Top 10 of my favorite movie houses and homesMost of these movie houses and homes, have always stood out (for me that is), as either cozy or kind of exciting, like sometimes I would just watch the films on repeat, to soak up the atmosphere of the apartments and houses, and pretend how cool or nice it would be, to just be able of live there for a night or two.
Sure, I guess when I look at a few of these, now, instead of when I was a kid or much younger, sure, a few of the picks would probably not be all that "suitable" as a potential place to live, but in the films they do stand out, and I guess that is why I have decided to include them into my top 10 list:
The sewers in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)Why not? As a kid, I loved how much fun and exciting the sewers below Manhattan seemed like, both in the films, the comics and the cartoon tv show.
But the film really brought forward a certain charm and atmosphere, that I felt the others sometimes lacked, and where it seemed almost more nice to live below the city, rather than above.
Sure, when I got a bit older, and started realizing that the movie sewers is not exactly how the real deal would look or smell like, as they are instead anything close to cozy, but full of nasty things, such a terrible "air", raw sewage, rats, the size of cats, roaches, bugs and who the hell knows what else might crawling down there, right?
Anyway, as a kid, I only saw the cool and good parts, and that the turtles had their own living room, complete with tv, video player, video games,, ate junkfood, saw monster movies, had a workout gym, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and endless of miles of sewer pipes, which meant they could easily go from one place, towards another, with skateboards and other fast moving vehicles, which Donatello had made in his laboratory, yeah, that I forgot to bring up, their very own workshop place as well.
Another neat thing about living in the sewers, is that you most likely did not have to pay the rent, and of course it did help out, having a friendly human, close by, with April, who seemed to pay for a lot of their pizza, over the years. That bill must be quite impressive.
Also, living in the sewers, sure does keep those annoying salesmen away.
Sadly, thanks to the ruthless work of Oroku Saki or the Shredder, the turtles and their master Splinter, were forced out of their home, in the first film, but found another interesting new home, located down in an old subway or train stration, in the sequel.
Tom Hardy's houseboat in Striking Distance (1993)
I have always liked that houseboat. It looks comfy and cozy, also with a nice view over the city, and sure, it does help out, if you have yourself one hell of a speed racing boat, to bring you to wherever you might wanna go.
Only downer, is that beside having a rather neat bachelor apartment, you also have ex-girlfriends "dropping" by, all time, being dead, while floating around in the nearby water. Also, it sure does not help out much, having a few lunatics and screw ups relatives, lurking around, as well.
Wayne Manor in Batman Returns (1992)
Okay, so warm and cozy is maybe not the right way of describing Bruce Wayne and his enormous and gothic mansion, which kind of displays a more sad and lonely lifestyle, but of course fits right in, with how Tim Burton wanted his films to be or look like, and sums up Michael Keaton and his version of Bruce Wayne/Batman very well.
Anyway, a rather difficult choice, as almost every Batman film, came along with some very interesting, cool and impressive versions of the Wayne Manor, and I am not sure why I picked the one from Batman Returns, but I guess it might have to do with that we did not see too much of it, and I always wanted a bit more than what we got.
The Beast's, enchanted castle, in Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Maybe not another too "friendly" nor cozy place to live, at least not to start up with. However, this Disney animated castle, has to be one of my favorites, as there is just so much impressive work, in the details, lightning, colors and you notice something new, every time I see the film.
Sure, do one person really need all that room?
Well, I guess it is easy to forget that, well, one is really not all alone in that huge castle, and if you should suddenly get a visit from a cute lady, well, then you have quite a collection to show off with. With everything from an enormous library, huge elegant dance floor, art, a spectacular view, gigantic kitchen, and of course, a whole gallery of magical creatures, and if that does not impress your ladyfriend, then I guess nothing will.
Deckard's apartment in Blade Runner (1982)
Well, I could surely not forget about this one, even if I am not too comfortable with being far too high up from the ground.
But the apartment itself, is quite a sight, and where the attention towards details, light, design and which blends in the whole retro-futurism, makes it into an unforgettable movie home. And I am never tired of watching how much effort that must have went into making that place look so unique and where it feels like someone real, has been living for years.
The same house (which this apartment was set inside) would also show up in a whole bunch of other movies, but very few have made such a impressive imapct as Ridley Scott an his legendary Blade Runner.
The Griswald family house, in Christmas Vacation (1989)
While the other films in the popular Vacation franchise, was most of the time, on the road, the third and best (in my opinion), takes place at their home in the Chicago suburbs, and along with the Christmas atmosphere it has, always been one of my favorite movie homes.
It also brings forward memories from the chilhood, of the more hectic and stressful days, before the big day, where the kids would have huge expectation, and where the adults would try to get everything in order, due to their schedule, and where the teenagers only wants to be anywhere but home with their family.
Connor MacLeod's antique apartment/store, in Highlander (1986)
The combination of the antique shop in the basement, and the neat looking bachelor apartment above, makes Connor MacLeod's place, quite a cool movie home.
Sure, it does help that the owner is immortal (well, as long as he keeps his head), and has managed to do some nice business over sveral lifetimes, collecting a whole bunch of riches and priceless items, along the way.
The McCallister's house in Home Alone (1990)
Just the very thought, of having the entire house to yourself, only for a day. That was quite an exciting and interesting thought, for many kid back in the day, as usually there was always someone home, and not that easy to explore the place on your own, when being watched constantly by the elders, or your siblings.
I remember many of these little homely adventures, where I would all of a sudden "stumble" upon my mum's candy and cookie collection, that she had tried to hide, but could not fool me.
Sadly, it was not easy to lay the blame on someone else, when she found out that I had ate up all the cookies, but when I a few years later, got a kid brother, he took a bit of heat, but I guess my mum was not that convinced.
Well, I guess stealing cookies and candy was kind of harmless, but I had classmates, who found their father or older brothers porn collection, and that was quite something, else. Specially since the porn videos was not very well hidden.
Anyway, being all alone as a kid, in a big house, sounds fun, but could easily turn the other way around, as old houses has a certain way of making a bit of noise, and with a bit of imagination, it is suddenly not that fun after awhile, and one starts to miss your parents.
House in House (1986)I just had to include this one, where the haunted house might never really be "scary", but still come off as one of the more fun and exciting haunted house buildings and locations of the 70s and 80s.
A lot of crazy stuff takes place, and there is certainly a huge prize to pay for living there, with crazy old war "buddies" stopping by, sneaky neighbours or fans, but on the plus side, you do have some far more "interesting" female next door neighbours as well.
The Cherry Inn Bed and Breakfast in Groundhog Day (1993)
The final favorite movie house or home, well more like one of those I like to spend a few nights, and if I had happened to experience a similar Groundhog Day situation as Phil Connors, I guess there could have been way worse places to end up living at, for a small lifetime, of re-living the same day, over and and over again.
