For designers looking for inspiration or for lovers of visual culture, we've found eight great films and documentaries that every true designer should watch.
Here is a selection of eight films that every designer should watch.
1. Design Is One: The Vignellis (2012)
Vignelli Associates is considered one of the greatest interdisciplinary design firms in history. He is best known for creating the iconic map for the New York City subway. Lella and Massimo Vignelli are the genius behind the company, and their creative relationship spans decades. Massimo Vignelli passed away in May 2014.
2. Melancholy (2011)
What does psychosis look like? Danish director Lars Von Trier explores the mind of a young bride through cinematography outside the galactic framework. Lightning shoots from fingertips and worlds literally collide. The end of the world has never been so dramatic.
3. Gucci: The Director (2013)
We all know the Gucci brand. This film takes us straight into the world of the famous Italian fashion brand, as we follow their work over the course of eighteen months with former creative director Frida Giannini.
4. A Single Man (2009)
A Single Man is a drama that follows George Falconer, a depressed gay man and a university professor in 1962. The costumes are beautiful, the direction is impeccable, and what stands out the most in fashion designer Tom Ford's directorial debut is surely Colin Firth's excellent performance.
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5. Bill Cunningham New York (2010)
"It's one snap, two snaps, or he ignores you, which is death." This is how the editor of Vogue, Anna Wintour describes the fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, who has contributed to the Style section of the New York Times newspaper for decades. The documentary explores his work and life, and in between, some of the celebrities he photographed also describe their experience as an artist.
6. Metropolis (1927)
It's true, the movie was made in 1927, and it's true, it's a silent film. But Metropolis is still considered an incredible example of architectural science fiction, set in a dystopian future. It's hard to believe that the film was made before the advent of computer-generated imagery. If you can't handle the pace of the narrative in the film, no one will blame you - just leave the film playing in the background and enjoy this visual splendor.
7. Cutie and the Boxer (2013)
Ushio Shinohara is a neo-dadaist artist who paints by hitting the canvas with paint. Noriko is his wife. The documentary, which won Best Director at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, explores the whims and sacrifices of a forty-year marriage.
8. The Fall (2006)
Director Tarsem Singh made the film The Fall as an angry madness, an extravagant visual orgy and a fall from reality into unknown worlds. The film, which was filmed for four years in twenty-eight countries, must be seen simply because we can. A film praised – and rightly so – for its incredible visuals and uninterrupted elegance.
