Ridley Scott, George Lucas and Tim Burton: their visions of architecture in their Sci-fi films

Résumé du document

Being allowed to do an essay on three different film-makers is an opportunity not only to analyze their different ways of seeing the city and its architecture, but also of showing it through their movies. I have voluntarily chosen to compare three Anglo-Saxon film-makers who have very different ways of thinking, shooting and showing the city in their films. Georges Lucas, Ridley Scott and Tim Burton are widely recognized as major artists in their fields, and each of them was given the opportunity to shoot science-fiction movies. This is why it seemed relevant to compare Star Wars and its multitude of extra terrestrial cities, with Blade runner which didn't meet the same success but is now considered a masterpiece, and Batman in which Gotham city is a whole character.

Extraits

[...] Moreover, many scenes on Naboo have been shot near the Lac de Come, in Northern Italy, emphasising the Latin inspiration for Lucas in architecture. The planet Tatooine is far less focused on city but still illustrates Lucas passion for architecture; he even once confessed that he always wanted to become an architect. Curved, earthen structures resemble adobe pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico. In fact, much of what we see in Tatooine was filmed in Tunisia, on the northern shore of Africa. [...]

[...] In essence, Furst deliberately mixed clashing architectural styles to make Gotham City the ugliest and bleakest metropolis imaginable. In Batman returns, still shot by Tim Burton, it was Bo Welch who designed the architecture of Gotham City, and based his work on Anton Furst's sketches. But the genius of this second film was to add a layer of German Expressionnism to the very sinister athmosphere of the City. This inspiration from this movement is a clear allusion to Metropolis (1927) shot by the German film-maker, Fritz Lang. [...]

[...] Indeed, it is a repetitive theme in Blade Runner since it always rains in the film. In mythology, rain symbolizes a New World and in the Bible, the purpose of the deluge is to wash the evil things of the earth. In the film, as in the Lion King, we can observe a biblical reference, as when the rain is falling down; it is the end of an unhealthy and insane world. Rain in the film brings an oppressive and stifling atmosphere. [...]

[...] Ridley Scott, George Lucas and Tim Burton: their visions of architecture in their Sci-fi films Being allowed to do an essay on three different film-makers is an opportunity to analyse their own way of seeing the city and its architecture, but also of showing it through their movies. I have voluntary chosen to compare three Anglo-Saxon film-makers who have very different ways of thinking, shooting and showing the city in their films. Georges Lucas, Ridley Scott and Tim Burton are widely recognized as major artists in their fields, and each of them was given the opportunity to shoot science-fiction movies. [...]

[...] On the other hand, Ridley Scott's point of view and vision of architecture is different and more focused on the decadence of modern cities, namely in Blade Runner, Los Angeles. Architecture is used in the film as a symbol of power which is conveyed by the size of the building as they are huge with big screens. The big chimney stacks at the beginning show the important place of industry, so power results from it. LA is represented as an overcrowded megalopolis which is rotten by misery and washed by acid rains most of the time. [...]