Easy to climb: 7 stairs in the history of cinema

Beautiful stairs to the cinema

When a professional from the world of design watches a film, he certainly notices architectural details and interior solutions, because many interesting things are encrypted in them. In this regard, the spectacular staircase is a bright accent, the main character, around which the entire visual story is often built. Our selection includes seven iconic staircases from the world of cinema.

Titanic

Luxurious oak staircase with wrought iron railings; boiserie-paneled walls; a clock in a highly artistic carved frame and a glass domed ceiling – this is how the ceremonial hall for 1st class passengers looks like on a magnificent transatlantic liner of the early 20th century. In general, several styles were used in the interiors of “Titanic” – from the Italian Renaissance and styles of the Louis era to neo-Moorish and Art Nouveau. As you know, the film crew did a tremendous job to convey the situation as accurately as possible, so you can judge from the film how the interiors of that time actually looked.

The staircase “like on the Titanic” will be appropriate in today’s spaces – for example, in country mansions furnished with antiques and inspired by historical styles. On such a staircase, having changed clothes for dinner, elegant hosts will meet elegant guests.

Mamma Mia!

The fictional Greek island of Kalokairi and the blue and white Mediterranean villa Donna, which bears the name of its mischievous mistress, are the setting for two parts of the musical Mamma Mia! with the repertoire of the ABBA group. Interior and architectural style – Mediterranean shabby chic: uneven white plaster, shutters with peeling blue paint, ethnic and vintage accents in the form of rugs and wooden furniture. Ville is more than a dozen years old, and the staircase reminds us of this: when the main character, performed by Meryl Streep, and then her friends slide down the railing to the song Dancing queen, the structure looks shaky. Fortunately, the staircase is made soundly and can withstand all loads.

Gone With the Wind

The house of Scarlett and Rhett Butler in Atlanta is the richest in the city: Rhett in love spares no expense to shower his obstinate wife with luxury. In the film, we see excessive, on the verge of kitsch, interiors filled with all the best that could only be imagined in America after the Civil War. However, today, after the palace interiors of modern connoisseurs of style, the house of Scarlett and Rhett no longer seems so “flashy”. Take, for example, a hall with a staircase – the bold contrast of red and green looks modern, and the abundance of carved and gilded decor is perceived as a curious example of kitsch eclecticism.

Disappeared

The interior of the house, which is filmed by the main characters of the film, is an example of the emasculated style of the American classics: beige palette, furniture of neoclassical forms, symmetry, inexpressive decor. The staircase with closely spaced balusters is painted white; the combination of white and beige refers to dozens of other similar stairs (which you have probably seen in other American films). Obviously, the mediocrity of the environment is an artistic idea: such interiors become the ideal scenery for the most creepy thrillers and horror films.

The Great Gatsby

The interiors of the film “The Great Gatsby” are a real hymn to the Art Deco style: here there are monumental volumes, and geometry, and noble, expensive materials in decoration. The wife of the director Baz Luhrmann, the artist Catherine Martin, was responsible for the interior decoration and costumes. For her work, by the way, she received two Oscars.

The elegant marble staircase is the protagonist of the space. This is appropriate in spacious, airy rooms with high ceilings and exquisite finishes – especially in our time, when, on the eve of its centenary (1925), the Art Deco style is experiencing a rebirth.

Downton Abbey

The interiors of the English aristocratic estate in the TV series “Downton Abbey” are like an encyclopedia of fine taste. Faded tapestries, antique sculptures, a wooden staircase from the best cabinetmakers and picturesque masterpieces of the museum level. All this is flawlessly combined with each other: there is no place for ostentatious luxury.

The interiors of hereditary English aristocrats are real works of art outside of time: they have been taking shape over the years and centuries. Therefore, it is almost impossible to recreate this at home (and in some cases, perhaps, inappropriate).

Start

In Inception, we see Penrose’s endless imaginary staircase – a model of this nonexistent figure was first published in the British Journal of Psychology in 1958. The design is an optical illusion and is impossible in real life, so the scene with it turned out to be one of the most technical difficulties.

The staircase itself and the interior around it look more than relevant: such an environment will perfectly fit into the modernist interiors of bunk apartments or country houses.