Movies That Transport/Immerse You

[FestinaLente]

I watched Lost in Translation for the first time last night and was thinking how the shots of Tokyo drew me in and made me feel like I was there. From aeriel views of the city streets to interiors of karaoke bars to Mount Fuji in the distance, the film did a fantastic job of bringing a feel of the country to the screen and the viewer.

What other films have you found that do this rather well? I'm really interested in movies that bring life to a specific country or city in which they are set.

[peter008]

black rain

Under the tuscan sun

the quiet man

outsource (the movie)

the best exotic marigold hotel

blade runner

tron 1-2

lord of the rings

the matrix trilogy

[dallywhitty]

Blade Runner.

I'm ever so slightly biased because it's my all-time favourite, but my God, the atmosphere is incredible.

[PopcornBandit]

Came into this thread to mention Lost in Translation.

[Kleeberg]

Good Burger

[Abdrewes]

Isn't this another variation on the favorite films thread?

Anyways, I'll mention a few:

Magnolia
Mulholland Drive
Red Desert
Thin Red Line
Solaris
Miami Vice

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by FestinaLente

I watched Lost in Translation for the first time last night and was thinking how the shots of Tokyo drew me in and made me feel like I was there. From aeriel views of the city streets to interiors of karaoke bars to Mount Fuji in the distance, the film did a fantastic job of bringing a feel of the country to the screen and the viewer.

What other films have you found that do this rather well? I'm really interested in movies that bring life to a specific country or city in which they are set.

Never liked Lost in Translation myself, but I have this exact same feeling for Tokyo when watching Enter the Void.

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Isn't this another variation on the favorite films thread?

Anyways, I'll mention a few:

Magnolia
Mulholland Drive
Red Desert
Thin Red Line
Solaris
Miami Vice

It's more like "your favorite movies with your favorite places" type of thread.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Never liked Lost in Translation myself, but I have this exact same feeling for Tokyo when watching Enter the Void.



It's more like "your favorite movies with your favorite places" type of thread.

Good thing is all those films have great locations

[FestinaLente]

Originally Posted by PopcornBandit

Came into this thread to mention Lost in Translation.

Awesome!

Yeah, I thought this thread could be for films where the location/setting is portrayed vividly, not necessarily people's favorite films overall. Just to clarify. Some great ones that I want to revisit on here already.

[MifuneFan]

I know this is probably better for real world films, but The Lord of the Rings trilogy does this for me. I've very much absorbed into the world when watching them, and it takes me a while to get out of a Middle Earth mentality.

As for real life, I'd say:

City of God - for its particular portrayal of Brazil (though not a pretty picture of the city/life)
Frantic - I loved looking at the old look of Paris in this movie
Titanic - It really feels like I'm on the ship.

[Al_The_Strange]

Anyway, I get "transported" or "immersed" with the following:

Real places:
Apocalypse Now (the jungle)
Baraka (various)
Bringing Out the Dead (New York)
Cast Away (desert island)
City of God (Rio)
The Departed (Boston)
The original Dragon Tattoo trilogy (Sweden)
Enter the Void (Tokyo)
Gandhi (India)
The Grapes of Wrath (the Dustbowl)
Insomnia (Alaska)
Killer's Kiss (1950s New York)
Lawrence of Arabia (Arabia)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Cairo)
127 Hours (the desert / canyons)
Paris, Je T'amie (Paris)
The Place Beyond the Pines (Schenectady)
Road to Perdition (1920s cities)
Samsara (various)
Taxi Driver (New York)
The Third Man (1940s Vienna)
Tokyo! (Tokyo)
The Town (Charlestown)
Zodiac (San Francisco)

Fantasy worldbuilding:
Akira (NeoTokyo)
Avatar (Pandora)
Blade Runner (futuristic LA)
Brazil (dystopian future)
Book of Eli (post-apocalyptic wasteland)
Children of Men (dystopian future)
Cloud Atlas (various)
Conan the Barbarian (ancient times)
Dark Knight saga (Gotham City)
District 9 (alien refugee camp)
Dredd (Megacity 1)
Dune (Arrakis)
The Fifth Element (futuristic NY and Fohlston's Paradise)
The Hobbit / Lord of the Rings saga (Middle Earth)
I Am Legend (post-apocalyptic cityscape)
John Carter (Barsoom)
Logan's Run (utopian future)
Mad Max saga (post-apocalyptic wasteland)
The Matrix saga (The Matrix and the Real World)
Minority Report (futuristic cities)
Pacific Rim (futuristic Asia)
Sin City (duh, Sin City)
Any Star Trek film (futuristic Earth and galactic travel)
The Star Wars saga (a galaxy far far away)
Watchmen (alternate 1985)

Historic:
Apocalypto (ancient Maya)
Braveheart (medieval England / Scotland)
Gangs of New York (1800s NY)
Gladiator (ancient Rome)
Hero (ancient China)
Kingdom of Heaven (medieval Middle-East)
The Last Temptation of Christ (ancient Jerusalem)
The Passion of the Christ (ancient Jerusalem)
Red Cliff (ancient China)
Saving Private Ryan (D-Day invasion)
Sherlock Holmes I and II (1800s London)
The Ten Commandments (ancient Egypt)
300 (ancient Greece)
Troy (ancient Greece)

Other:
Beasts of the Southern Wild (wherever it's supposed to be)
The Machinist (who knows?)

[Visco.]

A clockwork Orange
Drive
The Thin Red Line
Donnie Darko
Pulp Fiction
Enter The Void
The Grey

To name a few..

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Visco.

A clockwork Orange
Drive
Donnie Darko
Pulp Fiction

Sweet! I almost listed those.

[Zivouhr]

Good thread.

Pretty much any entertaining or enlightening movie I watch transports me into that world for that length of time, to the point I forget about everything else. Movies are probably one of the best escapes from the monotony of daily life IMO.

Most recently, on XD3D, Pacific Rim warped me in as if I was right there. Lots of fun. Del Toro is a great visual director and artist having also enjoyed his other films.

On a more serious level, movies like Glengary Glen Ross can do the same, as it shows the struggle of real estate salesmen and their efforts to keep their job, and win a set of steak knives. (Al Pacino, Jonathan Price, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, etc). Great movie.

[pitmosher]

BLACK HAWK DOWN

And

Amadeus

[The Great Owl]

The Night of the Hunter
Army of Shadows
Sweet Smell of Success
The Grey
M
Rescue Dawn
The Thin Red Line
Rosemary's Baby
Onibaba
The Shining
The Way Back

[Fightertown]

[Visco.]

If you changed the title to "transcend you" it would make a much more interesting topic.

[HD Canuck]

Blade Runner
Das Boot
Dark City
TRON Legacy
The Goonies

[Galactus]

lord of the rings