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Taliesin-West

This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Audio/Visual: sound, color

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Reviewer: Spuzz - - December 22, 2008
Subject: mmm...
I'm not a big architecture fan, so the building, the music and the narration didnt really interest me. Lovely scenery though. I'd stay away if architecture's not your bag.

Reviewer: Classic_TV_and_Radio_Fan - - October 16, 2008
Subject: THIS FILM RULES!!
I love you Rick, these old vintage films are great for stock footage! I'm planning to use this footage later in a YouTube video, I promise to give you credit when I finish it!

Reviewer: jgruszynski - - September 14, 2008
Subject: Surprising in 1940, common place now
The narration at the beginning is a little over the top but one can understand given Wright's stature and fame.

Though the camera work is "primitive" by some modern standards, many of the camera tricks so common today were invented long after this film was made.

If you visit Phoenix, Arizona today you are likely to see hundreds, if not thousands, of buildings that look just like Taliesin-West. Hotels like "The Buttes" have an strong resemblance. This is not a coincidence: Taliesin-West was a training ground for a generation (or two) of American architects.

What is significant here is that back when this film was made, typical desert architecture was more likely to be the quonset hut or a transplanted East Coast or Midwest building style deriving long established patterns. The style of Taliesin-West was far more unusual and surprising in its day and seems less profound because of the universal adoption of some many design themes embodied in the site. This film should be viewed in that context.

Reviewer: Scribble - - September 12, 2008
Subject: Shakey but important
This film about Frank Lloyd Wright's Arizona desert retreat/school/cult-like commune features some pretty bad camera-work and no shots of the interiors, but is historically important, a real treat for architecture geeks like me!