Xixax Film Forum

Film Discussion => News and Theory => Topic started by: lamas on June 24, 2003, 02:08:34 AM

Title: architecture in film
Post by: lamas on June 24, 2003, 02:08:34 AM
Is anyone else interested in architecture and its use in film?  From more well-known buildings like the Biltmore Estate used in Hannibal to the Timberline Lodge used in The Shining to lesser-known works like Lautner designs in The Big Lebowski, Less Than Zero and Lethal Weapon 2.  List some more that impress you.  I'd really appreciate it if someone could name some films that use Frank Lloyd Wright buildings.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: (kelvin) on June 24, 2003, 04:38:32 AM
Do you remember the house on the top of the hill in North by Northwest? Or, in analogy to it, the house in Zabriskie Point? Both reminded me a lot of LeCorbusier, but I don't know who actually designed them.
I love the architecture in Blade Runner, which was partly copied in The Matrix. Also think of Ken Adam's designs for the James Bond movies or the famous war room in Dr. Strangelove.

Great topic, by the way.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: Mesh on June 24, 2003, 11:41:59 AM
Think about how important architecture is to the mood of, say, Batman or Lord of the Rings.....

BTW:  Can't think of any films dealing heavily with Frank Lloyd Wright structures....my mom works in a bank he designed, though.   :)
Title: architecture in film
Post by: ©brad on June 24, 2003, 11:50:34 AM
Quote from: MeshThink about how important architecture is to the mood of, say, Batman or Lord of the Rings.....

nah, that would be set design. he's talking about famous architecture- buildings and such around the world that is used in movies, not sets. u understanding this concept?

let me see here- umm.... well the hannibal one is good. i've been to the biltmore estate and its incredible. also in hannibal, sum of those shots of florence, which are really breathtaking (yea i said breathtaking), cuz when i went to florence that's what i thought of. they shot all around the major sites there- the ponte vechio, piazza della signoria, and so on.

i'd have to think of sum more.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: Mesh on June 24, 2003, 12:01:39 PM
Quote from: ©bradnah, that would be set design. he's talking about famous architecture- buildings and such around the world that is used in movies, not sets. u understanding this concept?

Architechural elements within a film do not have to be non-fiction to be interesting and/or important.  kelvin mentioned Blade Runner and The Matrix.  Lighten up.

Now then:

I've always loved that mansion they used in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: dufresne on June 24, 2003, 12:50:04 PM
my favorite actual building location probably is the Bradbury Building in downtown L.A.  this is where they shot some scenes in Blade Runner, as well as a bunch of other films.

http://www.brmovie.com/Locations/Bradbury_Building.htm

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodusa.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fbradbury.jpg&hash=3061b73b02a99e0473072bf7fb2ae5c33e68c393)
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ci.la.ca.us%2FANGELSWALK%2Fimages%2F6%267.jpg&hash=6a70a9cafa373623ce7f52f4022efbd0d892d62a)
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brmovie.com%2FImages%2Fbr_bradbury_balcony.jpg&hash=53735087c99c8e4eee903cbfe6a82e101a56a3c5)
Title: architecture in film
Post by: Mesh on June 24, 2003, 01:34:12 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brmovie.com%2FImages%2Fbr_loc_eb01.jpg&hash=dd16af766a649effd37f2a50a6f4cfcbe1354880)

Apparently, this Frank Lloyd Wright house served as Deckard's house in Blade Runner (though I can't say I really recognize it).

Ridley Scott used it again in Black Rain, so sayeth that BR site.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: Duck Sauce on June 24, 2003, 01:35:19 PM
That is gorgeous, more pictures
Title: Re: architecture in film
Post by: Sigur Rós on June 24, 2003, 01:48:46 PM
Quote from: lamasIs anyone else interested in architecture and its use in film?  From more well-known buildings like the Biltmore Estate used in Hannibal to the Timberline Lodge used in The Shining to lesser-known works like Lautner designs in The Big Lebowski, Less Than Zero and Lethal Weapon 2.  List some more that impress you.  I'd really appreciate it if someone could name some films that use Frank Lloyd Wright buildings.

You should talk to Phil Marlowe he is all into architecture!
Title: architecture in film
Post by: godardian on June 24, 2003, 05:47:48 PM
I cannot think of the words "architecture" and "film" without the scene from Hannah and her Sisters, with Sam Waterston taking Dianne Wiest and Carrie Fisher on a guided tour of NYC architecture, popping immediately into my mind.

I also love the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired bathroom in The Shining.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: (kelvin) on June 25, 2003, 03:44:04 AM
Quote from: godardian
I also love the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired bathroom in The Shining.

I think that was LeCorbusier, wasn't it?
Title: architecture in film
Post by: godardian on June 25, 2003, 10:10:50 AM
Quote from: chriskelvin
Quote from: godardian
I also love the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired bathroom in The Shining.

I think that was LeCorbusier, wasn't it?

My source was Vince Lobrutto's Kubrick bio, where on pp 417 it says: "The bathroom where Grady and Torrance have their eerie and frightening discussion was based on a men's room in an Arizona hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright." Not an infallible source, of course.

We also mustn't forget Greenaway's Belly of an Architect here.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: chainsmoking insomniac on June 25, 2003, 10:13:06 AM
This might be a little off-center, but Manhattan immediately comes to mind (the stunning panoramic shots of the city)....the camera gobbles them up and it's quite breathtaking.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: SoNowThen on June 25, 2003, 10:13:23 AM
Anything by Antonioni would qualify, as I think he studied architecture, and always integrated buildings and landscapes into the drama of his compositions. But I don't know too much, I've just heard things.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: godardian on June 25, 2003, 10:24:10 AM
Quote from: SoNowThenAnything by Antonioni would qualify, as I think he studied architecture, and always integrated buildings and landscapes into the drama of his compositions. But I don't know too much, I've just heard things.

Those buildings at the end of L'Avventura... but didn't he really use architecture as a signifier of alienation? He focused a lot on really harsh modern stuff. Also something employed to beautiful effect in Todd Haynes's Safe, where San Fernando Valley McMansions of the eighties look as if aliens might pop out of them at any moment...
Title: architecture in film
Post by: (kelvin) on June 25, 2003, 12:46:29 PM
Quote from: godardian
Quote from: chriskelvin
Quote from: godardian
I also love the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired bathroom in The Shining.

I think that was LeCorbusier, wasn't it?

My source was Vince Lobrutto's Kubrick bio, where on pp 417 it says: "The bathroom where Grady and Torrance have their eerie and frightening discussion was based on a men's room in an Arizona hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright." Not an infallible source, of course.

We also mustn't forget Greenaway's Belly of an Architect here.


You may be right after all. Look at this site I found:
http://www.arnettsound.com/theshining2/realoverlook.htm

However, I'm quite sure that the bathroom was indeed designed by a great architect (Wright, in this case). So, it was no copy and no set, in my opinion.

As for the use of architecture, I would also refer to The Third Man and Vienna's suburban canalisation which is commonly considered as a masterpiece of construction. As for set design, think of Metropolis and Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: Pedro on June 25, 2003, 02:21:26 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arnettsound.com%2Ftheshining2%2Fexterior1.jpg&hash=61073f36327245d084939f5846b6ac4225cd1f70)
If this hotel is in oregon...I stayed there once.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: lamas on June 26, 2003, 01:01:08 AM
I'm positive the bathroom in The Shining was a set.  I don't know if it was a book on Kubrick or the Life in Pictures film but I recall seeing Kubrick hanging through one of the mirrors in the bathroom to shoot parts of the scene.
Title: architecture in film
Post by: (kelvin) on June 26, 2003, 12:59:38 PM
Hm, in that case I was mistaken twice.  :?