unsuccessful movie atmospheres

[Wes R]

What movies do you think have given off the right feeling of atmosphere that they were supposed to be set in? Alien does a great job feeling confined and building tension as you feel like you're on the ship with the characters. Aliens does okay at it too, especially the scenes in the ductwork, and I Am Legend did a great job of giving off the feeling of an empty world but the tension and sense of danger is lacking for some reason to me. Omega Man did a good job of both giving off a sense of danger and the emptiness.
Let's hear your picks. Aside from the creatures in I Am Legend and Omega Man I find those worlds really inviting. You know there are other survivors but you don't have to worry about tripping over them all the time.

EDIT: Changed it to list your unsuccessful atmospheres.

 

[Jayn]

Re: Successful movie atmospheres

Oh man.. too many to name..but, I think that this is where the Star Wars universe excels. The artists all do such a fantastic job of world-creating. Those beautiful sweeping landscapes and original designs.
I like Jackson's LOTR movies for the same reason. Amazing art direction.

 

[Moxiebot]

Blade Runner!

 

[Lutso]

Re: Successful movie atmospheres

Super Mario Bros.

 

[Wes R]

Re: Successful movie atmospheres

I forgot Bladerunner. That was one of the things that went very right with the Mario movie given all the production issues they had going on. I agree art direction usually has more to do with the feel than anything else and if your director happens to be able to communicate his ideas well with the art people it is even better otherwise they tend to not be the same vision. I think also writers who do a good job of describing the environment in a way that the art folks can visualize it easily also helps.

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

Re: Successful movie atmospheres

When a movie does not have the atmosphere that fits it´s genre, then the creatives did a really bad job.

So instead of asking what movie´s atmosphere was fitting it would be easier to compile a list of movies that did not work.

 

[Wes R]

Re: Successful movie atmospheres

Actually I was thinking that. Anything after Alien 3 pretty much fails even if the designs are nice they just kinda miss the mark. There we go, changed it.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Any Uwe Boll movie.

 

[Sigma-LS]

Any Uwe Boll movie.

I kinda liked Postal. It was just so out there in left field...

 

[terryr]

What bugs me is when a movie is totally grimy and dirty and bland looking. People always knew what beauty was, and never had a brownish surrounding if they could help it. Yet some directors think it adds something to the reality, when it just makes the visuals boring.

I wonder what the old B&W Noir films would be like in color?

 

[ShadowX81]

Shutter Island is probably the best movie atmosphere I have ever seen. its enough to make the movie a "multiple watch" for me, even though the story was a bit crap.

 

[hansicle]

We have a few networks that came on in the last few years, that air VERY OLD re-runs of shows from the 70's. Stuff I never heard of, simply because they weren't all that memorable. It's funny because from time to time you see some well known actors playing bit parts. Some of the art direction for "period" shows is ridiculous, westerns on back lots always looked like a parody of the real west. Not that I know what the "real west" looked like, but I'm sure it didn't look like THAT

 

[rodneyfaile]

The cold war gave us some great movies.

I'm a big fan of Red Heat.

It's not a cheesy 80's movie. Yes it has Arnold and Belushi in it, but make no mistake, it's a great movie!

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I can't think of any movies, but I think Babylon 5 did an excellent job of making believable environments with a tiny budget.

 

[Wes R]

The one who did the worst atmosphere was The Day After. Yeah I know it was a low budget made for TV movie but it seemed way too cheerful for me even if it was a limited nuclear exchange. I'd love to see if they had to cut stuff.

 

[Kerr Avon]

The one who did the worst atmosphere was The Day After. Yeah I know it was a low budget made for TV movie but it seemed way too cheerful for me even if it was a limited nuclear exchange. I'd love to see if they had to cut stuff.

Is this sarcasm? It was one of the most depressing movies ever made.

 

[Wes R]

No but given the topic it seemed that it wasn't the worst case scenario, I would have gone all out and shown what the worst case would have been if you really wanted to get the attention of the public.

 

[crabra comander]

That blue lighting in the Underworld flicks ticks me off...cool movies but damn, its like they live in rainworld.

 

[Kerr Avon]

No but given the topic it seemed that it wasn't the worst case scenario, I would have gone all out and shown what the worst case would have been if you really wanted to get the attention of the public.

Well worst case scenario would have just had a bunch of flashes, columns of fire, and then scorched irradiated ground and not a single living thing left alive. Short movie, I don't think anyone really thought a full exchange was survivable. At the time there were elements of government that were promoting the concept that even a limited exchange could be 'won' from some perspective. I think "The Day After" succeeded in showing that even a somewhat limited exchange, with weapons that today are 30 years out of date would be pretty horrific.

 

[Wes R]

True. I still enjoy the movie (yeah i'm sick) and it's a great bit of 80s pop culture. I was too young to understand it back then but from what i've heard it scared the crap out of folks back then.