So, last Friday we watched The Fountainhead. An adaptation of the Ayn Rand book to film, it depicts the story of the strongly individualist Howard Roark, an architect unwilling to compromise, shunning the wants of the collective for the will of the individual. Bursting with contempt for 'the masses', raging with melodrama, and peppered with some bizarre and thinly-veiled sexual metaphors, this movie swung between quizzical and hilarious.
How it relates to architecture? Well, Roark was an architect who made FLW-esque buildings which were only accepted in all their greatness by a select enlightened few. His modern skyscrapers were defaced with classical columns and porticos by the mediocre popular architects and designers, who all fell under the sway of a prominent architectural critic working for a wealthy but tasteless newspaper tycoon. The movie addressed what one day each of us will have to face: being the intelligent, visionary individual fighting against the uneducated sheep-like collective. Kidding.
What are your opinions of the book/movie?
COMING ATTRACTIONS!
This Friday, we'll be screening French film Mon Oncle.
It's a comedy, about the super-modern 1950's when everything is automated and chrome plated. We'll be exploring themes of industrialised modernisation and consumerism, in French. Should be a laugh, everyone is most welcome to attend.
What: Mon Oncle
When: Friday 2nd July, 3pm.
Where: LT1 - (to be confirmed)
Followed by a beer or two after to aid in discussions.
We'll also be showing another movie the following Friday, 9th July.
I hated the Fountainhead, the book. Haven't seen the film.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised by the book's popularity at the time, though wikipedia attributes this more to word of mouth than to a positive reception. Still, little bit unnerving that so many people got on board with Rand's philosophies.
ReplyDeleteHa, there's even a dating website for Rand fans! Can't imagine two die-hard individualists and megalomaniacs creating a successful relationship.
I liked the book, although I felt it was a bit too long and overwrought in character development in places. The movie does well to condense the essence of the book, although some great lines and dialogue were left out. Gary Cooper's acting as Roark is atrocious, as if his mind is somewhere else and he absolutely murders the courtroom speech. The movie does a reasonably good job of portraying Roark's architecture, I love the scene where they offer him the Bank commission, on one condition, and then pull out the Classical street facade and cornice and plonk them on his Modernist skyscraper. Err, Classic. Sadly the NY skyline looks flat and 2D, hardly surprising since the filming was done in a studio and the 'view' out of the windows is a print. Imagine how they might do it now with a computer generated 1930's Manhattan...
ReplyDeleteThe Fountainhead movie was worth a good laugh. Henry Roarke was like an early John McClane or Rambo, playing the maverick hero who just won't go away. Armed with just his immense ego and a pen, Henry battles his way through corrupt Newspaper Tycoons, Architecture critics, and evil madmen bent on world domination. This movie is Jam packed with explosions and one liners such as " I don't build in order to have clients. I have clients in order to build! ". Of course Henry overcomes the bad guys and gets the girl. Just give Henry a machine gun and he would have been big in the 80's.
ReplyDeleteAside from the plot I thought the movie gave a great insight into the world that modernism was born. It was particularly intriging how contemporary the architecture in the movie looks despsite being set in 1940's New York. It gives the impression that architecture hasn't really changed that much since modernism.
Update: Venue is now LT2, time still 3pm, popcorn is BYO
ReplyDeleteThis looks interesting - not sure whether Aro has it though:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6BAoo8hmlU&feature=player_embedded
Mon Oncle is hilarious!
ReplyDeletelove that movie.
Though a bit of a chore to get through, Monsieur Hulot makes another attempt at navigating modern life in the movie Playtime. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062136/
ReplyDeleteThis one lacks the slapstick comedy that kept Mon Oncle at a decent pace. However the scenes depicting modern France are all the more elaborate.
Also anyone have ideas for this weeks movie? I was thinking Brazil.
ReplyDeleteBrazil's great. A few of us saw it at the film archive last semester.
ReplyDeleteVery long though, at 132 minutes.
Hmmm if a bunch of people saw it, how about Gattaca then? That one is a little bit shorter at 102 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI unfortunly have somthing this friday arvo so will miss middle of the movie, I can organise access if someone wants to sort a movie and meet me their 15mins early
ReplyDeletei too may not actually be around..
ReplyDeleteI can make Friday, how many others can confirm attendance so we can decide whether to go ahead or cancel. Yay for Gattaca, not seen it.
ReplyDeleteCool, Gattaca sounds good.
ReplyDelete3pm Friday.
Gutted I will still be on the ferry to Wellington so won't make it. I first watched gattaca in high school for a bio - ethics project, would be so interesting to see it now from an architectural perspective. Hope everyone enjoys it!
ReplyDeleteP.S When is the first Critters potluck?
A potluck eh? I like it.
ReplyDeleteShall we say... 2nd or 3rd week back?
oh boy potluck, yes please
ReplyDeleteYeah sounds good. How about on a Friday? we could get a projector from the shop and do movie night too? I would offer my flat but I live all the way out in northland. Kinda far for everyone to come.
ReplyDeleteYeah, a projector would be ideal. I'd also offer my place since it's quite close to school but it's way too small. Fridays have become less desirable for me now that the snow has arrived, so I'd prefer a weeknight...
ReplyDeletehow about a potluck followed by a movie on a Friday night, but in a lodge near turoa? alpine architecture?
ReplyDeletePotluck-cum-skitrip?
ReplyDeleteDon't have to ask me twice.
In that case I offer my place in Ohakune as an ideal potluck venue. It's also quite the architectural experience, an early 1900s house on sinking piles with effectively zero insulation in a sub-alpine climate. But a beautiful old coal range and plenty of room to accomodate all keen critters.
Have finally moved into my new house, and have rediscovered my DVD collection, which has been in storage for a while - it includes some that might be of interest:
ReplyDeleteThe Island, Blade Runner, Fifth Element, Citizen Kane (with an interesting making-of doco included), Brazil, Space Odyssey 2001, and a collection of Alfred Hitchcock movies (including 39 Steps - which I think is great from an architectural point of view)...
Let me know if you want to borrow anything...
PS - I even found my Pink Floyd The Wall video - it might be tenuous in terms of linking it to architectural themes, but quite an experience for those who haven't yet seen the movie...!
ReplyDeletem-d Could you bring Blade Runner into school I would love to see it. I have been meaning to hire it from Aro video.
ReplyDeleteIf one of these days I could pop into your office and borrow it that would be so good.
Cheers Jae
Sure thing...
ReplyDeleteAnd, furthermore, I have recalled some dubious links between Pink Floyd and architecture - they were, of course, architecture students when they started the band. It figures really, with the overburdened conceptual base to their song-writing, and especially after The Wall, the concentration on style...