Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Top 10 skyscarper movies


1. The Fountainhead

Adapted from Ayn Rand's bestselling potboiler, The Fountainhead combines architecture with drama, romance, and sex. Gary Cooper plays Howard Roark, an idealistic architect who refuses to create buildings that violate his aesthetic values. Patricia Neal is his passionate lover, Dominique. 1949

2. The Towering Inferno

An architect (Paul Newman) and a fire chief ( Steve McQueen) race to rescue the occupants of a burning San Francisco skyscraper, which is touted as the "world's tallest building." 1974

3. Die Hard

When a dozen international terrorists take over a Los Angeles highrise, a tough New York cop (Bruce Willis) saves the day. 1988.

5. Metropolis

Directed by Fritz Lang, this silent film classic interprets Le Corbusier's plans for the future, imagining a mile-high city built by slaves. For this DVD version, producer Giorgio Moroder speeded up the pacing, restored the tints, and added a rock and disco soundtrack. 1926

6. Entrapment

An aging thief (Sean Connery) becomes enmeshed with a beautiful insurance agent (Catherine Zeta-Jones). The real stars of this film are the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 1999

7. Jungle Fever

A rising black architect (Wesley Snipes) has an adulterous affair with a working class Italian American (Annabella Sciorra) in present day New York. Directed by Spike Lee. 1991

9. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

OK, you won't see skyscrapers, but The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a must-have for anyone who is serious about studying the relationship between film and architecture. In this German Expressionist masterpiece, the evil Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) hypnotizes an innocent villager to commit murder. Director Robert Wiene set the eerie tale in a surreal world of twisted angles and contorted buildings. Silent, with music track, 1919

10. Skyscraper

Former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith is a helicopter pilot who becomes a hostage after flying a terrorist to the top of a skyscraper. Sex and skyscrapers -- what more could you want? 1996

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