The Actual-World Places of 14 Sci-Fi Dystopias
In some science fiction cinema, the long run seems to be fairly bleak, with dystopic visions of a world combating overcrowding, excessive crime, pestilence, and the aftermath of warfare. And it could actually additionally look uncomfortably acquainted because of filmmaker’s use of real-world buildings of their units — generally to anchor the story in actual life, and generally simply because it already seems to be “futuristic.” We’ve assembled an inventory of 14 real-world filming places of sci-fi dystopias.
Blade Runner (1982)
Los Angeles, California
This 1982 sci-fi traditional was set in a futuristic Los Angeles, and options a number of landmarks from the real article. Probably the most notable is the Bradbury Building, the place police officer Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) fights with a mob of the movie’s cyborg “replicants,” and has a remaining standoff with the replicant Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer). A lot of the motion takes place within the Bradbury Constructing’s courtyard, which is open to the general public right now.
Stairways of the Bradbury Constructing ({photograph} by Luke Jones)
Skylight within the Bradbury Constructing ({photograph} by Andrew Shiah)
Throughout the road from the Bradbury Constructing is the Pan Am Constructing, which stood in for the “Yukon Lodge,” the place Deckard catches a replicant early within the movie. The police station wherein Deckard receives his orders to assassinate all these replicants within the first place was a movie set constructed inside Los Angeles’ cavernous Union Station, a significant railway hub.
Ennis Home ({photograph} by Jean-Pierre Louis)
Deckard’s condo is within the Ennis Home, a fancy designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and meant to emulate Mayan temples. The constructing, which has been turning up in movies because the Thirties, is a nationwide landmark and guided excursions can be found.
Ennis Home ({photograph} by Sarah Le Clerc)
Complete Recall (1990)
Mexico Metropolis, Mexico
Initially, Paul Verhoeven needed to movie 1990’s Total Recall in Houston, however the accountants mentioned no. So Verhoeven moved manufacturing south to Churubusco Studios in Mexico Metropolis. A handful of different websites within the metropolis have been additionally used, just like the penthouse of the Lodge Nikko (now the Hyatt Regency). The crew even stayed on the resort whereas filming, and the artwork administrators have been so impressed by its streamlined design that they borrowed parts for different scenes.
Lodge Nikko Mexico ({photograph} by Felipe Alfonso Castillo Vázquez)
An particularly gory scene of Complete Recall sees building employee/undercover agent Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) fleeing from gunmen by way of an escalator, and utilizing the physique of an unlucky harmless bystander as a human defend. That escalator is within the Metro Chabacano subway station in Mexico Metropolis; some guests declare they can nonetheless see leftover blood splatters from filming.
Metro Chabacano ({photograph} by César Rincón)
A unique metro station — Metro Insurgentes — can be used earlier within the scene for the exterior photographs.
Exterior entrance of Metro Insurgentes in Mexico Metropolis ({photograph} by Thelmadatter/Wikimedia)
Robocop (1987)
Dallas, Texas
Paul Verhoeven did get to movie in Texas for an earlier movie — set in Detroit. Most of 1987’s Robocop, wherein Peter Weller performs Alex Murphy, a recently-deceased Detroit policeman-turned-cyborg-supercop, was truly filmed in Dallas.
Atrium of Plaza of the Americas in downtown Dallas ({photograph} by Dfwcre8tive/Wikimedia)
The monolithic “Omni Client Merchandise” is the sci-fi staff liable for Murphy’s transformation, and three separate places in Dallas stand in for various spots within the sprawling OCP headquarters. Dallas’ Metropolis Corridor serves because the constructing’s exterior — particular results prolonged the corridor to a towering 95 tales. Some inside scenes have been shot within the atrium of the Plaza of the Americas — a shopping mall which additionally incorporates Dallas’ Marriott Lodge. A unique resort, the Rosewood Crescent, supplied its parking storage as OCP’s storage within the movie.
Dallas Metropolis Corridor ({photograph} by Daquella Manera)
Dallas Excessive College on North Pearl Road stands in for the shabby Detroit Police Headquarters, whereas the inside Detriot PD scenes have been filmed within the Sons of Herman Corridor. The Sons of Herman Corridor was a former German-American social membership, which right now serves as a music venue.
Dallas Excessive College ({photograph} by Jeffrey Beall)
Logan’s Run (1976)
Fort Value, Texas
Dallas and Fort Value hosted the 1976 dystopian movie Logan’s Run. A number of scenes have been filmed within the Dallas Market Heart, a shopping center standing in for “The Metropolis,” an underground advanced whose residents consider is the one secure place left on Earth. One other mall, the Hulen Mall in Fort Value, was simply finishing building throughout filming and was additionally used for some scenes.
The Water Gardens ({photograph} by Allison Meier/Atlas Obscura)
The Fort Worth Water Gardens stand in for The Metropolis’s hydro-electric energy generator. The Philip Johnson-designed Water Gardens are an uncommon architectural attraction, that includes three completely different concrete swimming pools with fountains and water options. Within the “Lively Pool,” featured most prominently within the movie, guests can stroll down a collection of 38 steps to the small reflecting pool on the backside, whereas water cascades down the steps and terraces throughout them.
The Water Gardens ({photograph} by Allison Meier/Atlas Obscura)
The Starvation Video games (2012/2013)
Henry River Mill Village, North Carolina
The Starvation Video games trilogy implies that “District 12,” the impoverished coal-mining area which is residence to heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), corresponds with Appalachia. A lot of the primary movie was shot in North Carolina, with the deserted Henry River Mill Village standing in for District 12’s heart.
Deserted Henry River Mill Village Home (by way of hungergamestrilogy.net)
Deserted Henry River Mill Village (by way of hungergamestrilogy.net)
Inbuilt 1904, the entire city was constructed to offer housing for the staff of a significant textile mill on the Henry River. The mill in the end closed within the Nineteen Eighties, and the city was deserted.
Swan Home ({photograph} by Jim Bowen)
In Catching Hearth, the newest entry within the movie collection, Katniss is among the company of honor at a celebration thrown by the scheming President Snow (Donald Sutherland). President Snow’s property is definitely the Swan Home, a mansion constructed for a Twenties cotton magnate in Buckhead, simply north of Atlanta, Georgia. Elsewhere in Atlanta, scenes that includes the Cornucopia — a bunker of provides which contestants should acquire — have been filmed on the Seaside, a portion of Atlanta’s Clayton County Worldwide Park initially constructed for the 1996 Olympics.
Marriott Marquis elevators ({photograph} by Brian Pennington)
Atlanta’s Marriott Marquis Lodge stands in for the victors’ quarters within the Capitol — Panem — and a number of other scenes function the resort’s placing inside courtyard and elevator. The resort was nonetheless receiving company throughout filming, which result in an embarrassing second for actress Jena Malone. A scene required her to stroll out of the elevator topless, and through one take the elevator stopped on the improper ground, giving some company fairly a shock.
Brazil (1985)
UK & France
Filming places for Terry Gilliam’s 1985 “dystopian satire” Brazil leap between the UK and Paris.
Millennium Mills ({photograph} by Ed Webster)
Scenes set on the “Division of Data,” the place everyman Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) works, have been filmed on the spooky Millennium Mills in East London, an deserted flour mill from the early twentieth Century.
Leighton Home ({photograph} by Europa Nostra)
In a single scene, Lowry’s mom (Katherine Helmond) undergoes a weird facelift in a lavish workplace. Gilliam filmed within the Arab Corridor on the Leighton Home Museum, the previous residence of Victorian-era painter Frederic, Lord Leighton. The Arab Corridor is tiled with the ceramics and woodwork Leighton collected on journeys to the Center East. Mrs. Lowry later returns “residence” to what as soon as was the Billiard Room of the Nationwide Liberal Membership, a former clubhouse for members of England’s Liberal Get together. The clubhouse has since been taken over by London’s Royal Horseguards Lodge, and the Billiard Room is used for particular occasions.
Espaces d’Abraxas ({photograph} by Marcus/Flickr user)
Scenes in Lowry’s own residence have been truly filmed in Paris, mainly within the Noisy-le-Grand commune. His condo advanced is the Espaces d’Abraxas designed by architect Ricardo Bofill and meant to evoke an historic Greek amphitheater. Parts of the advanced additionally stand in for “Chapel of Our Woman of the Checkout Counter,” which hosts a funeral scene. At movie’s finish, Lowry lastly escapes his restrictive society — type of — within the lush fields of Cumbria, in England’s Lake District. The precise scene lies someplace close to the village of Askham.
Gattaca (1997)
Marin County, California
A number of scenes from Gattaca set on the “Gattaca Company,” the DNA testing and eugenics heart controlling each particular person’s future, have been filmed on the Marin County Civic Heart simply north of San Francisco.
Marin County Civic Heart ({photograph} by Daniel Hartwig)
The Civic Heart was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and likewise seems in one other dystopic movie — the 1971 THX-1138, George Lucas’ very first work.
Los Angeles Metropolis Corridor ({photograph} by Ryan Quick)
In one other scene, the outside of the Los Angeles Metropolis Corridor stands in for a live performance corridor the place Vincent (Ethan Hawke) and Irene (Uma Thurman) have their first date, watching a 12-fingered pianist. Afterward, Vincent takes Irene to look at the dawn at a “photo voltaic farm,” filmed at an precise solar energy plant within the Mojave desert.
Nice Western Discussion board ({photograph} by Horge/Wikimedia)
Later within the movie, Irene begins to suspect (appropriately) that Vincent is mendacity about who he’s, and secretly takes one in every of his hairs in for DNA testing. The outside and field workplace home windows of the Nice Western Discussion board are used for the testing facility.
Escape from New York (1981)
East St. Louis, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; NYC
Regardless of its title, a lot of the filming for this 1981 cult traditional came about in East St. Louis, Illinois, as director John Carpenter feared it will be too costly to make the true New York look sufficiently rundown. East St. Louis had loads of townhouses which resembled New York, and had additionally not too long ago suffered a significant fireplace, on high of getting an deserted practice station and a bridge, two places the film required.
East St. Louis ({photograph} by Tyson Blanquart)
Liberty Island ({photograph} by Glen Scarborough)
One scene was filmed on location in New York. Within the movie, Manhattan Island has been became a maximum-security jail colony, with the guards stationed on Liberty Island, on the foot of the Statue of Liberty. Carpenter was in a position to persuade federal officers to let the movie use the true Liberty Island for the scene — the primary movie crew ever given entry to the location at evening. Within the scene, guards obtain phrase that Air Drive One has crashed into Manhattan, and the President (Donald Pleasance) is now the hostage of the “The Duke Of New York” (Isaac Hayes).
Fox Theatre ({photograph} by Matthew Black)
The outside of St. Louis’ Fox Theater turns up in an early scene the place Snake (Kurt Russell), the anti-hero inmate charged with rescuing the President, first goes in search of him.
Union Station’s Grand Corridor ({photograph} by Paul Sableman)
St. Louis’ Union Station stands in for Grand Central Station, the place the President is being held captive. The place the place Snake fights gladiator-style for his launch can be in Union Station, within the Grand Corridor.
Outdated Chain of Rocks Bridge ({photograph} by Thomas Duesing)
The Chain of Rocks Bridge stands in for New York’s 59th Road Bridge, over which Snake leads the President to final security. Previously a bridge on the enduring Route 66, the Outdated Chain of Rocks Bridge is now closed to vehicular site visitors, however hosts biking and pedestrian paths.
Soylent Inexperienced (1973)
Los Angeles, California
Many of the 1973 Soylent Inexperienced was filmed in Hollywood sound phases, however two scenes use places elsewhere in Los Angeles. The outside of the “euthanasia store,” the place Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson) goes to topic himself to an assisted suicide, is definitely the Los Angeles Memorial Sports activities Area.
Los Angeles Memorial Sports activities Area ({photograph} by Pelladon/Wikimedia)
In the meantime, Los Angeles’ Hyperion Sewage Therapy Plant was used for the manufacturing unit wherein Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) discovers what the movie’s “Soylent Inexperienced” dietary wafers are actually made from. (Spoiler alert: it’s individuals.)
Hyperion Sewage Therapy Plant ({photograph} by Doc Searls)
12 Monkeys (1995)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland
This 1995 12 Monkeys by Terry Gilliam options John Cole (Bruce Willis) in a time-travel paradox, with a number of filming places in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Set sooner or later after a worldwide plague, the primary scenes depict Cole amassing air samples exterior Philadelphia’s Metropolis Corridor.
Philadelphia’s Metropolis Corridor ({photograph} by Ted Drake)
Cole is later despatched again in time to find the plague’s origins, the place his conduct lands him in an insane asylum, alongside a gloriously demented Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt). For the asylum, Gilliam selected Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary.
Jap State ({photograph} by Allison Meier/Atlas Obscura)
Jap State ({photograph} by Sandi Hemmerlein)
The penitentiary is itself price a go to. Constructed within the 1820s, this spoke wheel-shaped jail represents a significant reform within the early American penal system. Closed in 1969, the jail is now open for historic excursions, the place company can see the previous cells of real-life inmates (reminiscent of Al Capone) in addition to the 12 Monkeys movie websites.
Philadelphia Conference Heart ({photograph} by Tracie Hall)
Elsewhere in Philadelphia, scenes from Cole’s recurring dream set at an airport have been filmed at Philadelphia’s Conference Heart. A scene in the direction of the tip of the movie, the place Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) buys disguises for herself and for Cole, have been shot at Wanamaker’s Division Retailer.
Senator Theater ({photograph} by Sean Naber)
In Baltimore, the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion stood in for the house of Dr. Goines (Christopher Plummer), the virologist whose lab inadvertently developed the plague from Willis’ time. Late within the movie, Cole and Railly search some personal time in Baltimore’s Senator Theater, an artwork deco gem.
The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003)
Sydney, Australia
The virtual-reality metropolis inside “the Matrix” is meant to be a generic any-place. However a lot of the trilogy was filmed in and round Sydney, Australia.
Metacrotex ({photograph} by Kenneth Pinto)
The Metacortex constructing, the place Neo (Keanu Reeves) works as a programmer and first suspects one thing’s not proper with the world, is definitely the Metcentre, a shopping center in Sydney’s Central Enterprise District. The bridge the place Neo waits for Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) to gather him in a automobile and produce him to satisfy Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) is the Adam Road Bridge close to Sydney’s Chinatown.
Adams Road Bridge ({photograph} by Brett Taylor)
Sydney reveals up in a few of Morpheus’ coaching packages as properly. For instance, the place Neo is distracted by a girl in a crimson costume at a fountain after which sees her remodeled into one of many movie’s “brokers” is in a plaza close to the corners of Martin Place and Pitt Road.
Martin Place ({photograph} by SG_Harrison)
Close by is the Westin Lodge on the location of the previous Normal Submit Workplace. That is the place Neo sees a black cat and has a second of “déjà vu,” tipping his companions off to an impending assault.
Normal Submit Workplace ({photograph} by Bob Mead)
The Colonial State Financial institution Heart can be shut by. That is the constructing the place Morpheus is held captive and tortured by brokers. The Colonial State might not admit guests, however you may get into Forty One Restaurant at 2 Chifley Sq., the place one in every of Neo’s teammates betrays him to Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) over a steak.
White Bay Energy Station ({photograph} by Jes/Flickr user)
Each sequels additionally function Sydney; The Matrix Reloaded makes use of Sydney’s historic White Bay Energy Station for the scenes the place the rebels try and blow up an influence station to kill the electrical energy to a constructing, and Matrix Revolutions concludes with a gathering between the Oracle and the Architect on the Royal Botanic Gardens on Sydney Harbor.
Royal Botanic Gardens (by way of Wikimedia)
Minority Report (2002)
Los Angeles, California
Like Blade Runner, that is primarily based on a Philip Ok. Dick story and was shot primarily in Los Angeles, regardless of the story’s Washington, DC setting. A couple of DC landmarks do make an look, nonetheless — the outside of the Ronald Reagan Commerce Heart is used for the “Division of PreCrime” constructing the place John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is the star detective. The Willard Washington DC Lodge is the location of a splashy celebration thrown by Anderton’s superiors simply earlier than the movie’s “PreCrime” system goes nationwide.
Ronald Reagan Commerce Heart ({photograph} by David Gaines)
Again in Los Angeles, the Descanso Botanic Gardens stand in for the house of Dr. Iris Hineman (Lois Smith), whom Anderton visits when he suspects the PreCrime system has some flaws. Descanso is residence to a large assortment of roses, camellias, lilacs, and native California flora on its 160 acres (however not one of the sentient toxic vegetation which assault Anderton).
Descanso Botanic Gardens ({photograph} by dailymatador/Flickr user)
The movie’s PreCrime system is pushed by the visions of three clairvoyant women and men, generally known as “Precogs.” Anderton kidnaps one, Agatha (Samantha Morton), and brings her to an deserted shopping center. The mall is just half deserted in actual life. It’s truly the Hawthorne Plaza Mall, simply south of Los Angeles. The complete purchasing advanced as soon as consisted of an indoor mall with three big-box shops shut by, however the mall portion was closed in 1999 after a spate of finance bother. The three big-box shops are nonetheless open, whereas the mall is now used for a police coaching heart.
Hawthorne Plaza Mall ({photograph} by Amin Eshaker)
Guests may even additionally see one of many movie units on a studio backlot. The Warner Brothers VIP Studio Tour consists of the road set the place Anderton makes use of a jetpack to flee arrest after being falsely accused of a future homicide.
V for Vendetta (2005)
England & Berlin
Alan Moore set his fascist dystopia in London, so the 2005 adaptation of V for Vendetta options some apparent landmarks just like the Outdated Bailey courthouse and Huge Ben. A lot of the movie was truly shot on sound phases in Berlin, though a handful of scenes have been captured at lesser-known English websites. The movie’s prologue, which depicts the story of English antihero Man Fawkes, units Fawkes’ execution at Hatfield Home, a rustic home in Hertfordshire.
Outdated Palace at Hatfield Home ({photograph} by Jason Ballard)
Hatfield Home was the childhood residence of Queen Elizabeth I. Her successor King James I disliked it and gave it to the Earl of Salisbury, who transformed it extensively into the home that exists right now.
Fabric Truthful Road ({photograph} by Simon Wicks)
The road the place the masked hero V (Hugo Weaving) rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a gaggle of corrupt policemen is Fabric Truthful, a thoroughfare the place medieval textile retailers would arrange stalls throughout summer time market gala’s.
Chalk Farm Footbridge ({photograph} by Danny Robinson)
In a catalytic scene, a lady is shot for daring to deface a political poster, and the encircling crowd revolts. That scene takes place on the Chalk Farm Footbridge on Regent’s Park Highway, close to the fashionable Camden City district. And on the movie’s finale, a mob of rebels, all in Man Fawkes masks like V, collect at London’s Trafalgar Sq. earlier than marching on Parliament.
Trafalgar Sq. (picture by the creator)
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Replace 3/15/16: An earlier model of this story referred to the 69th Road bridge in New York Metropolis, as a substitute of the 59th Road bridge. We remorse the error.