what movies do you know that incorporate a certain building in the story so well that it becomes a character? not a city , a building.
by character i mean that the story could not exist without it.
could you do like a lazy ass quick list? i intend to do some research.
i study architecture , i like movies, and two years and a half from now i'm gonna be graduated. it's a trite thing to say, but the more i learn about both, the more i realize i know shit. ever since i started studying i've tried to relate those two, but it's extremely difficult. it's also very risky, cos, since there's no strong reason to apply movie knowledge to a building, the most likely result is something scenographic, not architectural.
the only stuff i can think of is kubrick, especially the shining and 2001. probably the last life in the universe and alien also, but those are mostly claustrophial movies. right now, i'm more interested in stuff that's deliberately challenging perceptions of closed and open spaces. like houses in the middle of a forest , or libraries museums, capitols, palaces, schools, and so on.
it's a very complex issue for me , and kind of a personal failure , not being able to relate those two.
if you know any good bibliography or have an interview with someone or whatever, please let me know.
Days of Heaven or Tideland....
and
Andrew Wyeth
HERE (http://www.vinylzart.com/images/ClassicCanvas-AndrewWyeth-Christina%5C'sWorld(1948).jpg)
or
Edward Hopper
HERE (http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/hopper/hopper4.jpg)
is there a connection there?
I don't think either of those movies could work without that house and in the case of Tideland the railroad. That gothic-looking house (mind you, i have absolutely zero knowledge about architecture) is more of a character within the whole of American consciousness than just a prop.
i dunno if this helps but its what i thought of when i read the post.
Citizen Kane. Metropolis.. although that might be more city-as-character.
as far as schools go, rushmore is pretty central in Rushmore.
this might be helpful.. TCM: Architecture in Film (http://www.tcm.com/2006/architectureinfilm/index.jsp). they included Magnificent Ambersons.
The Harry Potter films work for schools.
Welles's Othello.
the building in Spirited Away, or other miyazaki films like my neighbor totoro or castle in the sky.
Jackie Chan has always used his buildings extensively in his action scenes. Action movies do that in general (Die Hard for example), but Jackie Chan's fights really incorporate the settings and the space (eg. 1 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=rjnKNNnRS1w), 2 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=CLtvsus8UC8), 3 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=DvWNIIEovvU).)
the hospital in hard boiled.
the house of blue leaves in kill bill.
the tenenbaums house.
the Crooklyn house is definitely a character.
the asylum in session 9.
I haven't seen much of this film -- but does the big chill feature a memorable house?
herzog, in his book herzog on herzog, had an interesting tidbit on orientation in film. he talked about the melville film in which a little gypsy man goes to the room where he was to meet the other guys, then worked out all the possibilities and found what he considered the best place to hide his gun. The guy who tailed him then went into the room, worked out the logic, and found the hidden gun.
this link might be useful:
http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/heliocentric-pantheon-interview-with.html
the set in The Truman Show.
Rear Window. Psycho.
Not entirely relevant but I think I heard that Hitchcock actually based the Bates house off
Quote from: squints on November 03, 2007, 07:41:02 PM
Edward Hopper
HERE (http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/hopper/hopper4.jpg)
I'm inclined to believe it, and that would be an interesting parallel between the themes of the two, the building being the bridge connecting them.
thanks a lot guys. you da men.
yep , i also think wes anderson movies are displays of interiorism, his magistral big shots of facades (the motel in bottle rocket) and the sliced sections in the set of the life acquatic really enhance the story and aren't there for just an aesthetic purpose. fuck the detractors, his understanding of space, composition and emotions is bullet-proof.
what else, the beach house in persona and the fanny and alexander house, although it's been a while since i saw those two.
the houses in interiors, but i hate that movie.
match point had interesting locations, maybe a little too idealized chic tourist spots, like the saatchi gallery and the gherkin, but he pulled it off. i wanna see what parts he decides to portray from barcelona.
and CMBB is going to rokk it , i can see it already.
PTA , jack horner's house.
maybe cos i saw it in theaters last nite, but i was really wowed at how lynch used the house in lost highway. there are a bunch of gorgeous shots of just pullman and space. i actually kept on thinking of edward hopper, but i'm not really familiar with his work at all.
also, the cabin in the desert takes on an important role in that movie.
Quote from: JG on November 04, 2007, 12:00:25 AM
maybe cos i saw it in theaters last nite, but i was really wowed at how lynch used the house in lost highway.
its kiss me deadly in reverse...
crono...here are some Days of Heaven caps if you need them that evince the farmer's house as an omnipresent character throughout the film:
http://bp3.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyawFU0GheI/AAAAAAAAArs/_FmQ7x47h2Q/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7790878.png
http://bp2.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyavtE0GhZI/AAAAAAAAArE/J1K0mGHUkjY/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7794933.png
http://bp3.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyavuU0GhbI/AAAAAAAAArU/z8dh6qhDWHE/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7796328.png
http://bp0.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyavNk0GhUI/AAAAAAAAAqc/OlKl1vZ9kZk/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7798072.png
http://bp2.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyavOE0GhVI/AAAAAAAAAqk/ZFqYHgOGutU/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7799016.png
http://bp1.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/Ryaux00GhNI/AAAAAAAAApk/NTXKq7TlzRI/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7799773.png
http://bp2.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyauyE0GhOI/AAAAAAAAAps/w37W8jcIPZo/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7799991.png
http://bp0.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyauTk0GhII/AAAAAAAAAo8/cog1Ktqum2M/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7806031.png
http://bp1.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/Ryat300GhFI/AAAAAAAAAok/ckszHCPPon4/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7814242.png
http://bp3.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/Ryas3U0Gg8I/AAAAAAAAAnc/kAQRmqqrbeU/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7824848.png
http://bp3.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyarBU0GgxI/AAAAAAAAAmE/SY4H184_fTc/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7834499.png
http://bp3.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/RyapzU0GgtI/AAAAAAAAAlk/sZiaVwM8q4w/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7838436.png
http://bp0.blogger.com/_gafOxCGq5hI/Ryao1k0GgpI/AAAAAAAAAlE/LHSzYB5qDBo/s1600-h/vlcsnap-7843117.png
Even if you don't use them, they are worth a look.
the gold trumpet???
The Shining, as well. Woman in the Dunes?
There are so many examples of this.
Quote from: Chest Rockwell on November 04, 2007, 04:46:17 PM
The Shining, as well. Woman in the Dunes?
There are so many examples of this.
makes sense, teshigahara directed that documentary about gaudi
As Chest said, Hitchcock it definitely a good port of call for you. Rebecca would be a really nice example - the house, Manderlay, is definitely a character - or rather, the house represents in every aspect another character: Rebecca.
Again, as per Chest, Psycho is a certainly a goody: the mother's house behind the hotel again is used to represent an absent character, and in that sense becomes a character itself. If you want to back up your work with what other critics have said, Zizek (though I mostly disagree with his interpretations) would be excellent for you here. In the Pervert's Guide to Cinema he makes an analogy of the house as levels of human subjectivity, saying that the ground floor of the house is Norman's ego, upstairs (mother's room) his Super-Ego, and the basement is his Id. You can see the clips where he says this here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2w3p7vbHM (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2w3p7vbHM).
Yea, Hitchcock in general is a good place to start (while the bad thing about Hitchcock is that he's a good place to start for any topic). Vertigo also has the tower that represents Scottie's masculinity and subsequently his failing masculinity and reclamation thereof. One could make a similar statement about the Empire State Building in King Kong, or the apartment in The Apartment.
Films-noir and German Expressionist films were dependent on their locations. The lighting/framing made these places ominous and imposing. Nosferatu and The Third Man are pretty good examples of this.
Citizen Kane. Grand Hotel (setting a Depression-era drama about greed 'n' money in a romantic elite hotel).
Rather literal examples: The Haunting, Pee Wee's Playhouse, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (the trailer, anyways), Willy Wonka, James and the Giant Peach (if you count the peach). I don't think that's what you were thinking about, but it couldn't hurt.