Pré-modernist architects
Documentaties about architecture before the 1920's
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- DirectorManfred KirchheimerStarsDylan BakerThe development of the American skyscraper, starting in the late 19th century, in Chicago and then New York, centers on the conflict between architects Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan.
- DirectorBrad DayEddie TaylorStarsColin AmeryClive AsletWilliam DalrympleThe celebrated British architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens was born in London in 1869. His long career coincided with the great flowering triumph of the Victorian Empire and the terrible tragedy of the First World War. He died in 1944 whilst working on his designs for a cathedral in Liverpool. Every year Lutyens is remembered alongside The Glorious Dead as the nation gathers round his Cenotaph in Whitehall, which in its simplicity, enshrines a rare sense of harmony. Well known for his country houses with beautiful gardens by Gertude Jekyll, Lutyens is also remembered for the magnificent war memorials in France and for the outstanding Viceroy s house in New Delhi, the capital city of India. Despite these huge achievements he was a modest and romantic man, renowned for his wit and charm. This new film explores the phenomenal range of the architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens - as well as the unique character of the man.
- DirectorDanielle ProskarStarsVictor CouzynMatthias EubaNina StrehleinLa Sagrada Família - although still under construction in Barcelona - is a cathedral without any flaws. Almost 100 years after his death, experts are convinced that Gaudí was a mathematical genius and that each embellishing ornament of the Sagrada Família actually serves an architectural purpose.
- DirectorJosé María ArgemíStarsCarlos MendyJosefina GüellManuel GilThe life and tragic death of the architect who revolutionized the artistic world with his works, such as La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsIsidro Puig BoadaAntoni GaudíSeiji MiyaguchiThe work of Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí, as seen by Japanese New Wave director Hiroshi Teshigahara.
- DirectorMark Richard SmithStarsMadolyn Smith OsborneMark Richard SmithDocumentary about the revolutionary and brilliant Chicago architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924); his rapid rise to fame, tragic decline, and the ultimate triumph of his creative spirit.
- DirectorHugo PortischStarsOtto ClemensA documentary about Kowloon, the walled city which was an ungoverned settlement in Hong Kong and was torn down by the government in 1993.
- DirectorStefan HauptStarsJordi Bonet i ArmengolEtsuro SotooAnna HuberThe Sagrada Família in Barcelona is a unique and fascinating building project by a brilliant, formerly controversial genius, Antoni Gaudi, with an army of workers, a history with many highs and lows and a myriad of questions raised. The biography of the edifice, which has been under construction since 1882 and is about half completed today, is the starting point for Stefan Haupt's film SAGRADA, el misteri de la creacio.
- DirectorSuha ArinStarsCahit SaherGranville Van DusenThe Ayasofia (Hagia Sophia) of today, accepted as one of the greatest monuments of the history of architecture, was built approximately 1500 years ago by two architects from Western Anatolia, Isidoros of Miletos (Soke) and Anthmios of Tralles (Aydin). Approximately ten thousand laborers under the supervision of a hundred master craftsmen constructed the present building, commissioned by the Emperor Justinian and completed on December 27, 537. Ayasofia was regarded with great affection and solicitude by the Byzantine emperors who succeeded Justinian. It became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. This sacred building in Istanbul was also held in great esteem by the Ottoman Sultans. In the 16th century, during the reign of Selim II, Sinan, Architect-in-Chief to the Sultan constructed gigantic buttresses that prevented Ayasofia from collapsing. In the garden of Ayasofia is the biggest of the Ottoman royal tombs, containing the bodies of a number of Sultans and princes.
- DirectorJames R. MessengerStarsSaeed JaffreyThe documentary short subject "The Taj Mahal," winner of two national Emmy Awards for "Best Documentary" and "Best Cinematography," tells the romantic story behind one of the most famous buildings in the world. Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the 16th Century to commemorate his love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the film traces all the artistic forces that led to this architectural masterpiece. The story illustrates the manner in which Shah Jahan met Mumtaz Mahal, and how their love grew over many years, ending with her tragic death in childbirth. The film then depicts Shah Jahan's passionate determination to commemorate that love with a monument that took 22,000 men and women working 24 hours a day across the span of 22 years to build, and shows where the Taj Mahal fits into the history of Mughal architecture, as well as how the impact of Persian Gardens, white marble, and intricate design based upon cultural and religious concepts evolved to culminate in this great masterwork.. ---------- This film was produced by Penguin Productions, Ltd., and is NOTaffiliated with the pornography production house Penguin Productions, as listed in the IMDb.
- DirectorRobert SilkeStarsVictoria CaballaireGodfrey JohnsonNicole FrancoCape Town, Republic of South Africa. Springbok Heights is a magnificent ivory tower - an art deco masterpiece and an anachronism in the new South Africa. Like its all-white inhabitants, it hasn't changed much in the last few decades. A tightly wound knot of tiny - yet superbly designed - bachelor flats, Springbok Heights seems to weave its residents into its mortar. The longer they stay... the longer they stay. Wouter Malan: Leadership qualities, musical tendencies, greasy facial hair. Wouter was compelled to take early retirement from his Physical Education post at the Oude Scholen Technical High School for Boys. Since then, money has been very, very tight. Hilda has been a Springbok Heights resident all her adult life and has had a crush on Wouter since the day he moved in. But since undergoing elective surgery in the 1970s, Hilda lacks the one thing Wouter seeks most in a companion. Nathan Golding: Affluent, endearing, mentally disabled. The son Wouter never could have... but sweet, trusting Nathan is cultivating a relationship with an outsider. A lesbian couple, a tragic architect and a particularly large (but not unattractive) specimen of vermin swell the socially claustrophobic ranks of this tiny universe - which Springbok Heights strains to contain. These compelling discussions reveal fundamental contradictions of testimony, pointing to a rather fragile perception of common events shared by the close, closeted community.
- DirectorFlorian BorchmeyerThe final moments of Havana's buildings seen through the eyes of their inhabitants: before they are renovated - or collapsed altogether.
- DirectorMatt TyrnauerStarsThomas CampanellaVincent D'OnofrioMindy FulliloveWriter and urban activist Jane Jacobs fights to save historic New York City during the ruthless redevelopment era of urban planner Robert Moses in the 1960s.
- StarsStephen SmithA look at how the Art Nouveau movement flourished in the burgeoning cities of Europe at the end of the 19th century.
- StarsDan CruickshankHistorian and writer Dan Cruickshank celebrates architecture as a creative force as he explores the world's greatest cities, buildings and monuments.
- StarsAlice RobertsBen RobinsonElaine ChalusProfessor Alice Roberts explores the UK's past, focusing on six key eras by exploring the stories of towns which best illustrate each.
- DirectorJonathan StampStarsAbdalla MahmoudHisham AbdullahMohamed AwadBased on the latest archaeological discoveries and combining dramatic reconstruction, location shooting and state-of-the-art CGI computer effects, this film travels back in time to reveal how the mighty structure of the Great Pyramid was built.
- DirectorLuc GenevriezStarsAgnès GribeSylvain JoubertDocumentary on the historical third Abbey of Cluny, which was destroyed during the French Revolution. It contains four minutes of digital reconstruction, based on the work of the American archaeologist Kenneth John Conant.
- StarsChristien AnholtKate WilliamsRoma AgrawalThe history of the greatest and most lavish palaces in the world.
- DirectorUday GunjikarVisit the world's most outrageous and extravagant monument to excess -- Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA.
- DirectorTim KingStarsDavid MacaulayCaroline BergDerek JacobiDavid Macaulay and Caroline Berg explore medieval cathedral architecture through the fictional animated story of the rebuilding of such a cathedral in the middle ages after a disastrous fire.
- DirectorPeter NewingtonStarsDavid MacaulaySarah BullenRonald BaddileyThe architecture and life of medieval castles are explored while we follow the story of one such English castle in medieval Wales.
- DirectorLarry KleinStarsDavid MacaulayDerek JacobiBrian BlessedThe architecture of the Egyptian pyramids is explored while we follow the story of one Egyptian dynasty building them.
- DirectorMarc JampolskyStarsImmacolata AulisaXavier BaillyPierre BouetThe town and Abbey of the Mont Saint-Michel built on a tiny rocky tidal island overlooking the Bay has captured the imagination of millions of visitors. The settlement on the island dates back to the 8th Century. The maze-like constructions overlapping one another unfold over centuries.
- StarsAlex BeginGeorge SarahMary O'ReganVisiting historic churches and people who are revitalizing and restoring old traditions and classic forms of sacred art, architecture and music for new generations of the faithful.
- DirectorGwyn WilliamsStarsPierre Tallet
- DirectorNils VestStarsPreben AalholtPer CarstensenLauritz de ThurahThe baroque spiral spire of Our Saviour's Church in Copenhagen, Denmark, built in 1750 by the architect Lauritz de Thurah, is a unique piece of art with a unique history behind, with traces to the Tower of Babel.
- StarsJonathan MeadesA psycho-analysis of the Victorian house.
- DirectorR.J. AdamsThis film explores the mystic castles of Hitler's SS and political soldiers. The enormous neo-classic and medieval fortresses were typical of Nazi architecture in the Third Reich and today serve as military installations. Until now, the three Order Castles have never been viewed by the general public.
- Exploring a historical house in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is the former residence of former Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald.
- DirectorPejman AkbarzadehStarsEd KeallVesta Sarkhosh CurtisUte Franke-Vogt"Taq Kasra: Wonder of Architecture" is the first-ever documentary film on the world's largest brickwork vault. The palace is the symbol of the Persian Empire in the Sasanian era (224-651 AD), when a major part of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) was part of Persia (Iran). Taq Kasra was in serious danger of ISIS attacks in 2015-2016 and this was the main motivation for documentary maker Pejman Akbarzadeh to travel to Iraq twice and film the arch before it was potentially destroyed. The film explores the history and architecture of Taq-i Kisra (also known as Arch of Ctesiphon) with respected archaeologists and scholars from around the world and portrays the huge impact of war and ideological policies on the identity of this ancient monument.
- DirectorMatthew LambStarsMatthew LambLos Angeles, CA has some of the finest Art Deco Architecture in the World. Join us as we take a journey back in time to take a look at some of the prominent designs of an Era when the car was the future and the working man was king.
- StarsEddie McCannAlisdair SimpsonPeter HarloweThe incredible engineering stories behind three iconic ancient buildings: the Colosseum, the Great Pyramid of Giza and Chartres Cathedral. We tell the history of the people who built them: where they came from, how they lived, and how they managed to erect some of the greatest structures ever built by man. Using ground-breaking computer graphics and dramatic construction, this series shows in intimate detail how these buildings were conceived and constructed in an age before modern technology.
- DirectorEugene ShepherdStarsJohn BarefieldKnown as "City of the Sun" in Roman times, Baalbek is known for having the best-preserved Roman temple in the world, the Temple of Bacchus. Anjar, Lebanon is home to the ruins of an ancient palace once built by ancient Umayyad rulers.