Our Favorite DVDs for Old House Afficiandos
Some movies on our list are really great on all scores (including the music -- sorry couldn't resist the pun) but others are not. The story may be disorganized and sluggish. The characters may be undeveloped. The dialogue may be disconnected. But we love these movies for their settings and attention to detail -- For the period wallpaper, furnishings, architecture, and even costumes. We hope you'll agree and add your own favorites to the list.
So, grab some popcorn, find the remote, and take a much needed break from your current old house projects. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Somewhere in Time
Starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour
A sappy, gushy, corny romantic/cult classic from 1980 based on Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return. Basic plot: An elderly woman presses a pocket watch into the hand of playwright Richard Collier (Reeve) and whispers "Come back to me." Years later, Collier becomes obsessed with a picture of an early 1900s actress (Jane Seymour) and discovers that she's the woman who gave him the watch. Collier travels back in time to find her, and they begin a love affair.
The setting is the gorgeous Grand Hotel, which really exists on Mackinac Island, Michigan, and which is as close as most of us can get to time travel. Cars are not allowed on the island and it remains pretty much an unchanged microcosm of the Victorian era. The entire island is a National Historic Landmark.
The setting is the gorgeous Grand Hotel, which really exists on Mackinac Island, Michigan, and which is as close as most of us can get to time travel. Cars are not allowed on the island and it remains pretty much an unchanged microcosm of the Victorian era. The entire island is a National Historic Landmark.
Haven't seen it?
![Somewhere in Time (Pide Al Tiempo Que Vuelva) aka (En Algun Lugar Del Tiempo) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/219CsV00iHL._SL75_.jpg)
![Somewhere in Time [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ADMQAV0QL._SL75_.jpg)
2. The Wild Wild West
The Classic TV Version
Long before Will Smith and Kevin Kline road the rails in the 1999 film, Federal undercover agent James T. West (Robert Conrad) and his sidekick and master-of-disguise, Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin) were riding their private Victorian railroad and inventing gadgets worthy of a post-civil war Victorian era James Bond in living rooms across the country.
Part oater, part sci-fi, and with outlandish costumes and gadgets, the original WWW is still fun to watch. And it still makes me nostalgic for rich wood panelled, red velvet draped train cars that any respectable Victorian parlor would envy. The first season was b&w, so for the full impact of the lush settings, start with season 2. If you like Steampunk, you'll love WWW.
Part oater, part sci-fi, and with outlandish costumes and gadgets, the original WWW is still fun to watch. And it still makes me nostalgic for rich wood panelled, red velvet draped train cars that any respectable Victorian parlor would envy. The first season was b&w, so for the full impact of the lush settings, start with season 2. If you like Steampunk, you'll love WWW.
Take a Ride on the Wild Side . . .
3. Jezebel
With Bette Davis and Henry Fonda
Bette Davis won her second oscar in this classic 1938 antebellum film . Davis's character, Miss Julie, was purportedly her "audition" for Scarlett in Gone With the Wind. One could argue that Davis would have been a better Scarlett than Vivien Leigh, but it would be an exercise in futility at this point in time. Be that as it may, although it is a b&w film, the luxurious settings rival Tara at its prime.
The period detail is amazing and I would argue that if Jezebel was originally shot in color, the set decoration and art direction would have surpassed GWTW, even though Jezebel's crew had a much lower budget to work with. I watched this old gem again recently and it is still an outstanding film in every way -- the patina of age agrees with it as it does with the finest antiques and, although it was not colorized (I HATE colorized B&W films), Jezebel was so superbly crafted, I am willing to swear that the infamous "red" dress Miss Julie wore was actually a richer shade of Scarlett.
The period detail is amazing and I would argue that if Jezebel was originally shot in color, the set decoration and art direction would have surpassed GWTW, even though Jezebel's crew had a much lower budget to work with. I watched this old gem again recently and it is still an outstanding film in every way -- the patina of age agrees with it as it does with the finest antiques and, although it was not colorized (I HATE colorized B&W films), Jezebel was so superbly crafted, I am willing to swear that the infamous "red" dress Miss Julie wore was actually a richer shade of Scarlett.
See the original "Devil with the red dress"
4. The Money Pit
Ain't it the truth!
Tom Hanks and Shelley Long star in this 1980s remake of Cary Grants 1948 "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House." A box office flop, I think rentals by Old House renovators are what turned its reputation around. Hanks and Long have a knack for making those of us at our wit's end with falling plaster, rotted sill beams, crumbling foundations, and plumbing that makes one wish the outhouse still existed, able to see the comedy amidst the angst of living in a nightmare of a dream house.
If laughter is the best medicine, this film will help your renovation be less painful, if not less expensive. Too bad Tom Hanks didn't stick with comedy instead of, IMHO, joining forces with Ron Howard to dilute, if not decimate, Dan Brown's gripping novels.
If laughter is the best medicine, this film will help your renovation be less painful, if not less expensive. Too bad Tom Hanks didn't stick with comedy instead of, IMHO, joining forces with Ron Howard to dilute, if not decimate, Dan Brown's gripping novels.
Horror story? Tragedy? or Comedy?
See it and decide for yourself...
![Money Pit [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514CHK0NVZL._SL75_.jpg)
5. Dark Shadows
Before Edward Cullen, there was Barnabas Collins
Dark Shadows was a 1960s daytime soap opera for those whose tastes ran toward the gothic before goth was fashionable. The show gained popularity after introducing Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), a vampire who returns to his estate after being chained inside a coffin for almost 2 centuries. Collins was the reluctant vampire long before Twilight's Cullen was born. Are similar names a coincidence or an homage?
Gloomy and atmospheric, the Victorian and Edwardian sets are richly decorated in antiques, velvets, and silks. I wonder how many of those who rushed home from school in the late 60s to catch the captivating daily episodes with their mysterious tales of very human vampires, werewolves, and ghosts have wound up transferring that fascination to velvet settees, elaborately fringed draperies, and hand cranked phonographs with painted horns?
(If you can tear yourself away from the furnishings, look for David Selby and Kate Jackson early in their careers.)
Gloomy and atmospheric, the Victorian and Edwardian sets are richly decorated in antiques, velvets, and silks. I wonder how many of those who rushed home from school in the late 60s to catch the captivating daily episodes with their mysterious tales of very human vampires, werewolves, and ghosts have wound up transferring that fascination to velvet settees, elaborately fringed draperies, and hand cranked phonographs with painted horns?
(If you can tear yourself away from the furnishings, look for David Selby and Kate Jackson early in their careers.)
Get to Know The Shadows...
6. My Fair Lady
With Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle
Whether you are fond of musicals or not, what is outstanding in this 1964 film based on the 1956 Broadway muscial is not just the acting (Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, singing (Marnie Nixon's voice served as Hepburn's), and adaptation of Bernard Shaw's adaptation of the classic (as in ancient Greek mythology) Pygmalion into a socialist attack on the British class system (which neither Lerner & Lowe nor George Cukor did not, to their credit, dilute).
In my opinion, the early 19th century wallpapers reprinted by Cole at the request of Sir Cecil Beaton and the other sumptuous details from moldings to costumes (and especially those Ascot hats and outfits) contribute just as much, as Beaton's Oscar attests. (And don't miss all of those fascinating gadgets in the Professor's study.) One of least cloying musicals I have ever seen on the screen, there are some distractions, both good and not-so-good. For example, in the latter category, the lip-syncing is annoyingly imperfect. However, you may not even notice since you'll be studying the impeccably perfect settings.
In my opinion, the early 19th century wallpapers reprinted by Cole at the request of Sir Cecil Beaton and the other sumptuous details from moldings to costumes (and especially those Ascot hats and outfits) contribute just as much, as Beaton's Oscar attests. (And don't miss all of those fascinating gadgets in the Professor's study.) One of least cloying musicals I have ever seen on the screen, there are some distractions, both good and not-so-good. For example, in the latter category, the lip-syncing is annoyingly imperfect. However, you may not even notice since you'll be studying the impeccably perfect settings.
See if You Don't Agree...
It's Absolutely "Loverly!"
![My Fair Lady [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Api7AcYNL._SL75_.jpg)
7. Work
Silents are Golden
In Charlie Chaplin's 1915 silent film, he is a wallpaper-hanger's workhorse (literally) assistant. Charlie and his boss have difficulties getting to the house they are going to wallpaper. When they finally do, the owner is angry because he can't get breakfast and his wife is screaming at the maid. The kitchen gas stove backfires and Chaplin offers to fix it.
In the meantime, the wife's secret lover arrives and is passed off as the workers' supervisor, but the husband doesn't buy this and starts shooting. I won't give away the climactic ending, but you will relate to the series of situations analagous to difficulties that can be encountered when changing wallpaper in an old house. "Work" is in the public domain and downloads can be found on the internet.
(I recently saw a restored version of another of Chaplin's early shorts, "One a.m." and was amazed by the elaborate wallpaper that had virtually been stripped off the walls by time until the film preservationists restored it. (If you scrape wallpaper off the closets hoping to find the original still adhered to the horsehair plaster walls under a piece of molding or the back of a shelf, you can relate to this bit of "archaeology" as well.)
In the meantime, the wife's secret lover arrives and is passed off as the workers' supervisor, but the husband doesn't buy this and starts shooting. I won't give away the climactic ending, but you will relate to the series of situations analagous to difficulties that can be encountered when changing wallpaper in an old house. "Work" is in the public domain and downloads can be found on the internet.
(I recently saw a restored version of another of Chaplin's early shorts, "One a.m." and was amazed by the elaborate wallpaper that had virtually been stripped off the walls by time until the film preservationists restored it. (If you scrape wallpaper off the closets hoping to find the original still adhered to the horsehair plaster walls under a piece of molding or the back of a shelf, you can relate to this bit of "archaeology" as well.)
Work for Free
Charlie Chaplin - Work 4/4 (1915)
Charlie and his boss have difficulties just getting to the house they are going to wallpaper. The householder is angry because he can't get breakfast and his wife is screaming at the maid as they arrive. The kitchen gas stove explodes, and Charlie offers to fix it. The wife's secret lover arrives and is passed off as the workers' supervisor, but the husband doesn't buy this and fires shots. The stove explodes violently, destroying the house. Watch all my channels: http://youtube.com/bestsoundbox http://youtube.com/cinemaclassics1 http://youtube.com/cinemaclassics2 http://youtube.com/cinemillenium http://youtube.com/cinemillenium2 http://youtube.com/classicanimation http://youtube.com/classicdocumentaries http://youtube.com/clasicdocumentaries2 http://youtube.com/clasicdocumentaries3 http://youtube.com/classicmagicbox http://youtube.com/dancefrenzy http://youtube.com/hollywoodclassics http://youtube.com/hollywoodclassics2 http://youtube.com/hollywoodclassics3 http://youtube.com/hollywoodclassics4 http://youtube.com/hollywoodclassics5 http://youtube.com/hollywoodclassics6 http://youtube.com/hollywoodclassics7 http://youtube.com/orchestralmanouvres http://youtube.com/titlebrowser http://youtube.com/videomiscellany http://youtube.com/vintagecommercials
Runtime: 328
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8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Give a Little Whistle After You (watch) Work
Despite Snow's annoyingly shrillingly sweet voice, and Disney's cloyingly sweet watering-down of the Brothers Grimm dark tale, this classic still makes my list. The first full-length cartoon movie is not only an incredible artistic accomplishment (remember this was made BY HAND 67+ years ago!), it is captivatingly color-full and still a feast for the eyes (if not always the ears.)
Yes, the characters and style do look dated, and you may not want bright green beams in your cottage, but the twisted stone columns of the castle, the carved beams and moldings in the dwarfs' cottage (not to mention those wonderful wide-plank floors), and especially the wishing well and that wonderfully totemically-piped organ, supply enough furnishing fantasy to inspire even the most jaded old house restorer.
Yes, the characters and style do look dated, and you may not want bright green beams in your cottage, but the twisted stone columns of the castle, the carved beams and moldings in the dwarfs' cottage (not to mention those wonderful wide-plank floors), and especially the wishing well and that wonderfully totemically-piped organ, supply enough furnishing fantasy to inspire even the most jaded old house restorer.
![Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + BD Live w/ Blu-ray packaging) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61KEUnRRkcL._SL75_.jpg)
![Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Limited Edition Collector's Set) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hx6u-9qJL._SL75_.jpg)
![Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (DVD/Two-Disc Blu-ray + BD Live w/DVD packaging) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61C7z%2BVxEDL._SL75_.jpg)
9. Harry Potter (Any and All)
Need I say more?
Aside from the shameless merchandising, the Potter films have everything going for them. While reviews rave about the stories, special effects, and acting, what really gets me waiting for the next film or wearing out the dvd's is the chance to be in those glorious surroundings once more. From the train station to the magic shop, from the moving staircase to Dumbledore's study, every setting in this series of films is a tempting visual feast. The problem with the Potter films are that they can be so engrossing that you may have to watch them several times to be able to focus your full attention on the magnificence of the architecture and decor.
From J.K. Rowling's Imagination to Your Home...
Magic for Muggles
![Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Ultimate Edition) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518JPq8qF3L._SL75_.jpg)
![Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SH9wx9zXL._SL75_.jpg)
10. Impromptu
Submitted by TheChesireCat
Not the most accurate bio of George Sand and not the best performance by Hugh Grant as a wimpy and virginal Chopin, but the music is glorious and the period settings (19th century Europe) are appropriately lush - not to mention the landscapes. Ignore the disorganization and read Sand's novels and memoirs, but watch this film anyway for a trip back in time and the chance to vicariously hob-nob with the likes of Liszt, Delacroix, Sand, and Chopin (not to mention Emma Thompson, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Ralph Brown and my favorite -- Julian Sands!
For Film and Music Lovers
For Lovers of Literature
Vote for your favorite "Old House Lovers" Film
We could not get the last two listed films to show up on this list, so left them off until we can fix that.
Add your own favorite "Old House" film(s)
Submit your own favorite "old house buff" film(s) and a short review for each and we will add them to this lens. Be sure to include how you'd like to be identified so we can give you credit when your fave is posted!
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- Themiscorkscrew Themiscorkscrew Nov 22, 2009 @ 6:04 pm
- I loved the Shining. That creepy hotel really set the scene and brought chills to my spine
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- TheCheshireCat TheCheshireCat Sep 14, 2009 @ 6:11 pm
- Hi. I'd like to nominate Impromptu - not the most accurate bio of George Sand and not the best performance by Hugh Grant as a wimpy and virginal Chopin, but the music is glorious and the period settings (19th century Europe) are appropriately lush - not to mention the landscapes. Ignore the disorganization and read Sand's novels and memoirs, but watch this film anyway for a trip back in time and the chance to vicariously hob-nob with the likes of Liszt, Delacroix, Sand, and Chopin (not to mention Emma Thompson, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Ralph Brown and my favorite -- Julian Sands!
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- ---Chazz ---Chazz Sep 13, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
- Sneaky way to avoid writing a short review, liz.
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- lunazorro lunazorro Sep 2, 2009 @ 6:28 pm
- Psycho & Rebecca both have great old houses, there are too many to list. liz
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