Architecture in the cinema

[racer]

Architecture in Film by Turner Classic Movies and Architectural Digest aired in October 2006.



I have searched and searched but have yet to discover the hand behind the helical staircase featured in the visually stunning movie GATTACA. Philippe Stark?



I'm surprised that the must-see, oh so cosmic 50's sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet has not been mentioned in this thread.



I think the new Battlestar Galactica series, filmed largely in the Vancouver area, is also wonderful: locations, "ruins",
lake house 1, 2, 3


My second question, with a difficulty rating of 10 out of 10, involves a location in the brilliant film Boy on a Dolphin starring Clifton Webb, Alan Ladd, and Sophia Loren. In the movie, Clifton Webb's character breaks bread with Sophia Loren at a very interesting dining club named [I believe] "Hysteria". Was this long-on-style dining club actually in Athens? Is it extant? The architect? Details please, should you attempt this impossibly difficult question.
After their meeting concludes, Webb's character's chauffeur-driven Ferrari appears, a work of moving art, I think one of only about 26 made. [An FYI, if you care, this* is the only Ferrari which appeals to me.] I mention this to help paint a picture of this film's high aesthetic. Loren's windmill home, the Parthenon and museum, Hysteria, the ultimately cool auto, Meteora, the amphitheater, Webb's sumptous yacht... Boy on a Dolphin is a visual extravaganza which you must see (since you are reading this thread)!


*"For those whose savoir faire embraced automobiles, and whose 1954 travels took them to places such as Monaco, St. Moritz, the Cote d’Azur, or the Costa Brava, there was no better way to get there, or no better car to be seen in once you got there, than a Ferrari 250 Europa. And it’s just as special today, fifty years later."

[racer]

.


To say that I'm disappointed not to know more by now about the GATTACA helical staircase and the dining club, "Hysteria", in Boy on a Dolphin is a gross understatement!




This vintage movie video clip (requires RealPlayer) featuring a "Cathedral of Light" shows what I'll call an "artificial sun" being created by the convergence of a number of searchlights at a point in the sky. I don't know how much of this is film-maker's license, however.

[sigue2000]

Hi Racer,

please enter the Title, Director and year of release in the title, so that everybody can try to find the film. Stick to architecture only (although I appreciate a Ferrari) and show images of the building with a reference to the architect and location if possible.

[takesh h]

To say that I'm disappointed not to know more by now about the GATTACA helical staircase and the dining club, "Hysteria", in Boy on a Dolphin is a gross understatement!

I would take a wild guess that the stair is not the work of an architect, but a set designer.
We all know it was made to look after DNA structure, yes it does, but look at those clumsy supports... looking like DNA is the best part of this staircase (but it does serve the purpose). And how openings are made on the surrounding walls... looks like a very typical movie set to me.
The exterior of Law's apartment is shot at Cal Poly Pomona by architect Antoine Predock, but I think you already know that.

[racer]

.

Hi Racer,

please enter the Title, Director and year of release in the title, so that everybody can try to find the film. Stick to architecture only (although I appreciate a Ferrari) and show images of the building with a reference to the architect and location if possible.

Hello, sigue2000. I'm happy to comply with the thread rules. I knew that the Cathedral of Light might be a bit of a stretch, but I thought the subject interesting, impressive, and "architectural" enough to merit posting. I assumed that all posting here would be familiar with the exhaustive Internet Movie Data Base.


Boy on a Dolphin was directed by Jean Negulesco and released in 1957. I do not know if it is possible to rent this film, and it is surely very difficult to purchase through conventional channels. I do not have the ability to grab images from a videotape or DVD and post them here, and too many web entries seem to focus on Sophia Lauren's breasts or Alan Ladd having had to stand on a box [or the equivalent] to kiss her, all but ignoring the wonderful aesthetic of the film--including the architecture of the yacht and, particularly, the dining club/ restaurant in the movie called "Hysteria".


GATTACA was directed by Andrew Niccol and released in 1997. It is readily available on DVD: I purchased a copy at Wal-Mart for ~$9.00, if memory serves me. It is also a visually stunning film. One of the early posts in this thread asked of the helical staircase featured in the film. I do not believe this post has been answered, so I thought I'd ask again. This is a link to an image of the staircase in the film.





.

[sigue2000]

I assumed that all posting here would be familiar with the exhaustive Internet Movie Data Base.

We are, but you could distill the relevant facts for this forum.

I do not have the ability to grab images from a videotape or DVD and post them here

Neither do I. I don't expect anyone to got to that length. ...But appreciate it if they do.

I do not believe this post has been answered, so I thought I'd ask again.

Takesh might have a point. But I am not yet convinced.

[racer]

.

I would take a wild guess that the stair is not the work of an architect, but a set designer.
We all know it was made to look after DNA structure, yes it does, but look at those clumsy supports... looking like DNA is the best part of this staircase (but it does serve the purpose). And how openings are made on the surrounding walls... looks like a very typical movie set to me.
The exterior of Law's apartment is shot at Cal Poly Pomona by architect Antoine Predock, but I think you already know that.

Thank you for your reply, takesh h.

I would truly be astonished to learn that the 'helical' staircase in GATTACA was studio made, but I must admit I hadn't considered the possibility. Of course the designer of the staircase probably had no intention of referencing double helix DNA at all: perhaps s/he/they were drawing from a notion of a nano-wire encased Archimedian Spiral? Of course an ideal, super-shibumi staircase would probably not have those "clumsy" supports, but 99.999% of architect designed architecture doesn't sing in perfect pitch on account budget constraints and/or design failings [usually the latter], in my opinion: what might ought to be surprising is that the staircase doesn't have a couple of totally superfluous supports inserted at odd angles, well, just because. I'd like to see some spiral staircase examples which you find superior to the movie still. I find the deep metal and cherry(?); the lower, wider rising; and the somewhat lyrical railings quite appealing.


Sigue2000, I'm going to try to eventually post a picture of "Hysteria" here and hope I don't get sued. This thread gets a plenty of hits. Maybe someone will come through before I begin my 1000 mile journey.


.

[gorgon]

Stranger than Fiction IMDB link

Saw this two nights ago and fully recommend it.

The film is more mathematical than architectural but there are some nice architecty graphics and some interesting sets. Especially the University office where the hero meets the professor (Dustin Hoffman). I would like to know what building that is...

The best I have done so far is:
"Portions of the movie were filmed on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago during the 2004-2005 academic year" from wikipedia

*EDIT* this image is not the interesting set but the bakery where the heros love interest works

[sigue2000]

Stranger than Fiction

The film is more mathematical than architectural but there are some nice architecty graphics and some interesting sets. Especially the University office where the hero meets the professor (Dustin Hoffman). I would like to know what building that is...

The best I have done so far is:
"Portions of the movie were filmed on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago during the 2004-2005 academic year"

I loved this movie too.

The building the Dustin Hoffmann character works in is the Chicago College of Dentistry I think.
It is located in the Illinois Medical District, southwest of downtown Chicago at 801 South Paulina Street (at the northwest corner of Polk and Paulina).

correction: No it's not. It had vertical windows in the film.

[sigue2000]

Harold Crick's friends apartment is quite interesting also.

[racer]

.



Mon ange directed by Serge Frydman and released in 2005 has some interesting, attractive architectural cinematography [the aesthetic strikes me as American Beauty (directed by Sam Mendes, released 1999) meets Betty Blue{37°2 le matin} (directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix and released in 1986) ], so consider renting it. movie trailer


I watched only a few minutes of Pon, directed by Byeong-ki Ahn and released in 2002, but thought it was also quite smart. I was surprised by what seemed like an extensive use of Western furnishings in the sets of this film, though this may be more reflective of my ignorance than anything noteworthy. movie trailer


Also, I've seen the Futurama [created by Matt Groening and aired in 1999] episode "I, Roommate" two or three times, and I still can't help but thinking that Dr. Mabutu's apartment is cosmic! I'm working on 'wrangling up' a screencap or two. Meantime, we'll have to be content with a clip showing a tour of Bender's somewhat cozy apartment.




.

[toaster_oven]

"Wings of Desire," dir. Wim Wenders, 1987

perhaps one of the greatest movies about architecture and the urban fabric (and about Berlin just before the fall of communism). My favorite scenes are when the angels congregate in the Berlin Library.

-to

[Lewis Wadsworth]

Giselle Kerozene, a short, extremely odd film by Jan Kounen, set in La Defense, Paris. Who would have believed that bleak corporate-modern architecture would have such potential as a setting for surreal slapstick?

[sigue2000]

Holland-France/4mins

The first short film from Jan Kounen (DOBERMANN, BLUEBERRY) is a wild broomstick ride around the cityscapes of Paris. A frame by frame animation, from an inspired imagination, that takes its influence from Norman McLaren's classic animation short The Neighbours.

A group of `proto punk' witches mount their brooms and indulge in a wild track race to try to get back a magic skull cowardly stolen by Gisele Kerozene

Sounds like a lot of fun to me.

[sigue2000]

Sounds like a lot of fun to me.

Just found the clip at the bottom of the page. Nice blog tip Lewis.

Does anybody know what this building is in the background here?

[sigue2000]

For those of you into short and not so short films. Not architecture, but for film fans.
http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/movies.htm

[sigue2000]

Just found the clip at the bottom of the page. Nice blog tip Lewis.

Does anybody know what this building is in the background here?

It's the view from this ramp (kmz). Now that I've seen more of it, it's not that interesting.

[sigue2000]

A different view.

[sigue2000]

The SCOR Building was built in 1983 and has 16 floors.

This 16 storey building uses the foundations of a never built hotel. The curve on the sides reflect the curved roof of the CNIT. The primary material for the SCOR building is Carrara marble, also used for the Grande Arche. This creates a contrast to the surrounding glass-encased towers. The building has three wings, as can be seen in the next picture, taken from the top of the Grande Arche:

LINK

[racer]

.

I've started this thread again and maybe french pillou and the others can pitch in again.

Please enter the Title, Director and year of release in the title, so that everybody can try to find the film.

One of the films that utilises architecture in almost every picture is Gattaca by Andrew Niccol.
The Gattaca Corp. Headquarters is the Marin County Civic Center, San Rafael, California by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Marin County Civic Center complex comprises an administrative building and a judicial center that are set into the area between three small hills. The administration building was completed in 1962 and the Hall of Justice in 1970. The project fully embodies Wright's ideal of organic architecture — a synthesis of buildings and landscape. In Wright's words, the structures were planned to “melt into the sunburnt hills.” The Civic Center is a California Registered Historical Landmark.

Docent-led guided tours Wednesdays at 10:30 am and other times by appointment.www.co.marin.ca.us

Civic Center Dr.
San Rafael, CA 94903
415.499.6646

Hey, I'm trying to determine if I'm losing my mind: has the first post on page one of this thread always concerned the movie GATTACA?



Another of the exterior locations in the movie is the Antoine Predock designed California State Polytechnic University Laboratory + Administration Building.







.