Films Where the Props Were Better Than the Film Itself 

12 Angry Men is a fantastic limited set movie. Many gloss over it since its from 1957 and that is a shame. If you haven't I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Thank you for your thoughts Adam!

"Cube" HAS to be the answer for the best limited-set movie. Not the sequels or prequels, but the first film. There was one full 14'x14'x14' room built and one partial. A film made for $350k, and yet stands up even now, nearly 25 years later.

Looking over the comments so far I'm surprised there's no love for Das Boot as a limited set movie. Shot almost entirely in a full size replica of a Type VIIC U-boat where the director is said to have been so obsessed with detail that every screw had to be in the right place and of the right type as it would have been on a real sub.

The Animatrix is incredible. It's surprising to me how few people I know that have actually seen it.

One of my favorite limited set / "bottle episode" films is Moon, starring Sam Rockwell.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (starring Law, Jolie, Paltrow) was pretty inspiring from concept to set, given the narrow budget “passion project” flavor and the fact that the whole thing was shot in a small warehouse/garage, green screen top to bottom, stem to stern. Then fully visualized in post.

For my money, the best single set movie is 12 Angry Men. Not even close.

Elysium, movie was kind of not good but it had alot of cool stuff in it.

"Films Where the Design Was Better Than the Film Itself" There should be an award for films like this. We can all it the Jupiter Ascending Award.

Best limited set movie ever is The Cube. Fantastic horror IMHO and so well written in a bunch of quirky ways. Single small room, lighting to change rooms.

"12 Angry Men" is the obvious answer for the best limited set movie! But to name another great one, "Carnage" starring Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly is an awesome movie that takes place entirely in an apartment.

One of the best movies I've watched with Colin Farrell in it, is phone booth. Great actor.

Limited Set movie nomination: The Man from Earth (2007) - a one room cabin in the woods for 90%, then a brief shot just outside. Almost no action at all, and still tickled my brain more than most.

Watching movies in other languages is the best piece of advice I’ve ever heard.

Phone Booth and the original 12 Angry Men for limited sets. Excellent films.

Valerian and the city of a thousand planets. One of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen. Yet the story, plot and the acting is completely forgettable.

One other in the room movie is Alfred Hitchcock's "The Rope". It appears to be done all in one take, almost entirely in the one room of the apartment with a group of people coming in and out. it was not filmed in one take, but it is often studied for the way it is filmed. Hitchcock at one of his best and great actors.

Not a film, but the Eagle ships from "Space 1999" are one of my favorites even though the show itself was not a favorite of mine.

Animatrix - best of the whole set in my opinion. Watching authentic anime with subtitles instead of dubbing also gives you a more accurate translation of the writer's intended dialog, since they don't have to change the wording to sync up with the animated mouth movements. You get a closer peek to the societal norms and values instead of a corny & stilted spew of words with the best mouth shape. What's really fascinating is to watch one with both dubbing and subtitles, and experience how big the difference between the dubbed translation and the subtitle translation.

So just a heads up. Roger Ebert did not say “My Dinner with Andre” lacked genre. The quote is “Someone asked me the other day if I could name a movie that was entirely devoid of clichés. I thought for a moment, and then answered, My Dinner with Andre."

The movie questions rock. Unprepared answers beat scripted ones any day.

The original matrix had a ton of practical effects. I'm afraid the new one will just be completely shot on green screen.

Limited sets movie for me is Hitchcocks, Rope, closely followed by Rear Window.

Animatrix has parts in it that has entrenched itself into my soul. There is something horrible about the "killing" of the machines and the following machine war that has affected me more than any movie before or since. I've always been a fan of anime and have watched a lot of it over the years but The Animatrix will forever haunt me with the imagery and script.

Jupiter ascending is one of my guilty pleasures. It always reminds me of some of Terry Gilliams classics.

So excited to hear you talk about My Dinner with Andre! I saw it at a festival here in Australia back in the 80's, and have absolutely adored it ever since. So simple, but so engrossing! Oh, and my wife just reminded me of a wonderful Australian film from 1998 called The Interview starring Hugo Weaving which almost all takes place in a police interview room. Hugo Weaving is such a genius actor and this is one of his best performances.

What's YOUR favorite limited-set movie? Or suggestions of films in which you thought the props/design were better than the film itself? Thank you squallxgamer, EnigmaticPenguin and C2Lawson for your questions! Join this channel to support Tested and get access to perks like asking Adam questions: ru-vid.com/show-UCiDJtJKMICpb9B1qf7qjEOAjoin Use JOLLYGOOD to get 20% off everything in our online shop! Shop here: tested-store.com

Amazon Prime’s Tales from the Loop is the definition of design surpassing story. I found myself bored by almost every episode of pretty lackluster writing. But the visuals are enthralling

Best limited set movie.. I really like the second evil dead movie, although I'm sure there are alot of horror movies that could fall on this list. I'm also not sure if deadpool counts, but the constant cut back to the bridge scene takes up half the film and deadpool's apartment is also heavily featured. I'm sure the final battle was probably 90% on green screen so that film was probably just 3 sets... the bridge, his apartment, and the lab

Not a movie but the TV series 'Legion" had fantastic set design. I'd say better than the show itself.

My favorite limited set movie is Noises Off (1992), which is also one of my all time favorite movies. A hilarious (in my opinion, of course) film adaptation to the Broadway play within a play. It's got a great (and small) cast, Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Denholm Elliott, Nicollette Sheridan, Marilu Henner, Julie Hagerty and Mark Linn-Baker. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, it got panned at the time it came out, mostly cursed because the play itself was so successful, so the movie had the similar "book was better" stigma. It's a farce comedy, fast paced scenes from stage view and behind stage view. The actors ("real people") are performing a play called "Nothing On", which is some vaudeville-esque lame comedy play, but the movie jumps in at the general rehearsal, and you'll notice soon enough that everyone is ill prepared, they have lots of questions about the plot of the play and forgetting lines, etc. I won't spoil too much. But, i heard Marilu talk about it on a podcast with Gilbert Gottfried, and apparently some things happened on set which she rather not discuss, so i'm not sure what that is about, but i wonder if the actors dislike having done that movie. Which would be a shame, as i loved it since i first saw it as a 10 year old, and it's the movie i've watched most times in my life so far. My other favorite limited set movie, and again, probably my favorite movie so far, is Moon (2009), of course you know Moon, you know Sam Rockwell is a fellow San Franciscan, so i don't need to say more, aside from, i love the Alien inspired set, which immediately made me like the movie, but then the atmosphere and Sam blew me away.

Bladerunner is not perfect? Blasphemy!!! lol. I love this discussion. Thank you for your perspective Adam! My personal favorite notwithstanding.

And of course, the award for "Best (Single) Movie to Combine a Visually Stunning World, Set Design, and Script" has to go to 'The Fifth Element'.

Ghost in the Shell: Live Action, the art that went behind that movie was amazing but they took a terrible script written by someone who barely understood the original and shot it like a cheap sci-fi flick.

The new Matrix movie was being filmed right before covid, in the building opposite mine in SF. Was pretty cool watching the high wire work from the 41st floor bar.

This might sound odd, but watching Star Wars Episodes 2 and 3 with an entirely different plot via Auralnauts parodies rather than a different language made me appreciate them more than ever. The planets, ships, costumes, and even some camera shots are phenomenal when taken from a purely visual standpoint. It helps me understand why I enjoyed them so much and what created such a thriving community in the early 2000s and onward.

This is slightly tangential but what you said about theater being more transcendent than film because it begets a deeper emotional impactreally resonated with me. This is because I realized when you said it that's exactly how I feel about video games. In the same way being in the room invokes deeper feelings for you, actually being in control does for me.

Watching this after Matrix Regurgitations came out and listening to Adam's excitement feels so tragic.

Colin Farrell's rendering of "Coach" in Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen" is probably my favourite acting bit in that gem of a film, and that's against some very tough competition.

Dredd was mostly set in one place and is a phenomenal film.

I watched My dinner with Andre tonight for the first time based on this video. What a wild ride, I was not prepared for getting that philosophical on a casual Sunday night. 10/10 would recommend!

A really good "limited set" movie is Wait Until Dark (1967) with Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. Clearly developed from a stage play, it almost solely takes place in Susy's (Hepburn) apartment.

One could argue about that it was a bit corny in a few places , but, Derek Meddings made "Moonraker" an AMAZING film to look at. His models and techniques are holy grail-esque to me personally as a lifelong Bond fan. One in particular that makes me grin , is the practical use of a shaker of salt to simulate the Booster trail from the shuttle as it ascends to Space en route to Drax's Space-Station .

My favorite movie where the design is better than the movie - mortal engines. My personal head cannon is that the movie is secretly a high budget mechanicum (warhammer 40k) fan film.

Hehe. My uncle worked as one of the carpenters on the set of the Total Recall reboot. Apparently it was nicknamed ‘Total Re-Shoot’ on set.

I love the Animatrix collections, including the comics, which all enrich the world. It's been a while since I last read the comics. I still remember the feeling when first reading the 'glitch' in the Goliath short story. Made me pause and reread as it made me 'glitch'. (Hopefully no spoilers) Beyond is beautiful. Lovely pace and intriguing. Worldrecord has a great build up and a thoughtful end. Kid's Story has good energy. Second Renaissance I & II could be a prediction for IRL future if we lose control of our creations. Shows the lack of empathy computers have. Program and Final Flight of The Osiris look great as they follow characters who are well aware of the Matrix. Matriculated and A Detective Story are the weakest for me, but do have value in the collection.

For set design- the original Solaris by the Russian director Tarkovsky was a mind blowing viewing experience - the movie was almost 3 hours. And it dragged at times. But to see the Soviet era set design which took you to another place - a space station around another planet- was epic.

Hateful 8, great limited set movie. Stagecoach and a room, thats its and its so good

The Animatrix is so amazing, love that Adam loves it too. I am a Wachowskis fan to the core, I have accidentally watched one of their movies without knowing they made it and fell in love when other people hated it (Jupiter Ascending) and then when I realized they made it I was like "Yeah, figures." I definitely think the other 2 movies are weaker, but I still loved them so much more than everyone else. I ate it up.

Are you drinking Hoppe’s No. 9 gun cleaning solvent?

12 Angry Men, Rear Window, Clerks, Reservoir Dogs All fantastic uses of an extremely limited set.

Locke with Tom Hardy is a gem of a limited set movie.

Ad Astra. Awesome movie to watch visually but the plot falls short.

"You should make movies in a way so that the japanese audience don't need to read subtitles." I don't remember who said that, I think it was Coppola or George Lucas or someone of that group... well... The advice in this video is a fun reversal of that concept. To watch movies deliberately in a language you don't understand so that you are forced to pick up on nonverbal cues. And you are free to look at and enjoy the visual design unhindered. It's been a long while since I've seen Spirits Within... Maybe watching the the japanese dub will help things out.

Totally agree on Jupiter Rising. The visual design and aesthetic reminded me much of Fifth Element, another wild movie with gorgeous design. Whether or not either of those movies made complete sense and felt perfect, my eyes sure got their money's worth, and if I can get that much out of a movie, I'm happy. That is the whole point of seeing a movie versus watching it on TV. A big screen spectacle. Many movies don't understand this duty and really are just boring TV-worthy dull slapped on big screen. Anyway, I love watching movies in other languages. It ALWAYS makes the movie more interesting because your mind optimistically fills in details and fleshes out the plot you imagine is happening. Watching something in Japanese before I understood the language versus after, it is always better before when whole parts of the story were essentially missing. No problem. My brain filled them in. Not that it is BAD after understanding. Just different.

Greatest limited set movie of all time. The original “Twelve Angry Men”

The Cowboy Bebop live action. I loved the series but it doesn’t hold up compared to the anime. The set design and aesthetic were on point though.

I watched the Animatrix many, many times. Some awesome stuff in those shorts.

That's a brilliant take on the first two episodes of Star Wars. I totally agree, and I'll have to give a try, watching them with subtitles. I don't think I've seen the second episode, even a second time...

It’s been such a long time from the first matrix movie that I’m sure seeing the latest and greatest will bring back the WOW factor!

I am SO glad you mentioned The Animatrix, it is such a great piece of the series.

Lifeboat from 1944 is my favorite limited set film. One scene, 10 people, one lifeboat, 1 hour 37 minutes

Another huge fan of The Animatrix here! Great stuff!

My favorite limited set, great concept is "Lo". The idea could be turned into an epic movie Divine Comedy inspired film.

recently i watched prospect, I'm sure with your love of space and space suits you will have seen it too. i thought visually it was fantastic and very immersive. and of course the space suits and props were amazing too.

I loved the first Matrix and Animatrix, and Cloud Atlas is a deeply underappreciated gem.

The booth at the end was a brilliant one set show at a diner

My personal take on the Matrix is based on agent Smiths explanation, that previous incarnations of the Matrix were too perfect and the human mind rejected them as false, so they made it grungier. following this logic, if you had people rejecting the new 'grungy' matrix (like Neo and the others), the best thing to do would be shunt them into an even grungier program called 'Zion' ... that's why Neo still had 'powers' outside of the Matrix - because he never really left, he just got moved into another program. Plus Neo was never 'The One' (ie. the bug in the program) Agent Smith was. He's the only one who's actually a software part of the program who started acting erratically and crashed the system as a result. The real 'Real world' is an Eden. the war with machines ended millennia ago. the machines all retreated to artificial realities leaving automated systems tending the human crops. If humans ever actually break out of the Matrix they'll just find a jungle world waiting for them, and defeating the AI will be as simple as pulling the plug.

Great advice about the other languages, I'll start doing that. Also, thanks to your take on Colin Ferrell and Total Recall, I'm going to watch it. I've always written it off as just a bad cash grab and maybe that wasn't the right call.

I watched Attack of the Clones on the Spanish HBO channel back in like 2003, it was way better when I couldn’t understand a word.

The Sunset Limited is my pick for greatest single location film. Absolutely amazing film with two powerhouse actors working together with no egos.

My favorite single set film would have to be Cube (1997). Brilliant use of the same set for dozens of different locations.

A friend had recommended "The Booth At The End" as a good limited set television show. Only takes place in a diner, but you seem to remember some of the stories as if they were filmed. I also like Timothy Omundson's short "The End" as well. One guy talking to himself for a few minutes.

Limited sets movie - Final Approach. An absolute little gem of a movie. Mostly one room (with a couple of flashback cutaways) two main actors for the vast majority of it. Just a great watch.

my favorite way to find movies who had better design than plot is to see character designs last as people still make costumes, even if they themselves don't care for the movie or franchise deeply. I think this applies to newt scamander and jack frost, both of whom don't come from bad movies, those movies had their days in the sun. However I think people still dress up because the design for both characters is so electric and enjoyable. I've only seen fantastic beasts once, I would still dress up as newt.

Colin Farrell, "!n Bruges" 10/10

Seen My Dinner with Andre several times. It got me into Erik Satie. Some of the stories seem to be based on real people, but the names are different, and characters might be based on several people. Or so I remember..

There is a device that was used in a *lot* of sci-fi movies and series. It looks like a weird double lathe and has a few red "laser" beams in each of them, which can be lit alternatively. It always looks very important.

I've worked on many TV shows who put so much work into the set and costumes that went unappreciated because it got cut from the final film. I did this one western, casting and costumes had done such an amazing job with all the background. Everyone looked like they had their own story. and 90% of it got cut. That's just the way it is sometimes.

One of my favorite limited set films is a French film called “What's in a Name?” ( Le Prénom). Takes place in a tiny Parisian flat during a dinner party. Very good IMO.

Stalag 17 (1953) had fantastic movie, limited set(?) Maybe, I dunno, it kind of is. 3 rooms and an outdoors area? Just so brilliant. Had grit and comedy. Every time I see it I feel just great. Brings back memories of laughing while watching it with my dad, and also being on edge during the big reveals in the story!

I wonder what Adam would say in response to the Big Bang Theory's synopsis of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Found in the wikipedia of My Dinner With Andre: > Although the film was based on events in the actors' lives, Shawn and Gregory denied (in an interview by film critic Roger Ebert) that they were playing themselves. They said that if they remade the film, they would swap the two characters to prove their point.

There was a Total Recall 2070 TV series that felt more like Blade Runner than Total Recall. While it does have a TV budget, it was still quite interesting.

Glad to see somebody else nerding out about the Animatrix, incredible storytelling that really fleshes out that whole world. Gonna go see the new movie tomorrow.

Great limited set film is Rear Window by Hitchcock

I’m sure it’s been said in the comments but Tarrantino has been great in limited set movies. Reservoir Dogs takes place mainly in one room as does the hateful eight

Speaking of Blade Runner universe, if you play games you HAVE to play The Ascent on XBox and PC. I've never heard of the studio who made it before, and don't know how big they are, but they have crammed SO much detail into a superbly designed and beautiful game. A must play if you're a fan of that type of aesthetic.

I love the idea that finding ways to enjoy movies is a skill, and that it's a skill worth pursuing. Enjoying "bad" films does not mean you suddenly can't enjoy the best films. It just means you get more enjoyment out of life. You get to enjoy more of your time here on this ball of mud and dust. Isn't that a good thing? I'm amazed some people seem to take the opposite view; that the best you can aspire to as a movie watcher is to be as critical as possible, to be as negative as possible, to find ways to point out as many problems as possible. I mean, anyone can see and point out movie flaws. That's not hard, that's not "being good at watching movies". Focusing on the flaws just makes you enlarge them in your mind, allowing them to eclipse the good parts. Personally, I consider Jupiter Ascending to be one of my all-time favorite films. Yes, I am aware of its flaws. I just choose to not be annoyed by them, because it's a beautiful, weird movie and I get more out of loving it than I would hating it.

Hitchcock's Rope is one of my favorite limited set movies.

~0:24 - Glad someone said it!

I loved Jupiter Ascending! Some of the prosthetic work could have been better but what a great movie. It does borrow heavily from the chronicles of amber.

I didn't know Jupiter Ascending was a Wachoski Brothers movie... that was one of my favorite epic sci-fi movies!

Limited set movie recommendation 'Locke'. Man driving to work in his car while his life falls apart in a series of phone conversations. I think it was originally a radio drama but Tom Hardy brings enough acting heft to make it work as a film. The lighting really stood out to me as well, really clever use of a limited palette. Not necessarily The Best (TM) but definitely worth a watch.

My favorite limited sets movie is Spalding Gray's "Swimming to Cambodia". Humor and drama with one man sitting at a desk with some maps behind him. Directed by Jonathan Demme.

Mortal Engines is a movie I personally don't care for, I don't hate it but its just whatever. However I LOVE so much of the design of that movie.

Super late to the party on this! But my uncle was one of the carpenters on set for the Total Recall remake. I think he worked on a room that had tons of green pillars in it (I’ve never seen the movie, it’s not my thing). Apparently it was nicknamed Total Re-Shoot by everyone who worked on it.

The 2 rollers really cracked me up!

This may be a controversial take, but I thought The Green Knight was a confusing and poorly executed movie that was trying too hard to be deep, but the VISUALS, from costuming to cinematography, were breathtaking and the only thing that kept me in my seat

I think one of the kings of limited set movies has to be Cube. I'm sure it's already been mentioned but two identical rooms and some lighting gels and boom, movie. I was fascinated by how minimalist that movie was.