Here is the list of 10 movies filmed in legendary houses
A Single Man (2009)
Schaffer House, Los Angeles, USA
The mahogany and glass house was the perfect backdrop for Colin Firth's character in Tom Ford's A Single Man. Schaffer House was designed by John Lautner in 1949 for the Schaffer family. Initially, they intended to use it only during short trips to nature, but then decided that they wanted to live in the residence permanently. The architecture of the building seems simple, but is actually carefully thought out for a comfortable stay.
The house, surrounded by trees, consists of a series of small but open and interconnected spaces that not only make it seem larger than it actually is, but also enhance the feeling of security even in rooms where the walls are almost entirely made of glass, thanks to which interior and exterior merge into one.
2. Body Double (1984)
Chemosphere Residence, Los Angeles, California
The residence where the scenes of Framing Body were filmed demonstrates how the future was imagined in science fiction in the mid-20th century. The house was built according to the design of John Lautner in 1960 for a young aircraft engineer. Designing the building was a challenging engineering challenge due to its location on a steep slope in an earthquake-prone region. The “Chemosphere” house hovers at a height of 9 meters above the ground, resembling a space alien ship.
3. The Big Lebowski (1998)
Sheats Goldstein Residence, Los Angeles, USA
The Sheets-Goldstein Residence, another building designed by American John Lautner, gained fame when it appeared on screen in the Coen brothers' The Big Lebowski. The modernist house rose on a hillside in Los Angeles in 1963. John Lautner's mentor was Frank Lloyd Wright, which explains many of the architectural decisions.
In 2016, the Goldstein residence became part of the collection of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. The glass and concrete “cave” was donated to the museum by its owner, James Goldstein, who carefully preserved the garden, furniture and decor.
4. Blade Runner (1982)
Ennis House, California, USA
The legendary Ennis House was built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924 for Charles Ennis and his wife Mabel. Ennis, the owner of a chain of department stores, was fascinated by Mayan culture. A large budget and shared tastes with the customer allowed Wright to conceive such a large-scale project. In the rays of the setting sun, the façade looks like a luxurious patterned fabric. Inside, the house is distinguished by high ceilings, endless corridors and mysterious reflections that penetrate inside through twenty-seven stained glass windows.
In the mid-1990s, the building was badly damaged by an earthquake, and then by prolonged rainfall that hit California - the monument was in disrepair and required global reconstruction. It was restored by American billionaire and philanthropist Ron Burkle, and in 2019 the house was sold for $18 million to an anonymous buyer. Because of its unusual aesthetics, Ennis's home has often been the subject of films and shows. In particular, scenes for Ridley Scott's 1982 Blade Runner were filmed here.
5 I Am Love (2009)
Villa Necchi Campiglio, Milan, Italy
Director Luca Guadagnino filmed his 2009 drama I Am Love with Tilda Swinton over 11 years. The setting was the magnificent Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan. The director himself described the residence of the Necki family this way: “This house is like a ship of fools: it was built in the pre-war era, when the whole world was bursting at the seams, by people who, with their eyes tightly closed, repeated: “We are the salt of the earth!” The future belongs to us."
The house, built for an incredible sum for its time, about $18 million in modern money, quickly became a city landmark. The Necchi family did not limit the architect and his plans, which concerned not only ceilings and walls, but also decorative items. Many rooms in the house have remained to this day as Piero Portaluppi intended them to be.
6. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Elrod House, California, USA
The Palm Springs home, built in 1969 for interior designer Arthur Elrod, is considered one of John Lautner's most famous homes and the perfect bachelor pad. The concrete structure, built directly into the rock, includes four bedrooms, a domed roof and a huge circular living room with sliding walls that open up to views of the pool courtyard and the Coachella Valley.
Elrod's House appears in the 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever, which was also the last Bond film starring Sean Connery.
7 L.A. Confidential (1997)
Lovell House, Los Angeles, USA
The residence, built by Richard Neutra from 1927 to 1929 for Dr. Philip Lovell, was best known for the film L.A. Confidential. However, the house itself deserves attention - it is one of the most spectacular private buildings in Los Angeles made of steel and glass, for the construction of which the latest engineering and construction technologies of the time were used.
Architect and writer Charles Moore once described the Lovell residence as "a Mondrian painting come to life." The house was designed to maximize sunlight. Steel-framed windows run almost the entire length of the spacious living room, offering views of the green hillsides and the city skyline with shimmering lights at night. For almost a century, it has remained virtually untouched as a monument of modernism, influenced by Le Corbusier and the International Style.
8. Le Mépris (1963)
Villa Malaparte, Capri, Italy
Since the release of Jean-Luc Godard's film "Contempt" in 1953, Villa Malaparte has never ceased to serve as a point of attraction for film and architecture lovers. The villa on a steep cliff ledge, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, is the work of Italian avant-garde artist Adalberto Libera for Curzio Malaparte. The Italian writer, journalist, supporter of Mussolini, and then of communism, wanted to see how “a house like him” would grow in a harsh landscape among the rocks.
The parallelepiped shape hides three floors: the first is intended for guests, the second contains bedrooms and bathrooms, decorated with marble, and the third has a huge atrium, living room and library, the personal possessions of the owner of the house. But the main attraction of the villa is the solarium on the roof, reached by a steep staircase. This is where the heroine Brigitte Bardot will sunbathe and “despise” her husband.
9. Columbus (2016)
Miller House, Columbus, USA
Directed by South Korean director Kogonada, the film is set in Columbus, Indiana. Like many visitors to the city, Kogonada was impressed by the local architecture. Dozens of modernist masterpieces in the film act more as independent characters than as scenery. The fact is that in the 1950s, as the city's population increased, the foundation of the engine manufacturer Cummins began offering to pay the costs to the architects of new public buildings - but only if the project was approved and would be owned by an eminent author.
In Columbus, Kogonada, who decided to make a film about the relationship between fathers and children, saw an amazing example of the connection between generations: Eliel and Eero Saarinen, father and son, both great architects, worked on buildings in the city. Miller House was designed by Eero Saarinen, and the interiors were created by Alexander Girard. The house, completed in 1957, was home to J. Irwin Miller and his wife, Xenia.
10. A Clockwork Orange (1972)
Skybreak House, Hertfordshire, England
One of the most impressive scenes of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange was filmed in the house, which became one of the first projects of the Team 4 bureau. Its founders - Richard Rodgers, Norman Foster, Wendy Cheeseman and Su Bramwell - worked together from 1963 to 1967. Skybreak House was conceived according to three main principles: maximum flexibility to adapt it to different purposes, full of natural light and the possibility of expanding the house in the future. The entire space is divided into three zones: a public zone with a living room in the center, a technical zone for the kitchen and bathrooms, and a sleeping block. They are separated by sliding panels, which make the architecture mobile and changeable.
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