15 Famous Films every Architect Should Watch

My architect. A Son's Journey, directed by Nathaniel Kahn, 2003

A documentary surrounding one of the 20th-century greats, Louis Kahn, who was found dead in the bathroom of a New York station in March of 1974. Kahn was a controversial genius with one foot in the Modern Movement and another exploring the spiritual depth of the Roman, Greek, and Egyptian ruins. His masterpieces include the Salk Institute of California, developing the concept of monumentality, and the Philips Exeter Academy Library. The film follows the architect’s work as well as his personal life, through the tale of his illegitimate son, Nathaniel, the director, as he searches for the father who abandoned him.

The Belly of an Architect, directed by Peter Greenaway, 1987.

Having arrived in Rome with his wife to curate an exhibit surrounding Etienne-Louis Boullée, architect Stourley Karcklite discovers he has terminal stage cancer. The timelessness of the Roman ruins is the perfect scenography to reflect on history and individual suffering. A little Leopardi, a little Sorrentino, a little Pirandello. A bitter ending couldn’t have been staged better.

Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang, 1927.

A true masterpiece of silent film and the mother of all dystopian sci-fi films. In the year 2026, the city of Metropolis is governed by a despot-entrepreneur Joh Fredersen, perched on high in a sea of skyscrapers. The entire working class is exploited in a Dante-like underground where an enormous “M Machine” explodes at their first mistake. The imposing architecture of the city skyscrapers comes center stage almost as a main character, representing power that annihilates and subjugates. Fritz Lang covers the subject of slavery and the Tower of Babel with aesthetic inspiration from the nightscapes of New York.

Koyaanisqatsi, directed by Godfrey Reggio, 1982.

6 years of filming for a documentary whose title in Hopi language means “unbalanced life”. A silent film without narration, it’s a collage telling the tale of human evolution, from nature to the invasive man-made world of today. Stunning aerial scenes of rationalist buildings alternate with enormous American skyscrapers illuminated at night, all with the minimalist music of Philip Glass. The first of the “Qatsi” trilogy that’s sure to amaze. Cinematography by Ron Fricke.

Dear Diary, directed by Nanni Moretti, 1993.

The white Piaggio vespa zooming around Rome will never be the same. One of most autobiographical cult films from Moretti divided into 3 episodes. Architects will fall in love with the first, where Nanni runs through deserted Roman neighborhoods in the summer, when entire metropolises would evacuate in the hot months. Donning his white helmet, Dear Diary is masterpiece of Italian cinema, with a tribute to Pasolini.

Wings of Desire, directed by di Wim Wenders, 1987.

Wim Wenders has a predilection for cities: he brought us to Havana with Buena Vista Social Club, to Palermo with Palermo Shooting, and Lisbon with Lisbon Story. But the best of them all has to be Wings of Desire, where the German director portrays the city of Berlin through the eyes of two invisible angels as they spy on the stories and thoughts of the locals. Featuring Peter Falk and plenty of Berlin, including Potsdamer Platz and the graffiti walls; it’s a poetic reflection on the German capital (and life) from one of the greatest German directors.

La Haine, directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995.

The go-to film when we talk about center and periphery, integration, marginalization, and…. Vincent Cassel. The French actor plays Vinz, a young man from the suburbs of Paris who wanders the zone with his friends Hubert and Said. Things in the neighborhood are tense after the police beat one boy during clashes and Vinz, the most agitated of them all, gets his hands on a gun. After roaming the city center, the boys find there’s no place for them in Paris. A film relevant for its analysis on urban and social problems even 20 years after its release.

L'Inhumaine, directed by Marcel L’Herbier, 1923.

Conceived as a preview to the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts of 1925, this silent film centers around the femme fatale Claire Lescot, “the inhuman woman”, who’s desired by everyone: the businessman, the politician, a maharajah, and Einar the inventor who feigns his own suicide for the woman. Working on the scenography was architect Robert Mallet-Stevens, who designed the façade of Clair’s villa. Meanwhile, Fernand Léger designed the inventor’s laboratory in cubist style and Alberto Cavalcanti designed the atrium in Art Nouveau style. Countless other architects and designers worked on the film set, fulfilling L’Herbier desire to create a masterpiece of modern art.

Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, 1982.

This one doesn’t need much of an introduction. The Sci-Fi masterpiece of the 80’s featured Harrison Ford in a world of replicas. Who doesn’t remember the famous monologue “I’ve seen things that you people wouldn’t believe…”? Architects will discover dystopian landscapes that draw inspiration from Metropolis. The film also received a recent sequel featuring Ryan Gosling.

Rocco and His Brothers, directed by Luchino Visconti, 1960.

Italian cinema at its very best. Visconti shows Milan from a basement in Lambrate, where the Parondi family is forced to live. From the top of the Duomo to the boxing gym, passing by the “idroscalo” and the central station, it’s Milan through a black and white lens. Today the film is widely acclaimed, but it was censored and opposed at its release by the District Attorney and the City Council of Milan.

Mamma Roma, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962.

A cornerstone of the broad reaching “Roman” cinema and the second film from Pasolini. Anna Magnani is “Mamma Roma”, a prostitute who wants to change her life. The camera follows her through her adventures with a backdrop of Casal Bertone, the suburb of Quadraro, Tor Marancia. You can even get a glimpse of the Aqueduct Park. A great film to discover Pasolini and explore the periphery of Roma and its development in the mid-20th century.

Manhattan, directed by Woody Allen, 1979.

Woody in his most dazzling form and the film with the best shot of a bridge in black and white. No, not in Brooklyn, but the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge connecting Manhattan to Long Island City passing through Roosevelt Island. The reason to catch this one is in the title: never has Woody Allen been more of a New Yorker. The highs and lows of the skyscrapers are a poetic jostling of irony and melancholy, like the notes from a jazz clarinet. City scenography is impeccable and the dialogue and plot are among Allen’s finest.

The passenger, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, 1974.

Jack Nicholson, a successful reporter bored by life itself, assumes the identity of dead man after finding his corpse. Nicholson once told the Corriere that Antonioni “brought him to see the architecture of Gaudì, making him lose himself and discover the identity of the reporter”. Beyond Barcelona, you can catch glimpses of squares in London and the Sahara.

Hands Over the City, directed by Francesco Rosi, 1963.

A film with unique insight of the unscrupulous “palazzinari”. Set in Naples, between the right-wing (colluding) and left-wing (indignant), the film explores the conflict of interest between real estate, politics, and administration. It was the screenwriter Raffaele La Capria who said: “Naples is one of the most devastated cities from obscene real estate practices; it was a beautiful city and they managed to ruin everything, even the health and life of its inhabitants”.

2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1968 .

For many, it’s the most beautiful film of all time, and among the most famous from Kubrick. Having recently turned 50, it has been the North Star of sci-fi and design for decades. For the production, designers were called to imagine the future versions of everyday objects. The film remains a classic for its ability to represent the mystery of life in a single image: the black monolith, where everyone sees what they want.