Designs on Film by Cathy Whitlock

Author:Cathy Whitlock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2012-12-27T16:00:00+00:00

The Untouchables (1987) • Patrizia von Brandenstein, production designer

The opulent barber shop in The Untouchables (1987) • Patrizia von Brandenstein, production designer

Other famous city locales the team shot were the Chicago Theater and the Rookery Building on South LaSalle, which served as the police department’s exterior. The gangster sets—Capone’s apartment, the barber shop, and boardroom—were purposely very rich in color while the Ness home and the apartment of Jim Malone (played by Sean Connery) were somewhat bland and made to appear working-class. Capone’s world was created with opulence—the jewel tones and bright reds in the plush apartment serve as markers of wealth and decadence. Everything, including the parquet floor with diamond patterns, was heavily ornamented and detailed, and, like its owner, larger than life.

“GREED IS GOOD”

—GORDON GEKKO, WALL STREET

A cautionary tale at heart, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street (Twentieth Century Fox, 1987) came seemingly before its time: it was a parable for the nineties—a decade of money, self-indulgence, unabashed narcissism, and consumerism.

Michael Douglas as the ruthless financier Gordon Gekko sums it up in a stockholders’ meeting speech when he exclaims his immortal catchphrase: “Greed is good.” The young broker Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen) becomes Gekko’s protégé.

Designed by Stephen Hendrickson, the film’s sets support the characters’ luxurious lifestyles, capturing the sensibilities of the rich and ultrarich right down to the last detail. As Bud rises to the top, he purchases a high-rise apartment on the Upper West Side, complete with all the latest yuppie accoutrements, from sushi-makers to over-the-top abstract art. The apartment is designed by society decorator Darien Taylor (played by Darryl Hannah), who plans to “do for furniture what Laura Ashley did for fabrics” and have Bud take her company public.

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