Movies concept artists should watch.

[davi]

Please list WHY you are listing the movies you are listing.

This list will only be useful if its not a list just your favorite movies.

Alien: The look and feel for the world in Alien has been an inspiration to hundreds of movies post release of this film. The industrial designs for the film are referenced almost daily to designers; from the spaceship to the iconic military apc. Of course for creature designers, the alien design's by giger are some of the most iconic of predator-creature designs.
Akira: The characters, fashion, bike designs in this movie are all classics. The world and story are often noted in modern media publications.
Perfect Blue: Satoshi Kon's masterpiece. This psychedelic storyline well give artists an interesting outlook on how mediums such as film can be skewed to give false interpretations to the viewer.
Seven Samurai: Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece. The movie features 7 characters, and within 3 hours you get a feel for every single one of them. This is a great film to understand how to diversify character.

[ChaoticKnight]

Well you missed the obvious one:
Blade Runner: Unbelievable atmosphere, concepts, and design of almost everything seen in the film. Its like the quintessential (sci-fi) concept art movie.

I might add more later as I ponder...

[yoitisi]

Great idea for a thread. From the top of my head:

Ghost in the Shell: This movie was a source of inspiration for the Matrix. A bit too spritiual for some maybe.

Minority Report: For a more realistic vision of our near future you can't miss this movie. Obvious for some, eye-opener for others (and if you're looking for an alternative vision to all the industrial stuff common in most sci-fi movies, try Aeon Flux. Storywise maybe not the most interesting, the more organic vision is refreshing I think).

Sleepy Hollow: For the more classical Jim Burton vision on horror/fantasy. Atmosphere in that movie is awesome.

Old Boy: Strong plot ftw. Starts out funny but ends dead serious.

[smugbug]

Lawrence of Arabia - David Lean's framing of each scene is masterful storytelling; especially when showcasing the desert environments. His use of wide shots during the epic battle scenes are also worth mentioning and should be noted.

This film is a prime example of excellent costume and environmental design.

Excalibur - again, environment and costume, but also set and character design. Of note, weapons and armor. Pretty spectacular, even after all these years.

Dark City - environment, definitely. (can you tell I've been studying environments lately?) As well as character - as the The Strangers are strikingly creepy. Also the hints of art deco (mixed with industrial sci fi), in the designs of the city and the dark, noirish tones of the story.

Blade Runner - while it's been mentioned, I'd like to say that the latest DVD is an excellent investment. You'll get many returns from the commentaries available. Syd Mead is on one and the other is Ridley Scott.

The same could be said of the LoTR DVDs. The tech commentaries are amazing. The overall look of all three films is, of course, legendary. Character, model (large and small scale), costume, set, environment - any type of conceptual work.

What I have so far....excellent thread, davi!

[Ed Savage]

The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy: Genre defining fantasy epic. Definitive fantasy arms and armour design, courtesy of Alan Lee, John Howe and Weta Workshop. And it's not just the Arms and Armour - everything, from crumbling ruins, gleaming citadels and ancient mines are brought to life in an amazing rendition of Tolkein's famous trilogy. A landmark in film history, never mind conceptual design.

Casshern: Yes, another Asian flick you've most likely not heard of; Still, this is also definitely worth watching. A unique and vibrant visual style (Real footage spruced up digitally, 300 style) complete with some stunning enviro's and all kinds of Japanese super robots and super heroes.

Star Wars: Nuff said?

Hero, The House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower: Fantastical martial arts films, all utterly sumptuous. Maybe not so useful for the design element of concept art, but definitely worth a look for their very strong use of visual theme's (Hero in particular) and gorgeous composition.

Kingdom of Heaven: Okay, maybe Orlando Bloom isn't quite the best thing since sliced bread, but still, this film has some of the best and most historical accurate arms and armour ever created (other than The Lord of the Rings, which is, ironically, a fantasy film).

other films I can think of, but don't want to write a paragraph for (feel free to do this):
Nightwatch/Daywatch,
Metropolis,
The Dark Crystal,
Spirited Away/ Howl's Moving Castle,
Sky Captain and the world of Tomorrow,
The Nightmare Before Christmas/Corpse Bride,
The Thing,
Alien,
War of The Worlds,
The Fifth Element

[Aly Fell]

Lawrence of Arabia - David Lean's framing of each scene is masterful storytelling; especially when showcasing the desert environments. His use of wide shots during the epic battle scenes are also worth mentioning and should be noted.

This film is a prime example of excellent costume and environmental design.



Quoted for complete agreement! Personally I think any artist should watch any movie they can, as all movies require 'concept' of some sort, and it's all grist to the imaginative mill. But I think animated movies have some of the most compelling designs as they can experiment so much:

The Incredibles
The Iron Giant
Princess Mononoke
Laputa, my personal fave, and wonderfully designed.
The Ice Age movies
Monsters Inc

Skycaptain.
Anything by Tim Burton
Anything by Guillermo del Toro, who's design sense is superb.
Terry Gilliam films.

All these films I feel have a strong design sense that creates a believable world and transports the viewer convincingly. Often the director needs to be completely 'into' their world, Brad Bird, Tim Burton, Guillermo del Toro, Terry Gilliam and David Lean all have an enormous influence over the design, and this shows. And I could add Film Noir as well as an incredible resource of imagination. Directors such as John Huston, Orson Welles, Fritz Lang and German expressionist film like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari... I could go on! :)

Edit: E Silva - You me both!

[Ed Savage]

Anything by Guillermo del Toro, who's design sense is superb.
Terry Gilliam films.


Pans Labryinth and Brazil come to mind. And who could forget Time Bandits?!

[daestwen]

Princess Mononoke


I'm seconding this one and added "Spirited Away", also by studio Ghibli. Their monster/spirit/dragon design in particular is just so awesome. The Turnip spirit in particular has so much character and he barely moves!

edit: Just noticed that E.Silva beat me to it. :P

[Eric Lofgren]

Coppola's Dracula. A beautiful example of costuming and set design. As well as some very nicely designed creatures as well. Both wolf and bat aspects of Dracula in the movie are excellently conceived designs. Still very fresh even by today's standards. And really, the costuming is literally award winning. So kind of hard to beat :)

[yoitisi]

Another one, oldy:

Once upon a time in the West: by Sergio Leone. Awesome close ups and environment shots, especially the one continued shot where Jill comes off the train, walks into the station building while the camera tilts up to show the whole western city behind it. Music by Ennio Morricone, nuff said.

Seconded a couple of movies above :P

Edit: Also, characterwise I am a big fan of Michael Mann's movies. Heat and Collateral. Heat also got one of the most awesome shootouts I've ever seen. The sounds of the gunshots are the actual shot's fired in the scene. The sound they made echoing against the tall buildings that lined the street was way better than anything the technicians could come up with afterwards. I think Moby did part of the soundtrack, most notable at the end of the movie.

[smugbug]

I totally, wholeheartedly agree with the "every single" film by Guillermo delToro! The guy's got an artist's heart and a visionary eye.

Another film I'd like to point out is The Duellists, by Ridley Scott. It was his first major motion picture (1977) and it's a beauty. The fencing sequences, in particular, are visual treats. There's rich, lush quality to the cinematography, too.

Oh, and on animated films? The Triplets of Belleville!!!!

[S.C. Watson]

Another film I'd like to point out is The Duellists, by Ridley Scott. It was his first major motion picture (1977) and it's a beauty. The fencing sequences, in particular, are visual treats. There's rich, lush quality to the cinematography, too.

Oh my god YES. I was literally seconds from adding this one when I saw your post, Pat. Fucking awesome movie.

Oh, and on animated films? The Triplets of Belleville!!!!
YES again - great movie!

Spirited Away, as well!

I'll ad more/comment later - @ work atm

~Oreg.

[Blastsniper]

The Titanic? Saving private Ryan?
Some scenes in those movies are inspiring.

[Mirana]

ESilva mentioned it, but The Fifth Element is tops of my list for all around awesome in costume, environment, creature, prop and COLOR. It's a fun storyline wth great actors, but the concept work smacks you in the face.

[Idiot Apathy]

Dune: Future that isn't sterile and a distinct division between worlds and roles embedded within the concepts.

Sunshine: Beautiful space imagery. Every scene with the sun is beautiful.

[fooxoo]

Apocalypoto- readable, strong, very good over all character and world design ...

[Jska]

I love every movie mentioned so far in this thread! Another one for the list:

City of Lost Children - great character design (Ron Perlman rules) and an extremely original world, plus amazing color schemes and textures. Eye candy :heart:

[Kian]

My favourite movie at the moment is still
The Assassination of Jesse James

The environments and cinematography of the scenes blew me away. I think many peeps here would learn alot from the subtle true muted colours that aren't colour dodged in any way at all :P
Also to be mentioned I think, is the the soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. Everyone should listen to this. Its unbelievable. It will make you a better concept artist i swear!

[DanielC]

The Cell anyone ? And the Fall too should be visually stimulating.
Jacob's Ladderfor the scenes of hell
Mad Max for a good and solid post apocalyptic univers
Solarisfor it's awesome atmosphere. Kindof near sunshine.
Road to Perdition for the beautiful photography.

[Earendil]

Amelie uses a very saturated and fantastical color scheme, and has some of the best cinematography I've seen of late.

Metropolis has some memorable industrial and futuristic city sequences. ;the creation of the doppleganger being one of them.

Rashomon uses some great staging and 3 subject compositions. Kurosawa I believe was a painter, or had some training as a painter at least, and it shows in his films.

Dreams, also by Kurosawa, is a collection of 7 short stories, all memorable in their own way. 7 worlds, each with great cinematography and visuals.

Patton. Cinematography. I mean...jesus, they just don't make films like this anymore.

Sleepy Hollow hits you on all sides with great design, costuming, environments, etc.

While we're mentioning anime, I think Wolf's Rain had some of the most interesting environments created for its world; strange cities, and familiar-yet-different landscapes.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence does a good job of the near-future tech look and feel. Janusz Kaminski == awesome.

Alien FTW!

[BlackGuy]

Citizen Kane - Masterful visual storytelling. Every shot conveys the intended mood.

The Incredibles - What a beautiful use of color in the movies. It starts off golden for the "golden age" of heroes. Then moves to desaturated colors for the crappy times. There's just so much creative thinking behind this movie that I think there's tons to learn.

*EDIT* sorry, didn't realize Dracula had already been mentioned.

[Kamikazebob]

Dune - The original and the SciFi Epic Miniseries. It is breathtaking to see, I honestly cat think of a movie that pulls off closeness to the book in imagery, imo, than Dune.
Dune Scifi Mini -
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Advent Children - Though its based in FFVII, not one of my favorite games, the visuals in this movie are gorgeous.
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Final Fantasy: Spirits Within - A good movie that was decimated because this had the FF title. The phantoms and the character armor designs were awesome to see. Love it.
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It may not be a movie but, Anything by Blur - They are the masters of CG. Rockfish, any of the Video game intros that they have done or "A Gentalmans Duel"
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[Jasonwclark]

Ninja Scroll for the action and character design

[Eric Lofgren]

Steamboy is excellent eye candy inspiration for Victorian era Steampunk. The settings and the machines are all very well conceived. The whole movie in general is just beautifully crafted.

[Renegade89]

Tekkon Kinktreet, all the enviros look fantastic, eye candy for sure, great animation.

The exorcist For the well created mood of the scenes, it is what makes it a strong movie imo.

Jurassic Park (the first one) The creatures were incredibly well made, this movie amazed me as a kid, i remember seeing it about a million times.

[VirusArtist]

I wonder why noone has mentioned The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen yet. design-wise this movie is pure bliss. a prime example of good character/costume design and steampunk/neo-victorian industrial design.

Musa - The Warrior: great character design. half fantasy/half authentic costumes. highly recommended if you're interested in medieval steppe cultures and armour design. the landscapes rock too.

The Hitcher (1986) and Dust Devil:beautiful landscape and set photography. the camera angles in smlall spaces should be studied by any storyboard artist.

Blood of Heroes/Tribute to the Jugger:costume and set designs that actually have more to them than the common "throw some old oil barrels there and dress everyone up in football armour"-stuff that's going on in the postapocalyptic genre. everything makes sense visually in this movie..

Hellraiser and Hellbound: the pioneering film for fetish horror. we all know that the cenobite character designs are a stroke of genius and have been copied to death in the last 20 years. the redition of hell in those movies still impresses.

Silent Hill: riffing on Hellraiser and Jacob's Ladder. awesome creature and set designs.

Anything by Chris Cunningham: you must be blind if you dont see the visual genius in "Rubber Johnny", Aphex Twin's "Come 2 Daddy" or Bjork's "All is full of Love". this guy is a design berserker even when he isnt creating disturbing music videos. his work as creature creator on alien 4 and hardware/M.A.R.K.13 are prime examples of innovative and creative
visuals.

Wallhalla: Norse mythology crammed into 90 minutes of beatiful aartwork and charming character design. perfect for anyone interested in oldschool animation.

The Storyteller (tv series): the amount of creativity involved in this series is just mind blowing. i spent the last 3 weeks studying the visual storytelling and awesome creature designg done by jim henson's creature shop and I'm still not done. there's so much in there: character design, creature design, set design, costume design and whatnot... the series got a dvd release recently

Labyrinth: again.. creature, character and set designs en masse. the reason why I love everything involving Jim Henson

[Ohaeri]

Anything by Hayao Miyazaki. Seriously, that man is a legend.

[NoSeRider]

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Heavy Metal....it's in Spanish but the dialog was never that important anyway.

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Fire and Ice....Ralph Bakshi kicked ass...with a little help from Frank Miller 300.

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Speaking of which, 300.

These are not so much conceptual, but primal. It's grit and guts.

[aussiedeza]

I just watched Final fantasy spirits within i love see if there is a concept art book for that specially who ever design the zues cannon *droolz*

[Dan!]

gonna have to second
the fifth element
Ninja scroll
Ghost In the Shell
Mad Max
The cell
Dark City
The Incredibles
Labyrinth

along with the epics like star wars, LOTR,aliens

but I'll chuck in

Legend- the goblins...the devil...awesome
The Dark Crystal..wierd creatures jim henson style
Titan A.E.- I'm sorry ..it did what heavy metal 2000 was supposed to do without all the b.s sorry..and I came up on Heavy Metal..bu hey the creators of H.M. did the concept design for The Fifth Element so..can't win em all
Wizards- it's an aweful movie with Bakshi stumbling over that over used rotoscoping but the characters and world are cool..mystic fantasy violence and lasers..kewl
Cool World gritty, funky toon style characters ..better side of Bakshi

[s.ketch]

The Presteige: Its got that Victorian/19th century feel with a dab of science fiction.

Ultraviolet/Equilibrium: not the most deep films but they have some decent environments and lots of futuristic action. By the same director, and in a lot of ways they are the same movie.

Collateral: the use of all digital cameras is really where this film stands out. The night shots are clearer, and you can see more. The colors stand out more. Everything is hyper real and it has a great over all mood to all of the driving and outdoor scenes.

Wild Wild West: Steampunk. Giant steampunk spiders.

RoboCop: Futuristic/Totalitarian Detroit. Robots, grungy city.

Batman, Batman Returns: Art deco city, colorful villians, dramtatic lighting. Tim Burton.

[HunterKiller_]

Edward Scissorhands: Tim Burton goodness.
Edward himself is obviously a great design, but the slightly fantasized retro setting is also very cool.

Evolution: Crazy creature mayhem.

Constantine: Creatures and characters with religious themes.

Independence Day: I would be surprised if anybody here hasn't seen it. Old school sci-fi with generous servings of epic.

Men In Black: See previous description.

Starship Troopers: Insectoid aliens ftw.

Silent Hill: Already mentioned, but a second recommendation is always healthy.
If you don't like horror movies, don't worry, it's hardly scary.

Kill Bill: Nice settings, great style that will get your mind churning.
Only if you can stomach unrealistic, over-the-top gore. :)

Studio Ghibli Films: Hayao Miyazaki is a genius.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is an older film that some may not know.
It's an excellent film in it's own right, but also fitting for this thread, with plenty of unique creature and mechanical designs.

[Coinpurse]

Clash of the Titans? Bram Stokers Dracula? Corpse Bride? Number 23? :(

[AlexC]

mulholland drive : will makew you think and try and understand the complexity

City of God: amazing cinematography

anyone seen Naked Lunch? I haven't yet but I hear it's good

Planet Terror: it's got zombies and gore and it's real good

[Coinpurse]

ditto with City of God, incredible movie. ROFFLE anyone say the Neverending story? :P

[Mike Corriero]

Davi,
A Big Thanks for starting this thread. It's great to have the list and the reasons behind why they would strike artist with visual impact, inspiration and why they'd be worth while to watch.

I'll have to add to this.
My List
The Crow: 1994 - Brandon Lee
The strength of the Characters both through a visual impact and an emotional one is definitely inspirational by itself. The overall look and feel of the cinematography for the world in which this movie takes place is beautifully handled. It's dark, it's gritty, it's very brutal and realistic. One of the few "older" movies that did justice to a comic book character.
Underworld: 2003 ... Both for the Costumes and the Creature designs as well as the overall mood of the film.
Underworld Evolution: 2006 ... Both for the Costumes, Heavily for the Creature designs and overall mood of the film.
Equilibrium: 2002 ... The action sequences and simplistic style of scenes in this one can inspire sci-fi work.
Bram Stoker's Dracula: 1992 ... The Costumes Alone are insanely beautiful, and the different variations of how they portray Dracula in many forms. From a man, to a beast, a wolf, to the humanoid vampire, to the older Count Dracula form. Probably the most realistic and detailed world of "Dracula" I've ever seen. There are a ton of inspiring visuals.
Pan's Labyrinth: Talk about inspiration, this movie has it all. Costumes, mood, unique take on some old and new creatures. One of the few new movies that really throws you directly into a believable fantasy world. It involves instruments of war and fairy tale aspects of alternate dimensions and reality. A lot of animatronic and Prosthetic work.

[davi]

awesome stuff guys, been filling up my netflix with the movies from here i haven't seen.



Number 23? This is kind of the movie i was hoping people wouldn't list. I dont see how it really would aid a conceptual designer much at all.... You might have liked the story, but i don't think it did much new or anything relevant to concept art/illustration.

and for Wild Wild West being a good example of steampunk? I would almost say it's a harmful example to steampunk... I guess it's worth seeing the ideas of the train/spider, but beyond that....

[deadred]

The Mirror Mask (http://www.bulletsofautumn.com/mckean-art/mirrormask.html)

[Farvus]

Terminator 1 & 2 - a bit of industrial cyberpunk feel. I especially liked the moody locations in second part.

Ergo Proxy - This anime series had really interesting designs - auto-raves, Romdo city, machines, the sailboat.

[davi]

man, i'm trying to add these animes to my netflix list, but each 35 minute episode is an entire dvd..

[Pavel Sokov]

Video Games:

Mass Effect

Half Life 2

[Matsign]

man, i'm trying to add these animes to my netflix list, but each 35 minute episode is an entire dvd..
that sucks. Can't they just burn you it all together ?! :P

Considering it has a live action movie concepted by Weta, and a remastered version of the series in OVA style movies in development (first one is out in Japan), Neon Genesis Evangelion is a must see.

If you've seen the series already get ready for the REBUILD.
REBUILD trailers 1 & 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy2AnrzRb6M)

I don't recommend the movies unless you watch the series.

[Duq]

Wow so many great movies have been named already. I hope I can still name some interesting movies, atleast from a design point of view.

Immortel. Made by Enki Bilal, an amazing comicbook artist who also inspired the world of the 5th Element. The story is not really well told, but there are alot of interesting design ideas.

Metropolis: A very nice story, alot of cool design elements and industrial designs.

Sky Blue or Wonderful Days: An korean anime, set in an apocalyptic world. Amazing art direction, amazing story and alot of cool concepts.

Hero: Amazing uses of color to tell the different chapters of the stories, combined with solid costume designs and spectacular fighting shots.

Seirei no moribito/ Guardian of the Spirit: Bumskee suggested me this one, its an anime set in feudal china I believe. Alot of costumes, and an incredible high level of quality for a series. Also, the skies are amazing. And its made by the guys that also did Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Aeon Flux: An amazing setting, with an amazing style, and lovely stories.

I hope I didnt double anything :)

[MarkHarchar]

Snow White - A Tale of Terror. The dark fantasy imagery in this movie is thought provoking and inspiring.

[kingshaj]

all of the above! with few exceptions:)

THX 1138 (original) :
low budget as the original was i fully bought the world that was created and was viscerally moved by its sterility
it is george lucas' only attempt to be literary, and this work stands as one of the most poignant treatments of the distopian theme,
predicting the prescription drug culture as a tool of the state. how this is the same guy who came up with jar jar i'll never know.

2001 :
there still hasn't been a more believable depiction of tech, space suits (still the only cool ones seen on film imo), zero gravity is very convincing. ship interiors are unbelievable and still read better than any thing in the last 40 years. we hadnt been to the moon yet ...this film is 40 years old and surpasses most new sfx depictions of space, JPL was a major consultant and the love can be seen in every bolt. every thing was hand made from scratch, then burnt, when the film wrapped, to prevent MGM form recycling any props.

sample you tube montage>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDAWszeZtNg&feature=related

dune :
the real one...(for its concept design so the book is irrelevant here)
the sets are hand made astonishing... (vehicles not so much.)





images from 2001:)

-

[MrSmith]

stay as far away from Ultraviolet as humanly possible. nothing from that movie should be reproduced.

watch:
Dark Crystal
adventures of baron munchausen

[enrigo]

Ghost in the Shell: This movie was a source of inspiration for the Matrix. A bit too spritiual for some maybe.


lol, totally. I always thought I can stand spiritual type of movie but not Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. I thought it was trying too hard to be deep IMO. Though the visual is extraordinary.


I would add Memento and all the movies by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Prestige, etc.) You will be blown away by the sequential shots in Memento, it's totally unique and it works so effectively. The main character's design was pretty cool too, sort of feels a bit like a comic book.

[Jacob Kobryn]

Pan's Labyrinth: Talk about inspiration, this movie has it all. Costumes, mood, unique take on some old and new creatures. One of the few new movies that really throws you directly into a believable fantasy world. It involves instruments of war and fairy tale aspects of alternate dimensions and reality. A lot of animatronic and Prosthetic work.
Quoted in agreement. My favorite film!

I'll add Cloverfield for it's awesomely inspiring creature designs and all around kick ass movie!

[MikeMakesModels]

Only one to add to Dune, Metropolis, Dark Crystal, Solaris, Pan, 2001 etc that have already been posted:

The Holy Mountain

(was drawing toads vs. chameleons for a week after that :))

[Shmaba]

Pirates of the Caribbean has great characters. Davy Jones and his crew were kick ass. The ship designs were also fun for me to look at.

[SCIBOTIC]

Tron, How the heck didn't anyone already mention it?

[Mr.Delicious]

naked lunch is great.

I like the conan movies :)

big trouble in little china

[tsujni]

I second 'Naked Lunch' and 'Big Trouble in Little China''

and add 'Willow', Floria Sigismondi's video for Marilyn Manson's 'Tourniquet' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEYY-Wl_VMk&feature=related), the Quay Brothers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6xG4Nf9Dh4&feature=related)

[MikeMakesModels]

I like the conan movies :)

Second that: Conan the Barbarian is an incredible film.

[Boolean]

The Fifth Element, even if the movie itself is a bit hit or miss by todays standards.

The Crow. The movie was so gritty you needed to wash the screen just to see what was going on. One of the coolest looking characters ever put on screen.

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Great design, great characters, true sci-fi bubblegum.

Total Recall: THREE BOOBS (plus awesome set designs, great world, over the top sci-fi in the sense of Fifth Element).

[GNL]

The Fifth Element, even if the movie itself is a bit hit or miss by todays standards.

The Crow. The movie was so gritty you needed to wash the screen just to see what was going on. One of the coolest looking characters ever put on screen.

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Great design, great characters, true sci-fi bubblegum.

Total Recall: THREE BOOBS (plus awesome set designs, great world, over the top sci-fi in the sense of Fifth Element).

SEE YOU AT THE PARTY RICHTER!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npCYO0lKwI8

[Slash]

I highly recommend the norwegian stop motion film "Flåklypa Grand Prix". Its from the mid seventies, but its still a wonderful movie. Its based on the work of norwegian cartoonist and author Kjell Aukrust.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073000/

Here's a youtube clip, but it skips forward a lot and might provide spoilers, be warned.
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One should also check out the works of Kjell Aukrust. I don't know how easily available that is outside of norway tho.

//edit: Lets not forget the other works of Ivo Caprino, the man behind the movie. He's made a series of classic norwegian stop motion films, most of them based on norwegian fairytales. I don't know if all of them are translated to english, but they should be.

[smugbug]

The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, both from around 1973 and directed by Richard Lester.

Restoration

The Age of Innocence

All of these for period costumes, art direction and design. Besides outstanding story telling and directing.

The Proposition - yeah, it's from Australia, but the best damn western in years. It's got grit and has stunning scenic shots of the Australian outback. Totally recommend.

And while the story sucks, the art direction for the remake of The Haunting was successful. This movie is worth watching JUST for the interior of the house. Egads, lots of gorgeous eye candy.

[CCThrom]

Highlander - the first one, for character design... all the immortals with completely different cultural backgrounds, personal history, fighting style and weapons, ect... the coreography and cinematography were great too

BTW Willow was the first movie to use a then-cutting-edge digital technique known as "morphing", ushering in the age of true CGI FX

Perfume and/or Elizabeth - The Golden Age for amazing historical feel, setwork, and characterizations

Chronicles of Narnia as an ass-kicking lesson in integrating CG character with live action - how 'bout them final battle scenes?

For full CG characters, I gotta mention Open Season and Arthur and the Invisibles

[Mr.Delicious]

hmm, I liked vampire hunter d bloodlust... I also like the feel and look of all the cowboy bebop episodes, the movie was pretty cool too. Thats pretty much as far as i go with anime, but what about a book thread? I think books are a much better source of inspiration because rather than direct influence you just get the feel and whatnot. That way i think its a great exercise to really try and bring those character to life(that thread probably already exists)

we should do something like... give everybody 2 weeks or something to read a certain book, then we all illustrate a character and see how many different interpretations we get

[Kamikazebob]

STALKER by <pronounced Stall-Kair, I believe> Tarkovsky, the same guy who directed Solaris. Its based on a short story written be the Strugatsky brothers called Road Side Picnic. Its a Russian post-Chernobyl sci-fi story. They also happened to make a game based in the same world.

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[davi]

Mr. Delicious, i thought the art and animation of vampire hunter d: bloodlust was a fantastic, but story/character/voice acting wise.... yeesh... very hard movie for me to watch at times.


netflix shows Arthur and the Invisibles with a pretty low rating...

[Pavel Sokov]

STALKER by <pronounced Stall-Kair, I believe> Tarkovsky, the same guy who directed Solaris. Its based on a short story written be the Strugatsky brothers called Road Side Picnic. Its a Russian post-Chernobyl sci-fi story. They also happened to make a game based in the same world.

Pz1rxzCL1sY


that movie was garbage compared to the book man. i love the book, but this is meh. even the stalker:shadow of chernobyl game is better reflection of the book

[Mr.Delicious]

davi: yea I totally agree, I hardly pay attention to it really as I read all the books from the series that came out in the 80s. I just kinda make believe its like the novels :(. Thats kinda why i brought up doing the book thing instead... mostly because almost every book based movie doesnt do justice at all.

also uh... The Wraith
aaaannnddd The Warriors
but onyl if you like drawing racing/street gangs :(

[Dan!]

hmm..I wouldn't put it on the top of the list but with Fire and Sword-not the best series but what fantastic costumes with the Kosacks, great moustaches and fur hats ..something you don't see much really

[kev ferrara]

Iron Man

[MikeMakesModels]

Tetsuo: The Iron Man :) Blatantly

NPfh2KRRwyQ

[DanielC]

Forgot this one: Narc
JTWACLTZBYA

[Barts]

Paprika!!

[Blaz]

Lemony Snicket`s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Wild Wild West
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Vidocq
Hellboy 1,2
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello

All great steampunk themed or inspired movies :)

[Rabid]

Great list and I believe you guys listed most of mine...

Indiana Jones: Nuff said...

Constantine: Has a great interpretation of hell and half breeds. Definetly worth a gander. Can I just say that when I saw Lucifer in that movie, that is exactly what I thought Brom would look like :tihi: . I was terribly off when I spoke to him in Seattle.

[corky13]

The Mysterious Geohraphic Explorations of Jasper Morello ;)

[Camara]

http://fizbanjoker.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/heat2ur1.jpg

Nuff said.Best movie Ever.

[kingshaj]

cam: tell us why you like heat. (one my faves to) im just curious as to how you feel it is a must see for the concept-art realm specifically. ....michael mann is pretty visually edgy..ill give you that.


oh and ..
one more...

fire and ice

bakshi and frazetta! animated.... need i say more?

[light]

zeitgeist

[Carnifex]

Great list and I believe you guys listed most of mine...


Constantine: Has a great interpretation of hell and half breeds. Definetly worth a gander.

especially interesting when you watch the making-ofs on the dvd how they got their idea for hell.

[Straight Edge Ryan]

Gladiator- great architectual works, as well as interesting characters and cool armor/weapons
Taxi Driver-A cult classic. Provides a great example of an anti-hero as the main protagonist and delves into the seedy underbelly of corrupt cities
A Clockwork Orange-Another cult classic from Stanley Kubrik. Uses interesting settings, characters, behavior and insight by making the main character, the bad guy
Dead Alive (I think it's also called 'Braindead'- 80s, zombie horror b-movie. Horribly corny, horrible acting, ridiculous amounts of gore, cheesy effects, all in all it has all the things that makes us love zombie movies. Oh, and at one point, the main character straps one of those gas powered, walking lawnmowers to his chest, and charges at groups of zombies
28 Days Later-interesting perspective on the zombie movie genre. Good for a dystopian, catastrophic survival horror type of reference. Lots of gore and scenes involving how people and the military react to a situation like that.
Hellraiser-Clive Barker manages to design his characters in ways that are grotesque, sexual, and violent. He manages to twist the human form to create a more disturbing experience
Suburbia (the 1984 film)-Manages to show the point of view of characters that are normally disliked by the populace. Also gives cool views of shows, squatter houses, and the suburban lifestyle
Fight Club- What at first seemed to be like nothing more than another macho-fighting movie, ended up being a story about the torn psyche of the main character. The gritty fight scenes have the distinctive dingy look to em as well

[Wisteria]

Coppola's Dracula.

Also, if any of you get the chance, I recommend seeing the original Nosferatu (Eine Symphonie des Grauens, 1922) which is really entertaining for a silent film. Herzog's 1979 version is nowhere near as good.

[Kezrek]

Has no one mentioned Serenity? The space scenes and battles are incredible; there are so many ship designs, it's nuts.

[aitchjay]

Has no one mentioned Serenity?

Woohoo to that! You've gotta watch Firefly first though. Especially awesome cinematography (which Battlestar Galactica ripped off).

I'd point out The Fountain. Visually, it's undeniably stunning. Beautiful use of color and lighting. I also love the movie in itself, though it's definitely not for all tastes; a lot of people criticized it for being a mess of ideas, but the movie doesn't even try to present a linear narrative. Look at it as a poem, if you will. For some reason it reminded me of Solaris and the Six Feet Under finale, mostly for how it makes you feel.

The monster design in 30 Days of Night was pretty good, though an actual plot would've saved the movie from being so mediocre.

Animes to watch for their sense of design (some have been pointed out before):

Akira and Steamboy (Otomo is a genius)
Ghost in the Shell (and so is Shirow)
Cowboy Bebop (movie and series)
Macross/Robotech
Full Metal Panic! (lame series as a whole, but awesome robot design.)
Neon Genesis Evangelion

Can't think of anything else that hasn't been mentioned for now.

[smugbug]

Woohoo to that! You've gotta watch Firefly first though. Especially awesome cinematography (which Battlestar Galactica ripped off).

The visual effects may be throwing you off here - it's not the cinematography that's similar. Zoic Studios did the effects for Firefly (series), Serenity and then for Battlestar Galactica.

As a matter of fact, they put in the Firefly ship among all the other ships during the big New Caprica evacuation from season three. Purtee sweet.

[Coinpurse]

Invasion of the body snatchers BWUAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....

The Fly? 1960's fly....

what about.... The Omegaman?

[Zaxser]

How anout the 90s Batman cartoon? Had an excellent way of setting a dark, serious mood while managing to stay in the saturday morning timeslot. Big O was produced by the same studio although it incorporated a little too much unnecessary Japanese weirdness for my tastes.

[Dorkthrone]

Alien
The Thing
The Fly
Blade Runner
Anything by Guillermo del Toro

[Larriva Art]

Eraserhead: For its portrayal of the industrial wasteland.
What Dreams May Come: Hell and heaven scenes.

[Coinpurse]

Pssstttttt..... what about Phantasm? ;)

Q3f-eyuili8

[dusty imp]

<pronounced Stall-Kair


Actually it's pronounced the same way an english-speaker would say it, just with a more emphasized 'r'.

I don't believe anyone mentioned Predator, Stargate, Pitch Black, Forbidden Planet and Cyber City Oedo 808

+1 on Fifth Element/Alien/Aliens/Terminator/Robocop/Akira/GitS/LotR/Indy

[aitchjay]

The visual effects may be throwing you off here - it's not the cinematography that's similar. Zoic Studios did the effects for Firefly (series), Serenity and then for Battlestar Galactica.

As a matter of fact, they put in the Firefly ship among all the other ships during the big New Caprica evacuation from season three. Purtee sweet.

I actually did mean the style of the cinematography, which yeah, is done through special effects because they couldn't have actually filmed spaceships :-P. For example how the camera goes out of focus in fast pace space scenes.
I didn't know the same studio did the special effects, that's interesting. And putting Serenity among the ships in the evacuation was pretty cool too, didn't know that either.
But I said Battlestar ripped it off because I remember an interview where they took credit for that sort of on-purpose cheesiness like the camera focus thing that Firefly started. It pissed me off! I still like Battlestar a lot, though.

[amenta]

Pleasantville

Absolutely a must see. Really fantastic use of color.

[Merlin]

Ichi the Killer: bizarre japanese movie. Crazy characters, weird story, nice cinematography and a lot of blood and gore. Fantastic.

[aitchjay]

Ichi the Killer: bizarre japanese movie. Crazy characters, weird story, nice cinematography and a lot of blood and gore. Fantastic.

Aaaah, man! Ichi the Killer is f*cked! It's really pointlessly violent and barely conveys anything. I like Miike's own Visitor Q a lot better, and would list Gozu second. They're nowhere as violent, but a lot weirder, and very often awkwardly funny. The first scene in Gozu alone beats all of Ichi the Killer in terms of weirdness!

[Merlin]

Aaaah, man! Ichi the Killer is f*cked! It's really pointlessly violent and barely conveys anything. I like Miike's own Visitor Q a lot better, and would list Gozu second. They're nowhere as violent, but a lot weirder, and very often awkwardly funny. The first scene in Gozu alone beats all of Ichi the Killer in terms of weirdness!

It's the first movie I saw from Miike. I thought it was pretty weird. I've never seen the ones you named, but I will when I get the chance.

[aitchjay]

Cool. I'm not much for realistic violence, which made me dislike Ichi even more. I'm a sucker for comic gore though!
Visitor Q is really slow and boring at first, so you've gotta be patient with it. The good weirdness starts late in the movie, but when it does, it's awesome! Gozu is weird and good the whole way through, though still slow pace-wise. If you like this kind of weird-but-awkwardly-hilarious kind of stuff, then get Riget, a Danish mini-series. It's fantastic, one of my all-time favorites.

[Vulgar`]

Titan AE - For animated/cartoon designs, the movie had some haymakers in the space fighter department, alien anatomy, and villainous charactization.

Nobody mentioned Willow? One of the best fantasy movies, if not the best.

Blade, for it's incredibly dark mood, conceptual scenes, and legendary action.

Blade 2, for character and weapon designing.

(Blade 3 was garbage)

Pagemaster, Robin Hood, Rescuers Down Under, Little Nemo, Casper, Jungle Book, and Space Jam, all classic cartoons with unforgettable characters.

Hook, for a great world of mystifying adventure.

Drunken Master, for a legendary karate movie.

Powder, for some of the best film shots I've ever seen.

Leon the Professional, for it's musical soundtrack and the mood of the movie - it's on the same level of the 5th Element in conceptual glory.

That's about it for now.

[petitemistress]

I second whoever said Casshern, fifth element (concept art was done by my fav sequential art artist Moebius (aka Jean Giraud) google him plz, actually the whole world is reminiscent of his work in L'Incal) and Immortel (the story isnt that good imo, but check out Enki Bilal's world. I love him. seriously google the man, NOW!) and I'd like to add: Donnie Darko.

yep.

Donnie Darko: Amazing characterization without being over the top sci-fi characters, the beauty of this movie is in the details. the weird conversations, the wacky or scary characters (tracksuit man, Frank the Bunny, Donnie Darko, "Sparkle Motion", Churita Chan, Grandma Death). The whole 80s feel adds to the overall mood of the movie, it's simply such an inspiring movie. After watching it, I simply couldnt stop drawing, I watch it everytime i'm in an art rut.

2046: in my humble opinion, Wong Kar Wai's best effort, visually. the uumps between the "real world" and the "metaphorical train" are wonderful, robot girl designs and normal ppl costume designs are gorgeous, this is a gem. not to mention the soundtrack is breathtaking. some people find it "too long" and ud have to watch it subtitled, but its well worth it imo.

[arttorney]

I saw a number of movies on here that I thought of until I saw them already mentioned. Not mentioned but worthy of mention:

Ben Hur- Environments include the circus in Judea, Judah Ben Hur's home, dungeons, the home of a Roman Consul, a galley, deserts, period Jerusalem.
Industrial designs= chariots, carpentry tools, weapons, galleys, armor, fortified gates, that machine they use to lower food into the valley of the lepers. Characters= a Consul of Rome, a Tribune of Rome, a mute giant, two women with leprosy, a Prince of Judea, a Sheik, a beautiful slave girl, Joseph, one of the three wise men, charioteers. Creatures= the horses. For period pieces, this one will really test you. The music is intense too.

Kung Fu Hustle- Tuxedo clad Shanghai gangsters from the forties. Pig Sty Alley. The insane asylum and "the Beast." Those two musician assassins and the spirit weapons they can generate with music. Stephen Chow running away from the crazy hag on the freeway with a knife in his shoulder and he can see her reflected in the knife like it is a rear view mirror (lol). The gay tailor is secretly a BMF kung fu master. This movie is lush with totally incongruous situations that need to be fleshed out by character, costume, and environment.

[Sunparasite]

Titan A.E
Because they managed to exevute such a stereotypical story technically interesting and somewhat interestingly different.

City of the Lost Children
Fun, creative, entertaining and unique!

The 5th Element
Been my favourite movie since the cinema days.

Angels Egg
Anime movie, art by Yoshitaka Amano. There's almost no dialogue at all in the movie, just pure animation and a mysterious setting. Lovely film!

Shaolin Soccer
Best comedy ever. I like the idea of combining martial arts and football.

[Shantih]

What, no The Science Of Sleep? Or any Gondry at all?

http://emmsy.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/scienceofsleep.jpg


Lot's of great little stop motion scenes too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRwLjXFBQj4

Some of this years Oscar favourites are great too for colour and amazing camera work -
There Will Be Blood
No Country For Old Men
Atonement

[kaktuzlime]

Disney. My dear god are they the frickin masters of character design. So much Life!!

Beauty and the Beast
The Little Mermaid
The Sword in the Stone
Atlantis Shivers down my spine. Actually, Mike Mignola was involved with the character design in this...
The Great Mouse Detective

Additional:
Matrix Trilogy (I particularily like the design in the last movie)
The Secret of Nimh Look at the hands in particular!! Incredible.
The Wild Bunch
Mortal Combat
The Quest Van Damme´s best IMO.
Scarface
Godfather Trilogy
Indiana Jones The probably most recognicable moviehero. Anyone can tell who he is by merely glancing at his silhouette. Stunning camerwork. Observe the fight scene with the big german at the propellerplane in the first movie.

John Carpenter Movies:
Big Trouble in Little China Which can´t be said enough times. Notice the difference at how the pectoralismuscles are shaped on a trained professional martial artist, in comparison to an actor. *possible spoiler* The Professional is the one who exapnds and blows up at the end ;)
The Thing
Escape From New York
Vampires

[Wooly ESS]

Goya's Ghosts - I will add this recent movie for the sake of completeness. This movie illuminates the relationship between an artist and the world he/she lives in, and what can result. Although mental deterioration and madness has been proposed as the driver behind his Black Paintings and his war prints, Goya did live during the Spanish Inquisition and the invasion of Spain by Bonaparte. These events are reflected in his work.

The movie is worth watching.

[Jon Sun]

I know it's not a movie, but Batman Beyond anyone? There were some sweet gadgets and concepts in that show, too bad they discontinued it...

And I have to agree that Nausicaa and Castle in the Sky and anything else by Miyazaki = win.

[EddTQ]

Speaking of disnep i don't think anyone mentioned Treasure planet?
The vehicle designs in that were imense and it was a fresh take on the treasure island idea! (a little corny in places..)
The robot designs were pretty kool too

I agree with casshern and i'd like to add Troy!
It may not be everyones cup of tea but there is some really great scences in that film, especially in the directors cut...!

[onedeadcat]

If you draw medieval-like fantasy warriors, have a look at The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc - has armors that look both practical and cool, great alternative to WH approach (huge shoulderpads and skulls everywhere).

>>Example<< (http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4103117056/tt0151137)

[Carnifex]

chronicles of riddick
it's always a pleasant surprise to watch,because they don't indulge as much in drama as you'd expect it from such a film. sure,vin diesel ain't much of an actor,but he fits the role. the visuals would probably fit (even) better into a comic book,and some of them are rather strange,but they work. rather nicely written too.

further emphasis on
predator 2
fifth element
aliens (of course)
constantine

[Chris Bennett]

Forbidden Planet For that great 50s retro look.......and Robbie!

[arttorney]

Mackenna's Gold. (George Lucas was on the set as a film student. See all the interesting similarities between this and the Indiana Jones movies.)

[Deon]

There are a lot of really obscure 70's & 80's movies with some really cool concepts in them:
Beast Master - really cool creatures and sets
Yor, Hunter from the Future Awesome and bizarre sets and costumes that make me think of Masters of the Universe.
Galaxy of Terror - I have to watch this one again, but I remember being impressed by the really strange pyramid at the end. Aslo has weird creatures if I'm not mistaken.
The Big Bus - one word: bus.
Death Race 2000 - This movie must have inspired Carmageddon:)

I watch a lot of really dodgy old sci-fi movies, and am often surprised at the designs and concepts that they have in them. They don't make them that way anymore:)

[arttorney]

I forgot to mention Brazil.
Environments- Who remembers all those bill boards along the road? How about the torture chamber or Sam Lowry's apartment when it was freezing? lol

Industrial designs- armor in the dream sequences, Harry Tuttle's stuff, the weird suit the storm troopers put on people and the thing they drop into apartments with from above (WTF?).

Characters- The giant brass Golem thing

[Pirate Lord78]

Definitely going to emphasize a few:

LOTR trilogy- nuff said really, it was amazing. Get a hold on the Exetnded set though, the behind the scenes stuff is a real eye opener, I can never get enough.

Titan AE- I rather enjoyed the art and designs in that movie I thought it was brilliant.

Treasure Planet- Space pirates. Awesome. Anyone remember the captain that was like a cat and a women? She was HOT. Deviant Art people could take a lesson from that.

Casshern- The most stylistic movie I have ever seen. It is AMAZING.

[Kamikazebob]

Best movie ever. Odd, to say the least.
Happiness of the Katakuris
9F6yKmWujCw

Edit - In going on Nicolas' suggestion
Visual Effects - Misako Saka, I couldn't find a whole lotta info on him, but he also did Ichi the Killer and the 3d Pokemon movie. Helluva selection.

[Izi]

Jurassic Park is important because it was the first film to feature both a life size Tyrannosaurus robot and most successfully the first use of CGI. The Making of Jurassic Park book has some of the most incredible concept art I've ever seen.

Mortal Kombat had wonderful set design, very spooky and the colors are just fantastic. New Line put a lot of thought into the sets and design. Scorpion's Lair is especially weird, as is the whole palace on top of the mountain...I'd love to live there....whew that place still gets in my dreams to this day :)

Dark Crystal is just great...so imaginative.

I also like some of the old Kung Fu films for sets as well.

[nicolas]

I think this thread would be alot cooler if instead of just throwing out movie names there, you could research the Concept / Production artist that made the movies so great.... now that would be a CA worthy thread. :yum:

[Farvus]

I think this thread would be alot cooler if instead of just throwing out movie names there, you could research the Concept / Production artist that made the movies so great.... now that would be a CA worthy thread. :yum:

Ok. I can start that. Just found one in Solaris movie.

Solaris (this Soderbergh one) - conceptual illustrator - Tim Flattery (http://timflattery.com)

[Mat Kaminski]

Alright, I just have to toss this one into the hat...

Cat Soup

Honestly, this one has inspired me in ways that I'll never understand... the movie itself leads me into some of the craziest dreams I'll ever see... be warned, this movie is extremely eff'd up. Hope this is a worthy contribution to the thread.

You can watch it here too btw...

Part 1. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH5sacgeY5Q)
Part 2. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEUnB54uM-4&feature=related)
Part 3. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-9QVlkP0bU&feature=related)

As far as other movies go, you guys have mentioned all the notables...
I'll have to add Battle Angel Alita, but quite honestly, if you're looking for story and good inspiration from that, look for the Manga, it's a TON better than the movie.

Ummm... don't really have any more additions to the list at the moment, but I'm sure I can think of more later...

[Hybrid_75]

The Abyss
I always liked American Werewolf in London
woulda been cool designing the different levels of decay his friend appears as.
and the full on transformation.
Spawn I think they coulda worked on the scene when he's in hell a bit more, ugh.
The Excorcist
I always loved those hands in the Labyrinth and everything else.

[dark eagle]

What no-ones gonna mention
The Matrix trilogy(maybe some of the games but old now) it rocks because it has... Guns, Lots of Guns

Blade trinity It has weapons, a ton load of characters and dracula who would hate a movie with dracula in it come on who opposes him getting killed(well almost)...

Kung fu hustle Great fight sequences, characters(yeh there really cool in there) and costume, and the ends really ironic wonder if there's gonna be a sequel, the weird dude with bad hair did give the second kid like 5 books rather than one.

[Pearscrow]

I just watched 'Penelope'. Gotta say I love Penelope's room - even if I don't really dig flowers, without the bleeding sun pressing on my back (Florida) it'd be nice to just chill there.

I don't think there's much for Concept Artists apart from her room, but I thought I'd mention it all the same.

[mehran]

Aliens 2.
kick ass classical...
blade 2
Del toro's action extravaganza with a kick ass final battle sequence.
Matrix trilogy
yeah yeah I know.. but it still started it all.
the New Speed racer movie.
the movie suck but the visuals are a land mark.
Pan's labyrinth
My personal favorite.
Titan A.E
Iron giant
open range
Unforgiven
that clint eastwood movie....with super character designs.

[tomwaits4noman]

Brazil, not just the dream sequences but every scene has some nice touch great shots , lighting or design...
especially the one where Sam Lowry's reflection on the mirror in the shopping centre at the end,
Gilliam knows how to do attention to detail jsut watch the documentary for 12 Monkeys where is more obsessed about the hamster spinning on the wheel in its cage than Bruce Willis performance btw,


Old Boy, the use of colours are amazing I have watched a few times just looking at the use of colours and patterns and how they tie elements of the story together, the camera shots are amazimg.

Fight Club as well for similar reasons.

Once upon in the west - talk about framing and composition... Leone turned the Western into an art form with this film.

Anything by Jan Svankmajer (Czech surrealist and animator) especially the retelling of Faust...

[Max Challie]

Sin City - mood, story, visual design

Night of The Comet - environments have good atmosphere, monsters are good as well

DanielC - that is some powerful stuff, I should see it.

[Justin.]

just saw Metropolis (the anime movie), and wow. I need to watch that again. shit was so cash

[Meloncov]

Jurassic Park is important because it was the first film to feature both a life size Tyrannosaurus robot and most successfully the first use of CGI.

While Jurrasic Park contained many innovations in CGI, and arguably marks the beginning of the current age in special effects, the first use of CGI in film was dramatically earlier. The first Star Wars film contained a little (during the briefing) as well as a few now obscure films at roughly the same time.

[Sepulverture]

Neverending Story - The designs and dialogue are a little childish but it's something that I can remember clear as day even after having not watched it for nigh on 15 years.

Cowboy Bebop - Had a great visual style, and the story telling was top notch IMO.

[JamesOutlaw3D]

Thin Red Line

Lots of really well shot jungle footage for reference.
Good actors, good movie, great visuals.

[D.C.]

As a movie lover I'd recommend:

Reservoir Dogs: Great characters, from very funny to very disturbed.
Pulp Fiction: Again, great characters, but also great mood, inspiring dialogue and situations. Check also Snatch/Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Berserk (manga/anime): Medieval settings, lots of action and gore, but also metaphysical ideas.
The Twelve Kingdoms: Anime full of interesting fantasy figures and beautiful settings.

...and many more.
Basically any movie can be inspiring, even the bad ones :). Don't be afraid to broaden your horizon.

[Amazing Action Ape]

Terminator anyone? Was that mentioned?
Starship Troopers (never saw the 2nd and third)


Also, as for Concept design on the Fifth Element, I believe Jean Claude Mezieres had the heaviest hand in designing the look and feel of the movie. He was also a big influence for the designers of star wars.

[Farsh]

Appleseed had some really awesome shit. The director's a mechanical designer as well.

[Psypomp]

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but La Planete Sauvage (Fantastic Planet) is really a superb movie that's rich in imagery and character. I haven't seen anything like it. When I first saw a little bit of the film, I was terrified because it was so strange.. However, the music, the dialogue, and the symbolism is really beautiful once you accept its originality.
Maybe some of you have seen part of it in The Cell! (also a great conceptual movie, but already mentioned) :sungod:

[Eerin]

I don't think anyone has yet to mention Waterworld? Just a fantastic futuristic movie. Totally a different take on what the future has in store for humanity: people living on makeshift floating cities and dilapidated boats, and surrounded by endless water? Just got to love these post apocalyptic kind of movies. :)

[Mon Chat]

Cinamon, japanese anime... trippy stuff. but very inspiring, lots of morphing shapeshifting ect.

[kingshaj]

just saw "paprika"

see it it will make you draw , its just out on dvd and its an artist's feast of images....

oh and hellboy 2

[kingshaj]

im curious, why films like "pulp fiction" or "reservoir dogs" are mentioned here so often.
these films are being listed for their value for concept artists. as it relates to their craft. yes?


i love these films as much as most...they are indeed awesome.
so im not critiquing him as a filmmaker ...im a fan.

but this is a director that is completely disinterested in this aspect of film making.
he is clearly more interested in story telling and dialog. (especially dialog)

his muses are obviously the 70s pulp genres, and all the associated camp. Then when we are laughing at the camp and kitch or the royal with cheese...he hits us with brutality ....a great formula.

however as to the topic of this thread.
his films are visually concept free....handy locations in and around LA, minimal costuming, bad wigs and
possibly no storyboarding.

the kill bill films seem to be the exception and the death proof as well....(great fun)

there are almost no arresting images in the majority of his films, in pure visual storytelling terms.
no dynamic screen captures to be had...no crazy angled cinematography of his less prestigious peers (opening sequence to "lock stock and 2 smoking barrels" for instance)
its just not his voice....it aint his thing...

the violence is often off camera or takes the form of a badass monologue, punctuated with a bang/ fade to black.

so with all that said ...what am i missing? or are we just off topic?


i love pulp fiction, but, if i hadn't seen it and went running off to rent them craving concept inspiration, having seen it suggested in this thread....id be annoyed .

[Jasonwclark]

Goya in Bordeaux - For the wisdom and the glory. :)

[ShroudStar]

I just went DVD-shopping today and picked up 'The Fountain', 'Equilibrium', and 'Renaissance' based on my own interests and some of the mentioned picks on here. (I was also relieved to see that 'The Foundation' wasn't based on Ayn Rand's Objectivism philosophy bullshit).

Impressions:

'The Fountain' has amazing and beautiful, if not jaw-dropping visuals due to the lighting, color, and composition. The final half hour was simply a feast for the eyes. I also like the Buddhist and Christian allusions. The bonus was the special feature which went through how they filmed and designed all three time periods in the movie. Nice to see how some of those visuals were created.

'Renaissance' is definitely going to become a reference. The play of black-and-white is striking and my eyes were busy the entire time, seeing negatives and positives shifting back and forth to give form. Awestruck the entire way through. The building structures were interesting and the conceptual process laid out quite a bit of concept art, 3D modeling, and groundwork of ideas. Considering I love cyberpunk and am getting into perspective and environments, this is one great movie.

I'll be seeing 'Equilibrium' tomorrow. It'll be nice to see how someone else portrays the future, nevermind gun kata.

If there's anything I'll recommend, it'll be a miniseries. I'm in the middle of HBO's 'Rome', intercutting it with other movies, and the attention to detail in costuming, set design, lighting, and color is flat out amazing. Their feature of 'All Roads Lead to Rome' also give historical information, which further gives weight to the details depicted in the miniseries. One of the boxsets I'm holding onto in case I ever need to do something Roman.

[Brushcommander]

Maybe I'm repeating things but Kin-Dza-Dza blew my mind.

http://agostinozamboni.com/wp-content/plugins/hot-linked-image-cacher/upload/coilhouse.net/wp-content/uploads/kin2.jpg


I'd also recommend M.A.R.K. 13/Hardware
some footage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk8W3ysnB7M&NR=1

[kab]

I don´t know if anyone have mentioned this, but the early James Bond films feature amazingly cool sets. Ken Adam did some really innovative stuff and designed wild sets for rooms that would usually been an empty box. The villains lairs in movies such as Dr. No, You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me are simply amazing.

[Parka81]

Some production design knowledge is useful too. Check out Hans Bacher's blog (http://one1more2time3.wordpress.com/).

[Mat Kaminski]

Well, I've been watching alot of inspiring movies lately:

I have to say that for artistic inspiration MirrorMask definitely has a certain artistic quality to it. You guys might like to watch that one for some disturbing reference. :)

Even though it's a bit off as far as inspiration goes, Perfume has a bit of cool lighting pieces that might make for some interesting compositions. This movie is just flat out disturbing though, so it's not really for the feint of heart.

I had quite a few others, but I forgot them at the moment, I'll check back after work and look through the gallery that I have at the house to see which others I can think of...

[Farvus]

Right now I'm watching anime series called Planetes. It's sci-fi story about space garbage collectors. Lots of really nice designs and they all look pretty functional too. (I especially like the EVA suit design).

http://static1.animepaper.net/upload/thumbs/wallpapers/Planetes/%5Blarge%5D%5BAnimePaper%5Dwallpapers_Planetes_Tam a-Neko_16872.jpg

[Dizon]

Right now I'm watching anime series called Planetes. It's sci-fi story about space garbage collectors. Lots of really nice designs and they all look pretty functional too. (I especially like the EVA suit design).

http://static1.animepaper.net/upload/thumbs/wallpapers/Planetes/%5Blarge%5D%5BAnimePaper%5Dwallpapers_Planetes_Tam a-Neko_16872.jpg

First time I've heard about this anime. Looks cool. I'll give it a go.

[Bill]

As far as pretty shots I'd actually say that Wall-E has some of the very prettiest I've ever seen. Of course the robots and spaceships are going to be in the Pixar mold. That's not a knock obviously but some like their robots a little more "badass" I think. Still, there are some stupid pretty shots in that one.

Another movie with spaceships that's just an awesome movie but also one of the most beautifull, imo, is The Right Stuff.

[aoleon]

Some movies I like that feature great cinematography,costumes,etc... are:

The Great Silence
Musa the Warrior-I think somebody already said this
Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi
Werner Herzog's Aguirre:The Wrath of God
Lucio Fulci's The Beyond

[Dadaist]

Dark City - environment, definitely. (can you tell I've been studying environments lately?) As well as character - as the The Strangers are strikingly creepy. Also the hints of art deco (mixed with industrial sci fi), in the designs of the city and the dark, noirish tones of the story.

A sadly underrated sci-fi movie. It blew my mind when I first saw it. It was visually impressive: the notion of a city changing itself as people sleep is terrifying. I love the buildings blossoming like flowers. Weird, weird, weird.

[Palomar]

Apropos of the season….

The 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special-->(Direct Google Video link (http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=star+wars+holiday+special&emb=0&aq=f#))

A potent lesson in how to destroy something you love.

Every frame is an example of what you should not do.

-Have a happy Life Day

[nickmarshallvfx]

Dont know if its already been mentioned, but John Carpenters 'The Thing' (1982 i believe?) features some amazing traditional matte painted environments. The specials features have a small section where you can see Albery Whitlock (a master of old school matte painting) talking a bit about his craft.
Worth a watch.

Nick

[Mat Kaminski]

Repo! A Genetic Opera (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963194/)

This movie, although a rock opera, is incredible for visual stimulii. The moment you turn this one on, you'll see what I mean for costumes, and environment design. Now for a couple words of warning: This movie is GOREY AS HELL, so if you can't deal with Saw style gore (possibly even gorier) than this movie probably isn't for you. Also it has a very 'goth' feel to it. But at least there is a reason this time (the world has gone to post-apocalyptic mess, etc.).

Now for a synopsis for you guys:

In the year 2056 - the not so distant future - an epidemic of organ failures devastates the planet. Out of the tragedy, a savior emerges: GeneCo, a biotech company that offers organ transplants, for a price. Those who miss their payments are scheduled for repossession and hunted by villainous Repo Men. In a world where surgery addicts are hooked on painkilling drugs and murder is sanctioned by law, a sheltered young girl searches for the cure to her own rare disease as well as information about her family's mysterious history. After being sucked into the haunting world of GeneCo, she is unable to turn back, as all of her questions will be answered at the wildly anticipated spectacular event: The Genetic Opera.


Secondly, this one might have already been mentioned but, A Scanner Darkly (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405296/) is another movie that is great for a visual style. This might better apply to 3D rendering, or possibly comic books, but I thought it fitting for this section.

Hopefully you guys enjoy both of those.
I'll keep looking for more that I think would fit well into conceptualizing :)

[Max Challie]

Contact

583886583888

[shamandalie]

I recently showed my students Tekkonkinkreet (http://i-seldom-do.livejournal.com/115405.html). The characters are simply drawn but i love the background.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

There are so many great suggestions here that most of mine have already been listed.

A&E presents Agatha Christie's Poirot series - Not only entertaining, but some really great period costumes and hairstyles. The sets are often very well done, and some really nice classic vehicles too.

[Carnifex]

because i just watched it yesterday again...
little nemo: adventures in slumberland. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Nemo:_Adventures_in_Slumberland)

[Helioth]

Can't believe no one's mentioned Riddick!
While the films aren't really that gripping, mainly due to pompous and bad acting, some of the concept design and ideas, Zomg!
http://timflattery.com/main.html concept designer.

Also, yeah, paprika (the anime) is great.
If you can read japanese or have someone who will read japanese for you
try reading the novel byYasutaka Tsutsui (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasutaka_Tsutsui) (the film is based on), it's even better... Some passages really get your imagination going!

Other films: Waterworld, Futurama (beast with a billion backs and benders big score)...

I know this is a film thread but, games: I fell in love with the world of anarchy online when i was about 14.
http://anarchyonline.wikia.com/wiki/Shadowlands_Concept_Art
http://anarchyonline.wikia.com/wiki/Lost_Eden_Concept_Art
Warhammer needs no introduction.
Deus ex.

[Matt Dixon]

Have I just looked through 152 posts without seeing the 1980 Flash Gordon movie mentioned once? This thread makes me sad.

[CGMonkey]

Ultraviolet/Equilibrium: not the most deep films but they have some decent environments and lots of futuristic action. By the same director, and in a lot of ways they are the same movie.


I don't know why people can't see the abyss of deepness that exists in Equilibrium.

[Farvus]

I don't know why people can't see the abyss of deepness that exists in Equilibrium.

Well. You could explain that whole movie in short trailer and not loose much. But I still like it beacause of martial arts :).

[KonnA]

300 Mainly CG film. Good style and action.

V for Vendetta Based on a Graphic novel. Very stylish.

Wall-E Animated Film based in the future with a cool robot

Children Of Men Bleak near future of britain.

Final Fantasy: Advent Children Full CG, all in an alternate future. Insanely huge swords and "demons"...

Iron Man

Sin City Very Awesome style, started a trend

Wanted I liked the style

Pirates Of the Caribbean Cool Pirates/Concepts

Matrix . . .

Equilibrium Awesome film in the distant future about equalising emotion for the greater good.

Gladiator Just bad ass, old roman good for inspiring painting ideas.

[KonnA]

The Extraordinary League of Gentlemen

Atlantis (Animated)

Most Computer animated films... (Kung Fu Panda)

[CGMonkey]

Well. You could explain that whole movie in short trailer and not loose much. But I still like it beacause of martial arts :).

Hehe -- well if you watch in mind, you'll notice that the martial arts is a very small portion of the film.