1. In the subway scene in the beginning of the movie if you freeze frame you will see Nina is seeing herself and not Lily, although later on in the movie Lily is wearing exactly the same clothes and earrings.
2. In the underground passage scene if you watch the scene frame by frame you will notice that the girl approaching Nina is Lily...
3. ...only to change into Nina just as she passes her.
4. The club scene: Rothbart and Nina as White Swan are seen.
5. The club scene: Beth is seen between Nina and Lily.
6+7: The club scene: Thomas appears behind Nina, in the next frame he changes into Rothbart.
8,9, 10: The bizarre rash appears in various moments in the movie.
11+12: The ballerinas Nina sees during opening night all have her face. One of them even winks at her.
13+14: The club scene: Nina as Black Swan is seen in two frames.
15+16: The club scene: Black Swan's eyes
17+18: In the scene when Nina is crying in the studio and the dark figure appears when she is standing in the shadow she is Nina, but after she says "Hey" and steps closer it is Lily.
19: Thomas has skeleton Swan in his office.
20+21: In the scene where Nina trips during showing Thomas her Coda there are 4 turns - during first two we see Thomas screaming "attack it" during 3rd we see Nina looking with a smile in the door at Nina failing to dance perfectly and during 4th we see Lily in the exact same clothes entering the room.
22: The club scene: Nina in partial Black Swan make up.
23: The club scene: Butterfly wallpaper from Nina's bedroom is seen in the background.
24, 25, 26: The club scene: When Nina is looking for Lily several images happen - Nina in Black Swan make up and Nina multiplying, almost as if she was in kaleidoscope.
27+28: When Nina is late to her rehearsal after the night in the club and when she is walking to speak to Lily about her telling Thomas Nina was crying she is seen scratching her back.
29+30: When Nina is looking for her mother the face on the green painting changes - the eyes are following Nina.
31: When Nina notices it, the reflection in the mirror behind her moves faster than Nina herself.
32: Curiously the green painting is the one Nina's mother is correcting few scenes later.
33+34: The club scene: Rothbart appears several times.
35: The club scene: Lily is seen embracing him.
36+37: The Black Swan doll is the only black toy in Nna's room. Later on when she is getting rid of her stuffed animals, Black Swan falls on the ground and Nina doesn't pick him up. All the other toys end up in the trash chute.
38: The shadow of the wings.
39: White swan figurine next to Nina's bed.
40. The swan can be seen on the sponge behind Nina.
41: The club scene: In one frame there is a tiny ballerina dancing with moon on the background - it appears to be the same as Nina dancing her final performance in the ending of the movie.
42: The club scene: Right before Nina and Lily hug, they both appear to be the same person.
43: The club scene: When they hug things around them appear to become more and more creepy and distorted.
44: In the sex scene Lily turns into sinister looking Nina.
45: When Beth is stabbing herself in the face she suddenly turns into Nina with bloodshot eyes.
46: When Nina screams, ALL the paintings scream with her.
47: The club scene: Nina and Lily's hands, multiplied.
48: The club scene: Nina in various stages of despair.
Woah. That's amazing. I have seen the film a few times but I hadn't noticed many of these images. It just goes to show what a brilliant film this was.
ReplyDeleteFantastic post :)
Glad I could help! I still recommend watching club scene frame by frame, pretty much every of them is altered in some way.
DeleteSimply amazing. Thanks so much for the brilliant screen captures... They seem to say a lot, despite being single frames
ReplyDeleteFuck Me!!!! Now I think want to see that film again. The only reason I don't have it on DVD is because I'm going to wait out for a better edition. Hopefully for a future Criterion DVD release.
ReplyDeleteOh this needs to be in Criterion collection!
DeleteWow, this is cool. I've only seen the movie once, and I noticed some of these things, but I really want to watch it again!
ReplyDeletethis is excellent, man! good stuff
ReplyDeleteThough I think Black Swan, for me, was definitely one of the biggest disappointments I've had at the cinema in years (annoyingly, since it was the film I was looking most forward to seeing when it came out in the UK last year), this has definitely made me want to watch the club scene again at least.
ReplyDeleteGood detective work, here!
Damn. That was awesome. I already loved this movie, but knowing how much effort went into subliminal imagery makes me appreciate it that much more.
ReplyDeleteThis. Is badass. Great post! And clearly a lot of love put into it. Now I'm going to go back and check out the er...black swan in her bedroom a couple more times.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I had noticed a few of these but not as many as you have. This post is exactly the reason why I love this movie - the amount of effort put into every shot (with such a small budget) is simply AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteI'm still impressed by how they manipulated all of those shots and how Portman obviously needed to change clothes all the time between takes in order to be Lily in certain moments.
DeleteAwesome post! So many things that would never register unless you looked really carefully!
ReplyDeleteWell, this is quite mind-blowing. Thank you for this. Well done.
ReplyDeleteWow, I really like how the swan symbol is everyone - in Nina's bathroom, bedroom, Thomas' office...thanks so much for this post!
ReplyDeleteCreeepy... this is so much better than another review that I wouldn't read! I've only seen the movie one time, but it's one of my favorites and now I just HAVE TO own the DVD!
ReplyDeleteActually, the creepies thing is that picture with the eyes following Nina... I never noticed it.
Great post. I had noticed several of those things, but nowhere near the amount you have here. Thank you for taking the time to put together the post. I felt this was the second best movie of all of 2010, so it was fun to see all of these extras for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat was your number 1 in 2010?
DeleteToy Story 3. I explain why in my reviews at this link: http://tipsfromchip.blogspot.com/2011/02/movies-my-top-10-of-2010.html
DeleteInteresting stuff. There is one more, that I know of........when Nina is there alone at night, she goes across the stage and sees Lily and Tomas/Rothbart screwing around, Lily turns into Nina laughing at her.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, but I couldn't take a shot that was clear enough and the scene goes for relatively long and features Nina reaction to it, so I figured I will focus on more obscure moments :)
Delete<333333333333333333333333333333! -Nicole
ReplyDeleteWhoaaaah, I lisened that Natalie Portman said that the shooting has been exhausted by her, that the first thing she did when she finished the shooting was rest by first time in several months. Now I know why a shooting will be so exhausting; all this details who nobody notice is very hard-working.
ReplyDeleteI heard first thing she did was eating - poor thing lived on almonds and carrots for months.
DeleteVery nice details,I need to find my dvd and watch it again.
ReplyDeleteI just reviewed Black Swan this week. These screen shots you shared were an eye-opener, I missed a lot of those hidden visuals when I watched. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThank you! and thanks for linking me in your review!
DeleteWow! these images can be a part of a book analysis of the meanings of the film by iteself! Excellent job! It reminds me of The Shining, Kubrick played a lot on those added and/or distorted frames.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yeah, the film still generates a lot of theories and speculation.
DeleteReally interesting post, I didn't catch nearly half of these! I think Black Swan is certainly in need of a rematch, especially as I haven't seen it since it was released at the cinema
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of those movies that needs to be watched many times in order to catch everywthing.
DeleteI would've never noticed all the instances that swan's appear in this film without these frame freezes. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteHow the fuck did I miss this when you first posted it? Jesus Christ. Brilliant, Sati. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I spent hours after the movie premiered on the DVD searching for all the hidden shots finally when nobody posted all of them I figured I'll just do it myself :)
DeleteIs there a club scene frame by frame just before Nina goes dancing on the dance floor? Who are Tom and Andrew who Nina chats with?
ReplyDeleteThey ar ejust two guys Lily met over the bar. I'm sure there are screencaps somewhere in the internet from the sequence.
DeleteWhoa! This is crazy. Oh how I love this film.
ReplyDeleteThanks for compiling all of these. It's far too much for the eye to comprehend during the film.
ReplyDeletei was watching the club scene last night, slowed down frame-by-frame
ReplyDeleteon my cheap DVR. and was able to catch these images and a few more.
wasn't sure if anyone else knew about ALL the cool looking hidden images
going on during this all too awesome and all too brief club scene. thank
you for this breakdown, it's pretty damn cool. love the Chemical Brothers
track that is playing in the scene too!
Way to make Black Swan even more terrifying... Some of those screencaps were way too creepy for their own good. Great job on capturing them all though, even if you'll induce many nightmares.
ReplyDeleteVery informative and highly original post, you really have a great eye for seeing the smallest details.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteThis was a superb post! Though some of them I thought I saw on my own (the club scenes mainly) there are a lot I didn't pick up on - hello scratching her back in two scenes, so obvious but I didn't catch it! This makes me want to go back and watch the movie again to see all the hidden images. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Glad you liked the post!
DeleteThis is why it is awesome to go through archives.. I would have missed on this amazing post other wise!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteSuperb stuff, absolutely brilliant. Must have taken ages to do this. I especially love that the paintings in her room are seemingly alive. Totally missed that, but such a great detail.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It wasn't that much work, I saw the movie so many times I practically know it by heart :)
DeleteIncredible. Simply Amazing Post. I had no idea Mr Arronofsky put that much effort into each scene, but wow. I loved this movie before, but your article made me cherish it even more.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I'm glad, it is my favorite movie and I adore it when others love it too :)
DeleteThis was a great post, Sati! You did a fantastic job putting al of this together. Most impressive!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have this compulsive thing with dissecting the movies I really love :)
DeleteWow, must have taken quite some time to make this. Although this is my favorite movie I never noticed any of these! Thanks for making this.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite too, glad you like the post!
DeleteAmazing post for an amazing film. Well done.
ReplyDeleteMind. Blown. This is amazing! I will be sharing this with my followers as well. Wow. Some great work here. I have to watch this movie again!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post immensely.
Thank you! Glad you liked the post and I'm even more glad it made you want to see this great film again ^^
DeleteThis is an incredible list. I had picked up quite a few of them after having watched the film a couple of times, but I had completely missed the stuff going on in the club - great work!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteOk. Cool. But what would prompt watching ANY movie frame by frame.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to decipher your sophisticated grammar but if you are suggesting you can find these kind of hidden images in any movie, I'm looking forward to your breakdown of Dumb and Dumber and Scooby Doo.
DeleteBlack Swan has religion strength for me. For the amount of times I have seen this movie it's ridiculous I didn't notice half of these images. Brav fuckin o!
DeleteThanks! I think this movie is a gift that keeps on giving - there are so many subtle things, mysteries and innuendos hidden in it.
Deletewow. very cool. ive watched this movie a lot, but never seen this stuff. takes two years to make a movie, right? nice to know they put a little elbow grease into it. fuckin Arronofsky. cant wait for his moses movie.
ReplyDeleteI really love how much detail Arronofsky puts in his movies, can't wait for his next films.
DeleteThanks for the comment!
That movie was too girly/creepy for me. The only 2 scenes worth watching are the Portman masturbating scene and the girl on girl scene with Mila Kunis.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm glad you found something to enjoy in the movie :)
DeleteThe rash reminds me of the skin of a plucked bird.
ReplyDeleteI think it was actually supposed to look like the skin of a bird.
DeleteI honesty haven't watched this movie yet. I know it's been 3 years since it's release but I just hadn't gotten around to seeing it. Tonight, I've cleared all my plans so I can watch this. Super excited. This will definitely help me write my paper for film class tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll like it and good luck with the paper!
DeleteHoly Frak ! As if Aronofsky was not enough of a genius already !
ReplyDeleteHe is awesome, isn't he? Definitely my favorite director working nowadays.
DeleteToo bad the movie as a whole was just a live action Perfect Blue that paled in comparison.
ReplyDeleteI thought the two were similar but not the same. I found Black Swan to be much better.
DeleteGreat work Sati! Amazing how much hidden stuff Aronofsky left in the movie, it makes me really admire Black Swan so much more :D And congrats on your Reddit success!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Reddit thing is hugely overwhelming :)
DeleteThis was interesting, but was annoying that it wasn't in order.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say kudos to your excellent and insightful work here - I integrated some of it into my own look at the movie, linking to this post.
ReplyDeleteAgain: really solid, thorough stuff.
Thank you! Glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteThis is very respectable research!
ReplyDeleteThankyou so much!! Loved the movie; love you analysis. VERY INSPIRING!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Delete