# Greatest Masterpieces of Production Design **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295 "2008-09-26T05:33:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/1 "2008-09-26T05:33:58Z")
I was watching _[Blade Runner](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/)_ the other day, and it occurred to me that it might be the [greatest](http://marcosrock.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/blade-runner1.jpg) [masterpiece](http://mrvertigo.free.fr/vuducanap/uploaded_images/blade-runner-los-angeles-752153.jpg) of [production design](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_designer), [like](http://boingboing.net/images/bladerunner-01-0707.jpg), [ever](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews34/a%20blade%20runner%20hd%20blu-ray/IMG_8759.jpg). If not, what else? \* [2001](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews38/2001-caps%20for%20comparison/sittimgnosub.jpg)?[Barry Lyndon](http://stalkingelmo.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/Barry_Lyndon_screenshot.JPG)? [The Last Emperor](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews35/a%20the%20last%20emperor%20criterion/more%20last%20emperor%20d1%20%20PDVD_022.jpg)? [Bram Stoker’s Dracula](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews34/a%20bram%20stokers%20dracula%20oldman/Dracula%20(3).jpg)? [Forbidden Planet](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDreviews26/a%20forbidden%20planet/new%20forbiden%20planet%20FORBIDDEN_PLANET-14.jpg)? [One from the Heart](http://bagatellen.com/images/ofth.jpg)? [Cleopatra](http://www.mrdowling.com/images/702cleopatra.jpg)? [Intolerance](http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/intolerance/00.22.49-kino.jpg)? [The Scarlet Empress](http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_03_img1057.jpg)?\* What are some other masterpieces of production design? Probly too many to reach a consensus on the best . . . ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/2 "2008-09-26T11:12:22Z")
The first thing that jumped into my mind was _The Royal Tenenbaums_. Sort of the opposite of _Blade Runner_ – instead of creating a messy and believable world, it creates a fussy and clearly fictional world. I know many people find Wes Anderson’s museum-diorama approach irritating, but I love the way his movies look. I’d throw _The Darjeeling Limited_ in there too. It’s going to be hard to beat _Blade Runner_, though. It was so convincing that Southern Californians seem resigned to the fact that it will all come true. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/3 "2008-09-26T12:45:19Z")
_Lord of the Rings, Hero, Curse of the Golden Flower_, _Passage To India_ ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/4 "2008-09-26T12:49:19Z")
I’ll toss in _Brazil_. A fantastically detailed “vision of the future” that takes 1948 and fast-forwards various bits of it into 1984. ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/5 "2008-09-26T12:50:35Z")
Without a doubt David Lynch’ Dune. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/6 "2008-09-26T17:28:41Z")
I kind of liked the design of Time Bandits, Dune, The Dark Crystal, The Cell, Minority Report, The island, Neverending Story, Matrix, City of Lost Children, HGTTG, What Dreams May Come, Cube, Apocalypto, Pan’s Labyrinth, Se7en, Gattaca, ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/7 "2008-09-26T17:44:30Z")
Team America: World Police The Incredibles ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/8 "2008-09-26T18:06:19Z")
“The Secret Garden” from the 90s is still the most beautiful movie I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/9 "2008-09-26T18:10:51Z")
A lot of my favorites have been mentioned already but I wanted to give a shoutout to [Catherine Martin](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0552039/), my favorite production designer working in Hollywood today. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/10 "2008-09-26T19:23:56Z")
Terry Gilliam’s films are almost always visually pleasing. The same goes for Kubrick (2001, Lyndon, etc.), Tarkovsky ([Stalker](http://www.natfilm.dk/2007big/7217.jpg)), Lynch (Dune), Jeunet & Caro (La Cité des Enfants Perdus, Delicatessen). ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/11 "2008-09-26T19:52:11Z")
I’ll go dittos for the LOTR movies, and add the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. But I am confused: Is Production Design the same as Art Direction? Is it set design, plus costumes and props that you’re considering? In other words, the whole “look” of the piece? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/12 "2008-09-26T19:55:00Z")
Perhaps not the greatest, but one has to note H.R. Giger’s work on _Alien_. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/13 "2008-09-26T19:59:14Z")
Kenneth Branagh’s version of _Hamlet._ _Prospero’s Books._ _The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and her Lover_. (Well, maybe not a masterpiece, but it’s certainly eye-candy.) _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_. _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory._ (Does CGI count?) _Restoration_, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Sam Neill. \*What a Way to Go!, \*starring Shirley Maclaine. Any of Baz Luhrmann’s films. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/14 "2008-09-26T20:01:06Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > Perhaps not the greatest, but one has to note H.R. Giger’s work on _Alien_. You beat me to it. Instead of a white and crome space ship like we are used to. It was dark, some times damp and beat up like a barge. Because that’s what it was. Just that is it was a ‘Space Barge’. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/15 "2008-09-26T22:53:49Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > I’ll toss in _Brazil_. A fantastically detailed “vision of the future” that takes 1948 and fast-forwards various bits of it into 1984. Yeah, I thought of that one too, after I posted. Definitely up in top.. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/16 "2008-09-26T22:58:23Z")
> [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](#): > > Without a doubt David Lynch’ Dune. You know, the first time I thought of this OP, Dune was the second title I thought of. I don’t know how I overlooked it when I finally got around to it. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/17 "2008-09-26T22:59:45Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > \*What a Way to Go!, \*starring Shirley Maclaine. Easily my favorite costume movie, and Edith Head’s undying masterpiece. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/18 "2008-09-26T23:17:31Z")
I like the look of _Shane_. The settlers’ cabin wasn’t all bright and shiny, and what we saw of the town looked realistic, especially the saloon (just a bar, really) connected to the general store. And the muddy street. It all looked nicely primitive, but on the cusp between wildness and civilization. The farm houses in _Field of Dreams_ and _Country_ were perfect – cluttered kitchen counters, caps and boots by the door, cereal boxes on top of the fridge, etc. The houses in _Close Encounters_ and _E.T._ looked lived-in too. If we can include TV, _Deadwood_ and _Rome_ deserve some kudos. ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/19 "2008-09-27T07:39:20Z")
Doctor Zhivago; the filthy trains and frozen abandoned houses are spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295/20 "2008-09-27T07:57:15Z")
Jean Cocteau’s _Beauty and the Beast_ [is totally unfuckwithable](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N6Nmf-tVDo). Guy Maddin’s [Archangel](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFcYQgkhxMc). +1 for _Brazil_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-masterpieces-of-production-design/465295.md?page=2)