If You Build It, He Will Come, or Paint It as in Michelangelo’s Case.
These are movies and television movies that show actual great buildings, monuments, or works of art that actually exist or had existed, being built or under construction or created during the course of the film. Which is your favorite?
(Sorry, but films about building a fictional house are not included here for now. But that may change later.)
Budding young architects can discuss contributions here.
Live poll: https://www.imdb.com/poll/1prjFOZ6oVo/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk
(Sorry, but films about building a fictional house are not included here for now. But that may change later.)
Budding young architects can discuss contributions here.
Live poll: https://www.imdb.com/poll/1prjFOZ6oVo/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk
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26 titles
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsKevin CostnerJames Earl JonesRay LiottaIowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.The baseball field actually does exist.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsCharlton HestonRex HarrisonDiane CilentoThe biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.Not only Michelangelo’s fresco on the ceiling of the Sixtine Chapel, the building of St. Peter’s is also shown in several phases of its building.
- DirectorDon BluthStarsDom DeLuiseChristopher PlummerErica YohnWhile emigrating to the United States, a young Russian mouse gets separated from his family and must locate them while trying to survive in a new country.The Statue of Liberty
- DirectorMichael PressmanStarsEric RobertsGlynnis O'ConnorMarshall ColtThe true story of Jan Scruggs, an embittered Vietnam veteran who returns from the war a broken man. However, with the help of his loving wife Becky, he begins to find a new life for himself, and a personal goal when he agrees to begin a determined campaign to raise funds for a veteran's memorial.The Vietnam War Memorial
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsSidney PoitierLilia SkalaLisa MannA travelling handyman becomes the answer to the prayers of nuns who wish to build a chapel in the desert.The real Chapel actually does exists in Arizona.
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsChris SarandonFrank LangellaCarrie FisherDrama about how the Statue of Liberty came to be erected in New York Harbor in the early 1880s and the people responsible for its creation.The Statue of Liberty
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsCharlton HestonYul BrynnerAnne BaxterMoses, raised as a prince of Egypt in the Pharaoh's household, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people from slavery.It doesn’t say what but a city is being built.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.The Union Pacific Railroad
- DirectorDenis CaïozziStarsRebecca BottoneSophie-Louise DannRebecca de Pont DaviesInspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The plot revolves around George, a fictionalized version of Seurat, who immerses himself deeply in painting his masterpiece, and his great-grandson (also named George), a conflicted and cynical contemporary artist.Georges Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
- DirectorMichael SpierigPeter SpierigStarsHelen MirrenSarah SnookFinn Scicluna-O'PreyEnsconced in her sprawling San Jose, California mansion, eccentric firearm heiress Sarah Winchester (Dame Helen Mirren) believes she is haunted by the souls of people killed by the Winchester repeating rifle.The Winchester Mystery House, or as some would say, Manson. (Suggested by ACT_1)
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.The Burma-Siam Railway and the bridge at the Mae Klong river – renamed Khwae Yai in the 1960s. The film is highly inaccurate since Colonial Nicholson is fictional and would have been quietly killed by the prisoners for collaborating with the enemy. The real officer was Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey of the British Army who encouraged his men to sabotage and delay the building of the bridge.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.The cornfield. (Suggested by BONAFIDE BOSS.)
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'HaraCedric HardwickeIn 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.Notre Dame. (In this version, it is still under construction.)
- DirectorKen BurnsStarsPaul RoeblingJulie HarrisArthur MillerThis documentary chronicles the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. The difficult construction process is described in interesting detail; later parts of the film interview current notables who describe the effects that the Brooklyn Bridge has had upon New York society and beyond.The Brooklyn Bridge (Suggested by Dan Dassow)
- DirectorCharles GuggenheimL.T. IglehartStarsPaul RichardsSoaring above the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Arch stands today as the nation's tallest arch and national monument. "Monument to the Dream", at unnerving heights, traces the adventures of the Arch's evolution, from the early concepts on the drawing board to the fabrication of its stainless steel sections, and the triumphant placement, in a race against the sun, of its final section in the fall of 1965. Through the words of the master architect Eero Saarinen, and the ambient chorus of mallets beating metal sheets into graceful curves, the film reveals the innovative structural techniques and the brilliant design of this avant-garde monument, presenting one of this century's greatest civil engineering achievements as a metaphor for the struggle to win the West. This film went on to be nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short in 1967. "It is one of the most beautiful films of its kind I have ever seen." ---J. Carter Brown, The National Gallery of ArtThe St. Louis Gateway Arch (AKA, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Arch) (Suggested by Dan Dassow)
- DirectorFranz OstenStarsHimanshu RaiCharu RoySeeta Devi Jr.A historical romance set in the Mughal Empire. Selima (Enakshi) is a princess-foundling raised by a potter and loved by her brother, Shiraz (Rai). She is abducted and sold as a slave to Prince Khurram, later Emperor Shah Jehan (Roy), who falls for her, to the chagrin of the wily Dalia (Seeta Devi). When Selima is caught with Shiraz, the young man is condemned to be trampled to death by an elephant. A pendant reveals Selima's royal status and she saves her brother, marries the prince and becomes Empress Mumtaz Mahal while Dalia is banned for her machinations against Selima. When Selima dies (1629), the emperor builds her a monument to the design of the now old and blind Shiraz, the Taj Mahal. The film contains a number of passionate kissing scenes.The Taj Mahal (Suggested by Pencho15)
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsMatt DamonChristian BaleJon BernthalAmerican car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car for Ford in order to defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.Ford GT40 Mk I and Mk II high-performance racing car.
- DirectorCarroll BallardStarsMatthew ModineJennifer GreyCliff RobertsonRomance and adventure happen during the America's Cup series of yachting races.The racing yacht. While it was called “ Geronimo” and winning the America’s cup in 1987, according to boat international.com, the actual winner of the America’s Cup in 1987, “Stars & Stripes 87” was used. It was just painted over. https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/americas-cup/famous-americas-cup-yachts--26885/frame-3
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.The three escape tunnels Tom, Dick, and Harry.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.I won’t say it was great, but it was real and a nightmare: the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJames StewartMurray HamiltonPatricia SmithCharles 'Slim' Lindbergh struggles to finance and design an airplane that will make his New York to Paris flight the first solo transatlantic crossing.The airplane “The Spirit of St. Louis”. (Suggested by Dan Dassow)
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsCate BlanchettBilly CrudupEmma NelsonA loving mom becomes compelled to reconnect with her creative passions after years of sacrificing herself for her family. Her leap of faith takes her on an epic adventure that jump-starts her life and leads to her triumphant rediscovery.The actual Antarctica base (Suggested by IMDBmember)
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsJeff BridgesJoan AllenMartin LandauThe story of Preston Tucker, the maverick car designer and his ill-fated challenge to the auto industry with his revolutionary car concept.Tucker automobiles and factory (Suggested by Ed Jones(XLIX))
- DirectorMarc AbrahamStarsGreg KinnearLauren GrahamAlan AldaRobert Kearns takes on the Detroit automakers who he claims stole his idea for the intermittent windshield wiper.The intermittent windshield wiper (Suggested by Dan Dassow)
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsWarren BeattyAnnette BeningHarvey KeitelThe story of how Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel started Las Vegas.The Flamingo Casino (Suggested by Pencho15)
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMark RylanceAlan AldaDuring the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.The Berlin Wall (Suggested by Pencho15)