Some ways films “borrow” from other films – and how they don’t simply replicate other art, but add to the conversation.
While the saying “Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal” is long-debated in its origins, it’s certainly been applied to, and even invoked by, acclaimed directors such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and many more. What lessons can we as film-makers take from other movies – in both what we take and the way we use it?
Pastiche
Editor Jacob T. Swinney offers a side-by-side comparison of moments in the work of director Quentin Tarantino, and the films to which they pay homage (via IndieWire):
Recommended: more on reading Tarantino through the lens of postmodernism (via The Cinema Cartography)
Films In Conversation
“Two films can be in conversation with eachother,” says Thomas Flight, when one film isn’t “merely mimicking” another, but when it “takes another artist’s work and uses it to create… something new, has a different conclusion or experience for the viewer, or adds to the conversation”:
With an overhead shot of a beverage, Martin Scorsese references Jean-Luc Godard, who in turn nods to Carol Reed:
Cinema has its own language. Godard nods to Carol Reed; Scorsese nods back to Godard. The “simple” shot of fizzing water in Taxi Driver is a quiet cinematic handshake between masters of the craft.
— The Sting (@TheStingisBack) June 5, 2026
Here’s Martin Scorsese to break it down… pic.twitter.com/SaEV8vIOql
Paintings
Film shots inspired by paintings (via Lonsoo.mp4):
Film shots inspired by paintings.
— A Shot (@ashotmagazine) January 5, 2024
Via: Lonsoo.mp4 pic.twitter.com/QseDZBSxZh
Further Viewing
Two films in dialogue with eachother, and in dialogue with the source material they adapt, made within two years of eachother, offers a rare case study with unique lessons: