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Architecture infuses our lives — subtly and not so subtly — with emotions, ideas, splendor, and stress all the time. It’s only fitting it does the same in great movies. After the jump are eight classic films where the buildings are more than a backdrop. Which ones are we forgetting? You know what to do.
Blade Runner, 1982
The classic “architecture in the movies” movie. It has it all: hyper-vertical cities, buildings-as-advertisements, the used future, and Frank Lloyd Wright. If you took an architecture class in college, you watched this movie. If you didn’t, you should.
The Third Man, 1949
The backdrop of urban glory and urban decay (Ferris wheels and rubble piles) would make The Third Man a contender on its own. Filmed by Carol Reed with deep, moody shots of interiors (the infamous sewer chase scene) and tense, odd-angled shots of streets and facades, its depiction of city chaos is beyond perfect.
Metropolis, 1925
Another bit of required viewing. The prime example of a modernist utopia: simple, spotless, and monumental, with the workers hidden out of sight.
Batman, 1989
Tim Burton’s Gotham is New York on steroids, or acid, or both: towering, smoke-choked and claustrophobic, it’s total dystopia: a warning against unchecked, unedited, unselfconscious development.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, 1988
The moon scene alone puts this movie on the list. Robin William’s disembodied head buzzes around a bizarre landscape that’s part Italian fascist monuments and part stage set.
Ghost Busters, 1984
An Easter egg hunt for NYC architecture buffs: from the NYPL, to Hook and Ladder 8 (aka Ghostbusters HQ), to 55 Central Park West (aka the Temple of Zuul). Lincoln Center, Rockefeller Center, and the Brooklyn Bridge make cameos. If there isn’t a Ghostbusters-themed architecture tour of the city yet, there should be.
The Cruise, 1998
Timothy Levitch’s love song to New York. Sappy sometimes and totally loony other times, sure, but you have to respect a guy who’d fuck the Brooklyn Bridge if he could.
2001, 1968
The set’s architecture, starkly modernist as it is, is insanely detailed, down to instructions on how to use the space toilet in the bathroom.
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57 Responses
Speaking of Burton, what about Edward Scissorhands? Lovely juxt of ES's gothic home and the candy-colored 'burbs.
One of the only thing I couldn't criticize in every Star Wars movies was the architecture and design.
Jack, did you see this when we first posted it? Really awesome piece. http://flavorwire.com/2821/the-death-star-is-an-e...
Rosemary's Baby, if only for the Dakota and other scenes of UWS horror.
another gilliam classic: Brazil!
How is there no Antonioni on this list???
I Agree Red Desert should definitely be on here http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/26/reddesert.html...
Brazil — definitely. Some of the BEST architecture in any film ever!
PLAYTIME. Jacques Tati
re: Third Man. City Chaos? Please! It was Vienna, 1949, under 4-power occupation. As an imperial capital without the empire, it was in ruins [though not as bad as Budapest or Warsaw] where the shadows of the Hapsburgs and Nazis haunted the daily lives of those left alive.
When Liliana Cavani shot the opening sequences of The Night Porter in Vienna, her use of those same locations used for The Third Man was inspired (as was her seeking out of some fine Otto Wagner buildings and Social housing projects throughout the film. http://www.lilianacavani.com
- playtime by jacques tati
- chungking express by won kar wai
- the 5th element by luc besson
- akira by katsuhiro otomo
- a clockwork orange by stanley kubrick
- the cook, the thief, his wife and her lover by peter greenaway
…and La Jetee!! Chris Marker — fabulous architectural atmosphere.
"Paris, I Love You" – I can't remember the French spelling.__"Angel-A"__"Manhattan" seems obvious, but it does deliver.__"LOTR The Return of the King" – great imagining of the white city on the mountain.
"The Sweet Smell of Success"
Siki mentioned Chungking Express but Fallen Angels (also by Wong Kar Wai) is pretty hot architecturally. The ultra-wide angle lens and Hong Kong were just made for each other.
If Venice is your thing, check out 'Beyond Good and Evil' (1977) by Liliana Cavani:
http://www.lilianacavani.com/stills-del-bene-e-de...
Cavani's father was an architect, so that might partly explain her sensitivity to urban environs:
http://www.lilianacavani.com/stills-il-portiere-d...
FOUNTAIN HEAD…
how could you skip that.
Hitchcock's Vertigo, which also influenced Chris Marker, and Rear Window
Man Bites Dog (Architectural Theory)
Der Golem and Murnau's Nosferatu have become almost commonplace references in Architecture schools.
Woody Allen's Manhattan & Sleeper
The Truman Show
Godard's Band a Part
Rear Window, Vertigo, Last Year at Marienbad, Playtime, Alphaville!!!
And how bout the meme, bad guys live in modernist houses. ie. LA Confidential
"The Sweet Smell of Success" – Great B&W shots of Manhattan's exteriors and interiors (clubs, etc.)
"The Apartment" if only for that shot along Central Park at night.
"Borey Lyndon" (sorry, my mind's stuck with the Mad Magazine takeoff title)
the Matrix (first move only, not the sequels) The architecture of the virtual city in the matrix is pretty powerful backdrop to the plot and feel of the movie.
I agree. The 'burbs were a home run. We actually had this same bit of Americana hanging on our wall since the late 70s: http://snipr.com/h0eqy
The Cruise was directed by Bennett Miller, who directed Capote.
The Naked City. The City is as much a character, if not more, than the actors.
You forgot the "2001…" tag under the very first photo.
YES!! playtime is tops, but certainly every tati film has amazingly creative and humorous architecture.
Die Hard – the first one — in which an entire action movie takes place in and around the partially completed Nakatomi Plaza tower. (Hey, no one said it had to be good architecture.) Director McTierney takes full advantage of the building's finished, unfinished, and rarely seen spaces (elevator shaft, HVAC conduits, etc.) to craft a top-notch action flick.
Tony Stark's house in Iron Man!
Further reading on this should include a mention of Katherine Shonfield's "Walls Have feelings: Architecture, film and the city": http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0415235421?ie=...
In particular, Shonfield discusses architectural interiors in 'Repulsion', 'Rosemary's Baby', 'Alfie', 'The Apartment', and 'Darling'.
Definitely worth a mention is another Polanski movie: 'The Tenant', in which the apartment block takes on a hugely menacing role of its own (human teeth in wall etc.).
Shonfield is an excellent resource. Thanks for mentioning her. It seems Polanski's films are getting a lot of comments here: Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion (that intensely claustrophobic apt.), The Tenant. Why not throw in Chinatown, and it's use of early century mission architecture in Southern California?
The Apartment is one of my favorites – almost poetic in the way the city and it's interiors are filmed (I love the shot along the Avenue of the East Side of Central Park at night). Also, the set design of the office itself is stunning (an entire semester of classes could be devoted to that work alone).
There's a movie with Donald Southerland and Julie Christie, directed by Nicolas Roeg, that's set in Venice, and I love the way that showed off the winding canals and alleys of the city. Anyone remember the name?
See my post below – thanks for mentioning Shonfield (I'd forgotten her name).
[...] From Flavorwire: Architecture in the movies [...]
"don't look now"
why is there no mention of the production designers/ art directors who are responsible for the looks of these films?
that's the best picture from Batman you could find?
Wim Wenders 'Der Himmel über Berlin' with it's beautiful Berlin cityscape.
Why the h… is Dark City missing from your list? Seriously…..
[...] Simpsons edition. Plus: Architecture in movies. [...]
There have been many mentions of great "architecture filled" films that you missed…
Alphaville-Godard
Manhattan-Allen
Any of the three Alienation films by Antonioni (L'Avventura, La Notta, and my favorite L'Eclisse)
Many by Jacque Tati, especially Playtime.
Also:
Any of the three "qatsi" films (the best of which is the first, Koyaanisqatsi)-Reggio
AI: Artificial Intelligence-Spielberg
Diva-Beineix
Days of Heaven-Malick (for its sheer lack of architecture)
In the Mood for Love-Kar Wai (that last few shots are breathtaking)
The Dark Knight!!! Chicago as Gotham and the second city has never looked better (except maybe The Blue Brothers).
Where are the names of the Production Designer and Set Decorator on these films?, some of these are practical locations, some are builds but a talented team of professional craftsmen have brought these spaces to cinematic glory, too bad their contribution doesn't seem to warrant a mention
I second the motion. Nolan and his crew know how to make Chicago look goooood. ;-)
You failed to mention the prominent use of the Bradbury Building in Blade Runner. The library scene in Ghostbusters was filmed at the Los Angeles Central Library.
What about Ken Adam's wonderful design on Kubrick's 'Dr Strangelove'. The centre piece of design is probably only the war room…can anyone else think of any other feature design pieces in this film?
The Fall by Tarsem Singh had gorgeous locations and architecture.
"Don't Look Back" is the Roeg film.
Some great titles, both in the list and in the comments.
The Black Cat, a film made in 1934 by Edgar Ulmer and starring Lugosi/Karloff.
Uh, yeah, duh. I hate to speak internet-speak, but FAIL.
THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL is a pretty boring post-apocalyptic "message" film with great shots of desert Manhattan streets. In case anyone is interested, I have recently published in my (french-speaking) blog 3 studies about the use of the staricase in 30 american classics of the golden age of Hollywood. http://waldolydecker.blog.lemonde.fr/
excellent.
The indoor library scenes with the old ghost lady were actually filmed at the Los Agneles Central Library.
Gattaca was another film we watched in architecture school.
Peter Greenaway: The Draughtsman's Contract; The Belly of An Architect; The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover;
If you visit: http://www.channel4.com/fourdocs/archive/london.h...
Click on "play" to view Patrick Keiller's "London" – well worth a look.
There are so many that even a great list will miss some. Here are 8 more:
The Pillow Book (Greenaway): Hong Kong;
The Passenger (Antonioni): especially Spain, especially Barcelona;
The American Friend (Wenders): Hamburg, Paris, New York;
Killer’s Kiss (Kubrick): New York;
Belle de Jour (Bunuel): Paris;
The French Connection (Friedkin): Marseilles, New York (arguably more urban planning);
The Conformist (Bertolucci): Rome, Paris;
Lust, Caution (Lee): Hong Kong, Shanghai.
And still some of my favorites left out, partly so it wouldn’t be an all-New York list.
Exorcist…the staircase, the upstairs hall leading to the bedroom…
The Man Who Fell to Earth… again Roeg,
What about 'The Royal Tenenbaums'? It was shot in a Harlem mansion and the house was almost like another character in the film!