Monday 4 October 2021

Burnt orange till the end of time

I recently binge-watched the entire recent Marvel series Loki, and it is impressive. The storyline - typically for Marvel, given its long history of intelligent storytellng - is every bit as convoluted and extraordinary as one might expect, with a careful balance however between the cerebral and the dramatic fight scenes and special effects. The core actors (even Owen Wilson, who I have never liked in anything) give excellent performances. There's even an appearance from Richard E Grant! What's not to like?

However, what impressed me most was the sheer sumptuousness of the sets - in particular the wildly Retro-futurist Brazil-meets-Blade Runner-meets-Grand Budapest Hotel "look" of the sinister "Time Variance Authority" citadel...

...and the Art Deco-meets-neon alien worlds...

Just gorgeous!

Judge for yourself from the trailer:

8 comments:

  1. While I can appreciate the set for what it is and they did pull the look together very well, it happens to be my least favorite design aesthetic. As you might guess from my love of all things nature, the Arts and Crafts or Craftsman style is my number one favorite followed by Art Deco and our own local PNW architectural style of "Rustic Cotemporary" tends to blend the two styles together with varying degrees of Asian influences. I like my Asian influences on the fairly bold side of the spectrum.

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    1. Lordy! No, of course I wouldn't say "burnt orange, teak and concrete" would be my "favourite design aesthetic", either - but it's utterly perfect for the sort-of-Cold-War look that is necessary to portray the headquarters of a crypto-Fascist/Communist regime, as here. All the little nuances: the analogue technology and endless paper files, the Jetsons-era sci-fi, the annoying cartoon avatar, the sense that everything is just a bit run-down and in need of an overhaul - it all worked for me. Jx

      PS If I had the money and good fortune to do so, my home would be 100% Art Deco. We have quite a few items of that style already, but never enough...

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    2. Oh yes! When you put it that way, the set designs et all did do a fantastic job of portraying a Fascist regime. I just have such little tolerance for it that even watching in a world of fiction is unpalatable to me. I had always hoped as little time as possible would be spent at the headquarters. Perhaps I've gotten overly sensitive to it due to the current political climate here in the US.

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    3. It's fiction. Suspension of disbelief... Jx

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  2. Just not into superhero stuff... but, yes, the examples of the set design that you've shared? There's a lot to like. I love the first three examples and I wish they would have run that aesthetic through to the rest of the sets, but they seemed to move toward more classic sci fi tropes as the photos progress. I like the first three because they're so claustrophobic - very panic inducing - as the seventies were, indeed! Fun stuff.

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    1. The majority of the series revolves around those sets and that claustrophobic atmosphere. There's a smattering of "classic sci-fi", but it's not a dominating theme... Jx

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  3. I love ALL these styles - except some of the harsher Brutalist-like looks. And burnt orange is a favourite t-shirt colour of mine...

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    1. I never wear orange. Burnt or otherwise. According to some bullshit The Express made up - sorry, "experts" - it "doesn't photograph well". One never knows when the paparazzi may be waiting... Jx

      PS The set designers for this series deserve an award.

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