Top 11 Movie Production Designs
- CJ Tiernan
- Jun 9
- 7 min read
By CJ Tiernan
Production Design is the term used to describe the creation of the visual world of the film. It is the sets and props that one sees on screen. If asked to describe it like one of your French girls, you’d call it the Mise-en-scène, which translates to “placing on stage.” Long story short, it’s everything you see in front of the camera or the physical world of the film. Color, design, placement, lighting, and so much more go into sculpting a world that we believe. The following is a list created to honor the impressive attention to detail and immersive worlds created for our viewing pleasure. Here is of the Top 11 Production Designs in Movies I’ve ever seen. Enjoy!
1. Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling was a very visual story teller. She constantly used repeated words and phrases to conjure images in your head like “half-moon spectacles” and “pale, sneering face,” almost creating visual shortcuts to the characters, allowing us to see the character before she even mentioned who had just popped into the scene. That level of detail set very lofty expectations for the movies. The creators absolutely met the challenge. The world that was produced on screen was so enchanting and magical that not only do we feel swept away into another time and place while watching the movies but they had to recreate it in theme parks because it was just so enticing (in the immortal words of Liz Lemon: “I want to go to there). In my opinion, the granular precision and dedication to detail, coupled with the grand scope of the project, make this the most significant production design I’ve ever seen (and, unlike most of the other movies on this list, you can actually enjoy it in person thanks to Universal). Oh, and yes, I did make 8 movies my first movie on the list. It’s not the last time I’m gonna pull a fast one like that so strap in. You’re in for a long one.
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
This is my favorite movie of all time that received a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes (fewer than 60% of the critics found it viable for the masses). Those people are wrong. It, like all other versions I’ve ever seen of The Grinch (the original book, the short movie from the ‘60s, the Benedict Cumberbatch one) is great. This particular one, directed by Ron Howard, is my highest ranked Grinch movie because they were able to bring the gravity-defying architecture of Dr. Seuss to live-action cinema. It’s only been tried one other time and it really didn’t go well (Mike Myers’ Cat in the Hat). There is reality-bending magic and whimsy to the movie that is enhanced by physical world of the sets and props. It both feels real enough to step into and too dreamlike to be real (just like Jim Carrey).
3. Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is gothic Dr. Seuss (actually Tim Burton might actually be gothic Dr. Seuss). It harbors a mind-melting world of incongruent angles and jarring, mismatched dimensions. I love it! It was manufactured in the ‘80s, so you know it’s not all CGI trickery and visual gimmicks (they actually even used some stop-motion animation). They really made some crazy stuff for this movie. Also, while production design doesn’t directly work on the costumes, they do set the color palette for the film. It’s worth acknowledging the many wild costumes at play in this one. Imagine attending an undead gala with the cast of Wednesday whilst on acid and you’ll get an idea for the aesthetic (you may come away with a whole bunch of ideas thanks to the acid).
4. Men In Black
This is the first of several Sci-Fi movies on the list (and the first of multiple Will Smith movies). So much of the design of the movie is iconic. The Neuralyzer, Noisy Cricket, the weird egg chairs in the exam room at the beginning, and the way the screens are rounded rather than rectangular. Ovals and shiny, unpainted metal tech are the takeaway from this alternate reality where aliens live among us (oh wait, according to recent releases from the government, that’s our actual reality).
5. Pirates of the Caribbean
For the first movie (far and away the best of the 5-and-counting entries in the series), the crew built the Black Pearl on top of a barge. Like, they just turned a barge into a pirate ship. Did you notice? I didn’t notice. That’s pretty sick (and pretty slick). From the ships, to the swords and guns, to the gold, to the hats, Pirates is full of props that feel extremely weathered and lived in. They’ve really wrung a lot out of a Disney World water ride. Imagineering at its finest.
6. Hugo
Although it is based on a book, this is otherwise the first movie on my list that lacks sequels, prequels, or remakes. It stands alone and it stands tall. This Martin Scorsese movie packs a visual and emotional punch. If forced to sum up the production design in two words, we opt for: French Steampunk. There are automatons aplenty and the titular character lives inside a clock tower. All those gears, gears, gears, gears will leave your head spinning. And then, if a French train station with steampunk imagery doesn’t get you where you want to go, we discover the film studio of Georges Méliès. There, we are steeped in turn-of-the-century cinema in all its silent glory. Even though the world is assembled in such a way that it feels much more real than some of the other movies we touched on so far, the movie still manages to create an ineffable air of magic. It’s extraordinary.
7. Alien
I haven’t seen all the Alien movies. There are quite a few out and about these days. However, all the sequels I have seen are remarkably faithful to the design crafted in the original. The first movie takes place aboard a spaceship called the Nostromo. This is the setting of the entire movie. As such, we get to know the ship quite well. The whole thing is impressively ornate. I love how the doors are all have a kind of hexagonal or octagonal style, but they aren’t all exactly the same. I’ve never been a doors guy (well, Riders on the Storm was pretty good) but for whatever reason, the doors in Alien are my favorite cinematic doors. What a weird confession. I also found the design of the title character, in its many forms, to be quite satisfying.
8. Back to the Future
I am lumping together both Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II on this list, and doing so for a specific reason. I have to have the first one on here because the DeLorean is the greatest vehicle in the history of entertainment. However, the hoverboard from the second movie is also one of the greatest modes of transportation in the history of time and space. I actually own shirts that feature the design of each of them, to show proper respect. I was born too late to live through 1985 (although I’ve bowled for soup), but I was there for every day of 2015 and you know what? The one in Back to the Future was better (and it only missed its Cubs World Series prediction by one year). Also, I didn’t count the third movie because it’s kind of all set in the wild west and I’m not a wild west-flavored guy. I just kept saying, “take me back to the future!”
9. I, Robot
I, Robot takes place in 2035, so there’s still time to achieve its vision of the future. If it comes with those sweet Audis, I’m in. There are transparent robots (voiced by Alan Tudyk) and smart homes. While the smart home thing is starting to happen, I think we’re still a bit removed from robots assimilating with society. After all, one just accidentally kicked a kid the other day in China. If China doesn’t have it locked down yet, it’s gonna be a minute.
10. Lord of the Rings
The production of this movie was such an epic undertaking. Just the number of costumes and props that had to be generated for all the extras in this movie is incomprehensible. There were also a lot of miniatures used. Additionally, as human beings (who were all roughly the same size) were used to represent non-humans (some of which are quite a bit smaller than humans), props had to be built in multiple sizes or to specific specifications to ensure that camera tricks pulled off the illusion of dwarves and hobbits. Also, while we’re on the whole “me obsessed with doors” thing, I gotta mention how awesome those circular hobbit doors are.
11. Barbie
In a word: pink. Like super, ultra, mega pink. There was actually a national shortage of pink paint available because of the large quantity used in the making of this motion picture. To be fair, they used it to perfection. They designed the sets to look like actual Barbie play items, with no walls or doors (say it’s not so!) so that kids could use the interiors. I love this movie so much and the way they assembled Barbie Land was just perfect. The bright colors, the incorporation of real Barbies and costume designs, all led to perfect execution of the Barbie aesthetic.
Final Thoughts
Like the score of the film, production design can be subtle. It can actually be at its best when you don’t notice it. Unless the movie takes places in a world that is obviously not our own, it can be difficult to even imagine that anything was done. What is that? A kid’s room with movie and band posters on the walls. They probably just found the room like that. Nope. A painstaking level of understanding of the world and the characters was used to cultivate (or build) the perfect space and fill it with just the right things. Unsung heroes, those production designers are (whoops! My Yoda is showing). I will leave a list of the production designs that just missed my Top 11 list down below. Please let me know in the comments if I missed any of your favorites. Thanks! Have a great day!
Comments