Film Architecture: Set Designs from Metropolis to Blade Runner (Architecture and Design) [Hardcover]

David Winton Bell Gallery (Brown University) (Author), Dietrich Neumann (Editor), Donald Albrecht (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1996 | Series: Architecture and Design

Through a series of contributions from major scholars, this book examines visionary architecture in films by focusing on original set designs from filmmakers across Europe and the United States. The book begins with medievalizing, expressionistic and psychological sets for films, such as "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari" and "Algol", and moves on to experimental depictions of the anticipated modern city in such films as "Asphalt and Sunrise" and the dark view of the future in "Metropolis". The cinema of the Weimar Republic is taken as a case study, as both architecture and film played an important role in the social and cultural self-definition of the young state, which found itself searching for its own brand of modernity between neo-medievalism and Americanism. The text traces later responses to the early, far-reaching discussions about the relationship between film, architecture and the city by presenting original visionary designs for American films. "The Fountainhead" is shown as an example of how the ideology of modern architecture was presented to a mass audience in the United States. "Blade Runner" and "Batman" present a post-modern, dystopian view of the city following the earlier cinematic discussions of "Metropolis". "Dick Tracy" and "The Hudsucker Proxy" represent yet another approach, in their nostalgic reflections on an imaginary New York of the past. The book is illustrated with many familiar backdrops to famous movies. It combines original set designs with publicity stills and prints from actual footage. It elucidates the role of the set designer in the creation of a movie, documents the process from the initial sketch to the final product, and places set design in relation to contemporary architectural debates, illustrating its position relative to painting, stage design and architecture. The volume is published to coincide with an exhibition of the same name at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, at the Academy of Motion Pictures Exhibition Gallery in Los Angeles and at another key venue in the United States, before being shown at the Film and Architecture Museums in Frankfurt.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 207 pages
• Publisher: Prestel Pub (February 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3791316052
• ISBN-13: 978-3791316055
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,801,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Visions of the (near?) future from past & present films, June 30, 1998

By 

M. Cosner (Raleigh, North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Film Architecture: Set Designs from Metropolis to Blade Runner (Architecture and Design) (Hardcover)

Interesting, if a bit wordy, book explaining some of the thought processes that went into designing films of the near-future / alternate reality variety. This book would have much better had more illustrations/photographs been included.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic title for underrepresented topic, June 27, 2011

By 

Stop Motion Maniac "Elroy Jetson" (Toonville) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Film Architecture: Set Designs from Metropolis to Blade Runner (Architecture and Design) (Hardcover)

This is a necessary title for those interested in film architecture. The book is published by Prestel and is 208 pages. The hardback is cloth with a nice dust cover. I detect no printing issues and if you are familiar with Prestel titles then you already know to expect quality.

From the inside flap:
"Beginning with the expressionistic and psychological sets in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Algol, this fascinating study examines the bleak view of the future in Metropolis, moves on to experimental depictions of visionary modern cities as in Asphalt and Sunrise, and in the more recent films Blade Runner and Dick Tracy."

So, it isn't a survey of film architecture, but rather a focus on the aforementioned styles (i.e. expressionistic, bleak and experimental) in film architecture. If you enjoy this book you might also enjoy another Prestel title, Visionary Architecture: From Babylon to Virtual Reality.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

Introduction
Essays
-The Explosion of Space
-Sites of Desire
-Before and After Metropolis
-New York, Olde York
-Like Today, Only More So
Synopses
Film Architecture: Selected Texts From the Weimar Republic
Set Designers' Biographies
Bibliography

The highlight for me were the 7 paintings by Syd Mead for Blade Runner that I've never seen before (I don't remember seeing in Blade Runner: The Inside Story).

This is one of those titles that I refer to often in my library and it's proven it's worth over the years. I can't recommend it enough.