The Production Designer's Wet Dream

List creator: VGrimm Created on: September 25, 2004 - 2:57 PM PDT Description: Live action films with imaginative production values.

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	movie title	related list	average rating	MPAA rating	watch	rent	buy
	The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989)
This is one of the best movies of all time. I don't even know where to start. From the theatre to the battlefield to the moon. Wow all counts.
	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
WETA rocks. We know. All three films in the series show this. End of story.
	The City of Lost Children (1995)
One of two masterpieces with the mark of the Caro brothers. Its dark, postwar ambience, paired with a fantastical steampunk aesthetic, is unforgettable. Sadly, the Caros other, similar masterpiece, Delicatessen, is not avaliable at GreenCine.
	Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)
Kurosawa's landscapes tell a story of their own. Best bit is when he walks into a Van Gogh. Surrreal.
	Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The formulation of folk ikons isn't easy. This movie succeeds. Dark Vader's mask in particular is a VERY strong piece of design.
	Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
A classic in its own time -- that saying is trite, but true of this movie. The landscape bows to the Lean lens.
	Velvet Goldmine (1998)
A lush, at times surreally dreamlike film, whose over-the-top, jewel-hued (yet darkening) costuming, set, and lighting choices imaginatively compliment its script.
	The Dark Crystal (1982)
I think we've established Brian Froud kicks ass at this point.
	Six-String Samurai (1998)
I'm a sucker for steampunk and cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic worlds. Also, for Buddy Holly. He's so dreaaamy. This one combines them all, and well. Death and his riders=unforgettable.
	Batman Returns (1992)
Again, Tim Burton. Design is everywhere in this film. The Penguin, its star, is the centerpiece of a cold, dank, spiky, crimson, and fish-smelling design. Even the catwoman, after decades of leopard prints, fits the black and bloody picture.
	Beetlejuice (1988)
Burton's skeletal, perverse aesthetic is vibrant here, particularly when reflected in Ms. Deets' sculptures. Her imprisonment at their hands is my favorite part.
	Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Tim Burton's trademark style is nascent in this piece. Steampunk touches on a Betty Crocker of a suburb make a beautiful and delicious blend here.
	Time Bandits (1981)
Terry Gilliam has a sense about these things. I like the fantastic sense of this one more than the orwellishness of "Brazil". Never knew horse skulls could be so scary. Wonderfully surreal.
	Muriel's Wedding (1994)
The plastic, air-filled, neon-tinged atmosphere of the early 90s, mixed with a gleefully nuts seventies tackiness, is almost overwhelming in this film, and watching it change and lose its false luster as the heroine matures is breathtaking.
	Amelie (2001)
This movie's a bit soppy, but the combination of the ordinary and the fantastic, as well as the physical representation of things like 'she dissolved in tears' makes this one a winner.
	Labyrinth (1986)
Its Jim Henson. Need I say more? {; really lovely stuff here, thanks to Brian Froud's topsy-turvy, crooked and glimmering aesthetic.
	Earth Girls Are Easy (1989)
I love Valerie's dream sequence in particular in this film, and how it calls up images of B-run and exploitation movies from thirty years of cinema history.
	Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Greek Myths (1987)			Not Rated
Haven't seen this Greek version, but the European set have a really lovely 19th century fairytale aesthetic, with wonderful use of computer animation and great puppets.
	Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Consistent aesthetic on a very small budget. Great scarabs. GREAT Elvis.
	What Dreams May Come (1998)
Stupid plot, bearable writing, sappy in general. But the design.....I've never seen anyone walk through a painting so well. This movie is worth watching just for the landscapes and the living paintings.
	Tromeo & Juliet (1996)
Ok, I admit it -- the award is for the cow theme through the whole movie. That and the amusing use of xmas lights in the 'holy palmer' scene.