August 4, 2008

The photo-puzzle of the day.

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What L.A. building is this a small part of? What movie do most people refer to when they talk about this building? What much-less-talked-about movie did Althouse recognize this building from?

(Enlarge.)

UPDATE: Question 1 answered quickly by Randy and Paul, simultaneously at 11:41, and Paul also got question 2. UWS Guy got question 3, the really hard one, at 11:25. Before you click to the comments, here's video from the movie I remembered. Did you see it?

42 comments:

vbspurs said...

I was going to say the Chateau Marmont (The Doors were filmed there, as well as a slew of others. Belushi also died there).

But even Prof. Althouse couldn't have penetrated that exclusive place.

I don't know. Is this the elevator from Pulp Fiction?

Cheers,
Victoria

UWS guy said...

That Jack Nicholson, "Wolf" with michelle Pfeifer?

Bissage said...

(1) The Sears Tower.
(2) “North by Northwest.”
(3) “Aguirre, the Wrath of God.”

Ann Althouse said...

UWS guy, is that the answer to the second question or the third?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Is it the Bradbury, of Blade Runner fame? (Don't know what else it's been in.)

Randy said...

Bradbury Building

chuck b. said...

"But even Prof. Althouse couldn't have penetrated that exclusive place."

Not so. We stay there from time to time (next in October), and are in no way exclusive.

Ann Althouse said...

Funny that the hardest question got answered first.

Good work, Paul and Randy.

And UWS guy.

Randy said...

Have been there many times. The first time, my grandmother took us there, to the very top of LA City Hall, up and down Angel's Flight, and around Bunker Hill, which still had a few grand Victorians standing.

blake said...

Damn East Coasters. The Bradbury building, famous from Blade Runner, of course. Had forgotten it was in "Wolf".

I think they used it for the credits of Ray Bradbury's show. And, of course, it was in the original "DOA".

Randy said...

Double Indemnity anyone?

George M. Spencer said...

Demon With a Glass Hand

Someone's wiped my memories clean. And they track me down and try to kill me.

vbspurs said...

Good work, Paul and Randy.

And UWS guy.


Nicely done, chaps. And to think my next guess was the elevator where Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger had sex in "9 1/2 weeks".

(Randy, I thought of DI too!)

Cheers,
Victoria

Ann Althouse said...

Yeah, I was thinking of that elevator too.

(Man, what a ridiculous movie!)

Stupe said...

I'd be interested to know, does she like the city any better this time around, than in 1974 ?

Based on where you chose to spend your time, on this visit, it's hard to believe you'd find things more appealing.

Tastes change as you get older, though.

UWS guy said...

Beautiful building, I was 16 years old when I saw that movie and it's image has stayed with me to this day. I knew what movie it was the second you asked the question.

Ann Althouse said...

Stupe, you have to understand that what I like to do is -- in addition to seeing people I know -- photography. I loved going to the Bradbury Building -- and some other buildings. I loved Venice Beach and Melrose Avenue. These were even better for photography.

Aside from that, I got some excellent shopping done and went to some great restaurants.

I was fine. I chose not to do museums and not to go to the presidential libraries -- things I would have done if I was there longer.

What do you think I should have done? It's a city I wouldn't have visited at all if my son wasn't there.

Methadras said...

Michelle Pfeifer is the only redeeming quality in any picture and frankly anywhere in the world. I'm glad she exists and that she and my wife could practically be twin sisters. Thank you.

John Stodder said...

The Bradbury Building is a superb attraction for visitors. It is truly unique. It is the only building designed by its architect. I used to work there in the early 80s. I'd pull overnight shifts at City News Service, and watch the dawn light up the huge interior hall through the skylights. While it seems like a marvelous relic and it is, when it was designed in the 1890s, it was supposed to reflect a utopian vision for the year 2000, inspired by the then-popular book "Looking Backward, 2000-1887."

Mrs. Casilda Cuthbert said...

Son is very attuned to Mom, and knew exactly where to take her, in which to get some quirky, offbeat photos. He knows what she likes.

And yet..... there's the feeling that you didn't experience the very best of LA. Even on a short visit, there would still be that moment when ---Eureka !--- you know you're exactly right where you should be, you belong, and you've really experienced an extraordinary sense of place.

I don't get that from your the majority of your photos.

Although, The Lobster Restaurant comes close.

bearbee said...

Similar to the Arcade in downtown Cleveland built 1890:

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Wiki

Chet said...

I think some of the excitement is lost, due to the fact that these photos are being disseminated after the fact.

Maybe if they'd been posted, right at the time, there'd be a different feel.

Blogging something while it's happening, as opposed to looking back, really changes the mood.

ron st.amant said...

I didn't even have to watch the clip, I could tell it was 'Wolf' from the still.
My favorite scene is when Jack pees all over James Spader when he learns how two-faced (ooo subext) Spader's character has been.

blake said...

Akthouse--

Which movie is ridiculous? 9 1/2 weeks? Wolf? Blade Runner?

blake said...

Stodder--

I didn't know the Bradbury had a connection to Bellamy's work. Interesting.

Trendy.

Very fitting, indeed, come to think of it.

Ann Althouse said...

Blake, 9 1/2 Weeks, but now that you mention it, Wolf.

Blade Runner isn't ridiculous.

blake said...

I liked Nicholson's performance in "Wolf". I remember little else, except some surprise that it was Mike Nichols directing.

I liked Joe Cocker's version of "You Can Keep Your Hat On" in "9 1/2 Weeks".

I believe, ridiculous or not, it was a true story, though it must be confessed the woman didn't look anything like Kim Basinger.

And as long as I'm rambling, "Blade Runner" was part of the Ladd Company's apparent strategy of remaking old-style movies as sci-fi. Their previous film was "Outland", a remake of "High Noon".

The original "Blade Runner" was a '40s detective story/noir hash and can be considered fairly ridiculous.

Subsequent cuts produced the movie a lot of fans knew was there.

Scott and Ford still don't agree as to whether Deckard was a replicant.

(If Robert Osborne calls, tell him I'll call him back...)

vbspurs said...

I liked Joe Cocker's version of "You Can Keep Your Hat On" in "9 1/2 Weeks".

I once did that dance (with hat and his Armani jacket) for an ex-boyfriend, Joe Cocker crooning in the CD in the background.

It was a success.

Cheers,
Victoria

blake said...

Let it not be said, therefore, that the movie was a complete failure. You minx.

Also, it provided great comic fodder for the "Hot Shots" movies, as when Charlie Sheen melts ice on Valerie Golina's body, and then fries up some bacon and eggs.

walter neff said...

Double Indemnity anyone?

No, not again.

vbspurs said...

I feel someone should compose a poem about Ann's visit to LA.

blake said...

There once was a lawprof from Madison
Who went to L.A. where she had a son
The sights that she spied
Were all very fisheyed
And she didn't take one of Radisson

(See, this is why you always write limericks starting with the last line.)

(Also, it sounds like she gave birth here.)

(It's a work in progress.)

dick said...

I fin it fascinating that the old buildings hold up so much better than the new. Might have something to do with the varied textures they have.

Bearbee, the last time I was in Cleveland I stayed at that Hyatt Hotel in the building where the Arcade was. Fascinating design and great building. I loved it there and it was so convenient to all the good things downtown Cleveland has - and it has a lot. I had breakfast at a restaurant with the tables outside on the walkways. Nice to sit there with the light coming in from the roof windows.

It's Trixie ! said...

"What do you think I should have done?"

______________


Travel Town at Griffith Park; The Western Costume Company; Clifton's Brookdale (the Grotto); California Scenario (Costa Mesa); Music Man Mike's; The Bottle Containerization Plant (Photographed at sunrise, heading east on the 405); Katella Deli; Hollywood Park Racetrack and Turf Club; UCLA (Schoenberg Hall & Royce Hall--depending on who's playing); OC Fair; Santa Monica Farmers Market (free samples); Holmby Park (croquet); Buggy Whip; Hollywood Bowl; Mullhollund Drive; Bonaventure Hotel (top floor revolving restaurant); Biltmore Hotel lobby; Larchmont Village; Porter Ranch; etc etc etc

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Blake: Your limerick did the trick!

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
It's Trixie ! said...

Leo's are very bossy, and imperious. But, that's usually the Aug 14, 15 Leos like Madonna and Bill Clinton.

Geminis and Leos are a great match. Leo and Aquarius, Leo and Aries, Leo and Capricorn....are all good matches.

Pisces and Leo will kill each other. I don't think a Leo can have success with any of the water signs.

Unknown said...

Chinatown, of course!

Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown.

Inspektor Friedrich said...

You know, despite the model of Sir Archy's 18th century coffeehouse, Maxine and Co. have NOT been "shewn out of Doors."

No, despite Althouse's protestations, not one little bit. Exhibit 'A' is Mrs Casilda Cuthbert upthread, and Exhibit 'B' is Trixie here. Name is pretty obvious, no?

Probing, poking, testing. Same forumlas of words, same M.O. Same obsessive behavior.

All the regulars know this by now. And they all know to ignore it, generally. Then comes the zinger, and Althouse gets steamed and deletes it, and there's a brief stink, and then silence, and then....

bearbee said...

Dick said...

I fin it fascinating that the old buildings hold up so much better than the new. Might have something to do with the varied textures they have.

There is something fascinating about the old buildings.
If you have not had the opportunity, next time you are in Chicago check out The Rookery built 1886.

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Paul Sand said...

I was hoping for Murphy's Law, an old, bad, Charles Bronson movie. But I guess I'm the only one who saw that. IMDB lists 27 productions which I'll try to link here