Dream Home (No Josie Ho)

What with it being the summer holidays, here are a few real-life cribs, flung far and wide, featured in film and television which I wouldn't mind visiting for a cool getaway:

Xanadu, Calpe, Alicante, Spain

Designed by the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, this post-modernist building overlooking the mediterranean sea really left a wish you were here impression on me once I discovered it in Jesús Franco's She Killed in Ecstasy (1971). The scenes of cult siren Soledad Miranda descending down the stone stairs is like an iconic moment of euro cinema for me. Xanadu was featured in another Uncle Jess film, Countess Perverse (1974), considered a lost film until the last decade or so. It's also right next to another amazing Bofill creation, La Muralla Roja. 

Chemosphere, Los Angeles, California, USA

You might remember it as the reclusive Willard Whyte's house from Diamonds Are Forever (1971) where James Bond gets mullered by Bambi and Thumper, but for this film aficionado, it's forever embedded in my mind as that other wordly looking crib Craig Wasson was temporary shacked up in where he spied upon Deborah Shelton in Brian De Palma's Body Double (1984). If it wasn't partially stuck into the side of a mountain you could imagine it flying off into outer space. 

Casa Papanice, Rome, Italy

 

Also known as that funky residence from Sergio Martino's classic giallo, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971). Dada Debaser would loved to tell you, dear reader, that he's a big fan of this wacky abode because it encapsulates post-moderninity and the the creative spirit of the late sxities/early seventies, but, truthfully, it's because giallo queen Edwige Fenech gets her kit off in it. Casa Papanice was also featured in another giallo, Emilio Miraglia's The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972), which shouldn't be expanded upon, since Martin, the film's lothario, and house occupant, wears a skimpy dressing gown a la Del Boy, which barely covers his meat and two veg. This leaves a particularly depressing taint on an otherwise great film. There's a fascinating in-depth article by Rachael Nisbet over at her blog that's all about Casa Papanice which is highly recommended reading.

Haus zum Wulfisch, Freiberg, Germany

Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that perhaps one of the most beautiful films of all time, Suspira (1977) was mostly shot on a studio lot in Rome. That doesn't deter my appreciation for the actual exterior location, Haus zum Wulfish (House of the Whale), that was lovingly recreated as the dance academy for Dario Argento's seminal masterpiece. It does however make me wish the building was as grand as that represented in the film. It's still worth a visit as it's one of those rare perfect picture moments where rolling up to the actual building in torrential rain might actually be worth reactivating my old Facebook account, or whatever it's called now, and showing it off with pure pride.

Oakley Court, Berkshire, England

One of the greatest filming locations ever, in my opinion. Oakley Court has played host to some classic British films, a small selection of which are: Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly (1970); And Now the Screaming Starts (1973); Theatre of Blood (1973); and Daughters of Darkness (1974). With a resumé like that it might be worth checking in at this luxury hotel that costs a whopping £275 for one night.

Honourable Mentions:

Chania Lighthouse in Chania, Crete, Greece - where Zorba the Greek (1964) was partly filmed. Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, Oregon, USA - which served as the external shots for The Overlook Hotel from The Shining (1980); Portmeirion in Gwynedd, Wales - which was used as the external location shoot for The Village in the television series, The Prisoner (1966-1967); and Juvet Landscape Hotel, Alstad, Validal, Norway which served as the ill looking crib in Ex Machina (2014).

Realistically speaking, it's doubtful I'll ever get to visit all of these places, and much like that one time I went looking for that porn theatre off Piccadilly Circus from An American Werewolf in London (1981), which became a Bureau de Change, they might turn out to be major disappointments. In any case, a man can dream, though.