald’s Game.”
Ladyhawke (1985)
Set in medieval France “Ladyhawke” prominently features a solar eclipse during its climatic showdown between the protagonists and the evil Bishop of Aquila. Long story short, the bishop has cast a curse on ill-fated lovers, Etienne of Navarre and Isabeau d’Anjou. Ensuring that the couple are “always together; eternally apart” under the curse, Navarre turns into a wolf at night while Isabeau transforms into a hawk during the day. Inconvenient! However, the curse can be broken if the two confront the dastardly bishop during a solar eclipse, an event in which both Navarre and Isabeau both take on their full human forms, if only for a hot second.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
An unusual-looking but otherwise innocuous houseplant was borne from a total solar eclipse and acquired by bespectacled floral shop assistant Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) from a Chinese exotic plant merchant immediately after the rare astronomical event. How was hapless Seymour to know that the plant would grow into a blood-sucking horticultural monster (a space alien, technically) with the hots for his new fiancée? Sure, it’s implied that the eclipse, which came “suddenly and without warning,” wasn’t an eclipse at all but a passing extraterrestrial vessel obscuring the sun.
The Seventh Sign (1988)
“The Seventh Sign” is a fine example of an obscured sun playing heavily into the plot of a horror film that revolves around the Book of Revelations and the battle over the soul of an unborn child.
The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
“The Watcher in the Woods” features, among other things creaky English manor houses, mist-shrouded woods, a near-drowning, alternate dimensions, doppelgangers, alien possession and a septuagenarian Bette Davis. And, of course, there is a full solar eclipse to boot.
Take your pick among any of the above eight to catch well-depicted scenes of a solar eclipse that is guaranteed to thrill and give you an adrenaline rush!
