Movies Architects Should See and Why

I'll go first, obviously:

Tokyo Story, because of all of the collage-like interiors. The interiors have been broken up into a lot of rectangles with interesting textures. Sometimes a rectangle will have a wallpaper pattern, and then the wallpaper pattern will have other little squares or rectangles cut out of them. Maybe because of a rip? Maybe because a child drew there? Instead of simply having moulding around a door or window, the moulding, or possibly a beam, will bisect a whole wall. This makes wallpapering easier! It's just full of interesting textures and collage like shots, and the apartment/house has a very interesting interior and space.

Maybe also in this thread, discussion or mention of the effective use of the z-axis in movies.

alphaville? 2 or 3 things?

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/yuanx072/architecture/my_architect.jpg

'the fountainhead'

citizen kane

because it's really good

Playtime, to demonstrate the limits of modernity and the need for the human element in design. e.g., how much more fun the meticulously-designed restaurant is after it basically falls apart.

xxxxpost What is 2 or 3 things? What do you think of that My Architect movie? I haven't heard of it.

GOD YES, Playtime.

And Citizen Kane and Fountainhead are good answers.

Have you seen the Playtime sets? I can't believe they're not actual buildings.

Things To Come

Michael Clayton

the one where richard gere's an architect

because he's an architect

"My Architect" is kind of lousy, IMO. I mean, I sympathize with the guy and he seems like a fundamentally decent sort, but a lot of it has this weird feeling of not being so much about a guy's relationship with the father he never knew, but about a guy who thinks he's on to a good idea for a movie about his relationship with the father he never knew. There are just too many forced, awkward scenes. As for architecture, you don't really get to see too much of it, and it's not filmed by people who know how to film architecture to really convey what's going on with it. Which is OK as far as the purposes of this movie goes, but if you're actually interested in Kahn as an architect (rather than as a sad, tragic personality), or in the experience of his architecture, you won't really find much here.

Almost worth it for the rollerblading at the Salk center though.

One of my professors, who is a pretty smart guy, wrote this film about Gehry, and it's good: http://www.aconstructivemadness.com/

It maybe lays on a bit hard trying to convince you of his genius-ness or whatever, but I like that it actually looks closely at stuff rather than just marveling at it. You genuinely learn something about the way the architect works, and the way his project has evolved through several buildings. I'd have to see it again to remember what things are said in the film and which ones prof. said in class, before I could say definitively that it's a must-see, but I think it's sorta informative and interesting.

Haven't seen the higher-profile one, Sketches Of Frank Gehry or whatever it's called...any good?

If you like the idea of actor-types fawning over Frank Gehry for over an hour, sure

I'm an architect, and I haven't seen any of these movies. I did, however, see The Taking of Pelham 123 last Saturday...(the original, on VHS, but that's of no consequence)...

I've been trying to track down "Concert of Wills" (about Richard Meier vs Robert Irwin in the battle for the Getty Center) but I haven't been able to find a copy...

Haven't seen the higher-profile one, Sketches Of Frank Gehry or whatever it's called...any good?

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, September 17, 2009 6:52 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

If you like the idea of actor-types fawning over Frank Gehry for over an hour, sure

― mh, Thursday, September 17, 2009 7:23 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

otm. i reviewed this but can't remember. possibly featured dennis hopper though. shakes head.gif

I've hyped this on one of the architecture threads but here it is again: ARCH 200 lectures by Jeff Kipnis (same prof as the non-bad Gehry movie above): http://knowlton.osu.edu/open/media.asp

The class is for first-year undergrads who are considering the architecture program; consequently it may be a little too elementary for a seasoned veteran (although Jeff slips in some pretty interesting new takes on canonical buildings). But he's charming, funny, and focuses on conveying the sheer range of disciplinary problems available to architecture. Not a lot on foundation loads and waterproofing though - this is architecture as capital-A, for better or for worse.

Also, I think I may periodically appear at the fringes of some of the long shots, for all my devoted ILXor fans, as the Shaggy TA.

the matrix 2

THX 1138
Blade Runner
The Belly of an Architect
Gattace

model shop? the main character is an architect.

and it would behoove any architect interested in urban design to watch "the social life of small urban spaces" (it's in six parts on youtube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0TYY7jflz8

and i still haven't seen 500 days of summer (it's a rental), but there's some stuff in there about downtown l.a. architecture.

(speaking of l.a. architecture, the bradbury building and the ennis house play huge roles in blade runner!)

The Dead of Night.