Fritz Lang, "Metropolis" (1927)
A still from "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” features a cloud-scraping contemporary Tower of Babel, an industrial workers’ production site and a super modern series of offices all revealing its creators’ deep knowledge of the very latest European architectural developments. The overall effect is Gothic, creepy, shadowy at the same time thanks to Lang's personal interpretation of Art Deco, Bauhaus Modern and Expressionism. Lang’s team of set designers – including Karl Vollbrecht, credited as “film architect” and Erich Kettelhut – were led by Otto Hunte, art director and production designer. Known for being a master of dark atmospheres. Lang’s sci-fi and his “Metropolis” had a huge influence on real-life Architecture for decades to come.
Stanley Kubrick, “Dr Strangelove” (1964)
A still from "Dr Strangelove" by Stanley Kubrick
Ken Adam, set designer of Stanley Kubrick's cold war satire, is the creator of the famous Pentagon War Room. This space, built in Shepperton Studios, was rooted in Adam's fascination with the sets of Dr Caligari and "Metropolis". Adam made his name with sets for the early James Bond films – Dr No, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever – but this was the most powerful single interior he designed, a stark black-and-white space in which the future of humankind was played out.
Ridley Scott, "Blade Runner" (1982)
A still from "Blade Runner" by Ridley Scott
LA, 2019. The futuristic dystopia of “Blade Runner” opens with a series of shots, a 700-storey skyscraper, industrial smoke, fire and acid rain. It’s another interpretation of the Tower of Babel, but this time it’s all about the headquarters of the company responsible of the humanoid “replicants”. Scott said he was inspired by Edward Hopper’s painting “Nighthawks”, the skyline of Hong Kong, the landscape of Tyneside and Teesside of his childhood, the French comicbook "Métal Hurlant" and – again – "Metropolis". Scott makes an architectural contrast between this nightmarish exteriors and the theatrical LA’s Bradbury Building, designed by George Wyman in 1893.
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