Formal Film Study: Movies Filmed/Set in Chicago

Films Set/Filmed in Chicago

For my Formal Film Study, I chose to study movies that were filmed in the beautiful city of Chicago. From many to pick from I went with The Dark Knight (2008), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1985), and Home Alone (1990). I chose these three films specifically because they all show a lot of the setting throughout the film and highlight the city of Chicago.

The first film I watched was Ferris Bueller's Day Off. This movie has always been one of my favorites. I am a big fan of movies that were made in 1980s because so many iconic movies were filmed in that decade like this one and another one of my favorites, The Breakfast Club. If you haven't seen this movie before, basically, it's about a high school senior who is determined to have a day off from school because it is such a beautiful day and he does not want to be stuck in school. I know the feeling. Ferris and his friends head downtown after they ditch out on school. There is also a few scenes where Ferris is singing on a float during a parade on the streets of Chicago. The director of the film, John Hughes, wrote the screenplay in less than a week and shot the film on a budget of $5.8 million over a span of 3 months. This film features many famous Chicago landmarks including the Sears Tower and the Art Institute of Chicago. The film was said to be Hughes' "love letter to the city." Hughes stated, "I really wanted to capture as much of Chicago as I could. Not just in the architecture and landscape, but the spirit."

The second film that I watched was The Dark Knight. I also think very highly of this movie. It is definitely one worth watching. The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago, as well as in several other locations in the United States, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. After doing some background research on this movie, I found out that Warner Brothers Studio chose to film in Chicago for 13 weeks, because Nolan had a "truly remarkable experience" filming part of Batman Begins there. Unlike Batman Begins, scenes of this movie were shot in a way that sort of "disguises" Chicago. Many recognizable locations were used in the film, such as the Sears Tower, Navy Pier, 330 North Wabash, the James R. Thompson Center, Trump International Hotel and Tower, LaSalle Street, The Berghoff, Randolph Street Station, and Hotel 71. Brach's factory was used as Gotham Hospital. The Van Buren Street post office doubles as Gotham National Bank for the opening bank robbery. Several sequences, including one car chase, were shot on the lower level of Wacker Drive. The Marina City towers also appear in the background throughout the movie. The difference between this film and Ferris Bueller's Day Off is that this movie "disguises" Chicago because they are really trying to show a made up city named "Gotham" and in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, they are trying to show off the city.

The final movie I chose was Home Alone. Everyone has seen this movie (at least I hope so), it's a classic. The film stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, a boy who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation. Kevin initially loves being home alone, but soon has to defend his house from two local burglars. Home Alone was set and mostly shot in the greater Chicago area. The airport scenes were filmed in one part of O'Hare International Airport which is so cool to me. The scene where Kevin is in the flooded basement when trying to outsmart the burglars was shot in the swimming pool of New Trier High School. Unlike The Dark Knight, the viewers know that the setting of this movie is the suburbs of Chicago because it is blatantly mentioned in many scenes. 

MYST POST #3: 8 Mile

This movie is a must see for everyone. I definitely have a bias because I love Eminem and all of his music. I think it's crucial to be a fan of Eminem to really get something out of this movie. Even if you don't like Eminem, it's worth seeing because he grew up in such bad conditions but was able to overcome all of those and come out on top. 

This film, directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Scott Silver, came out in November of 2002. Although the acting could be better, the message is still present. Whether or not this story is completely based off of Eminem's real life I am not sure, but I know most of it. He grew up in the ghettos of Detroit, had no dad, an abusive mother, and he expressed himself through rap music. But there is so much more to it than that.

"Since his ascension to pop-culture royalty, Eminem has transformed the messy emotions of his life into musical black comedy. In 8 Mile, that life becomes an equally riveting drama." -Nathan Rabin

"8 Mile wins because it doesn't try to impress you with mega-stars and made-up stories. Instead, it tells a simple story of trial, error and triumph." -Khary Kimani Turner

My favorite scene from this film is definitely the final rap battle. Eminem had been struggling to find his voice throughout the movie and finally he comes out on top. Earlier in the film, he left the stage in the middle of the battle because he just gave up, but not this time. The battle scene concept was developed after director Curtis Hanson decided he might want to use the riff footage as part of a silent montage in the film. Since Eminem was losing his voice and his words weren’t going to be heard anyway, this literally worked out, and he asked the MC to mimic his portion of the battle. Further along in the scenes, viewers will get to witness Eminem rapping his little heart out.

This film is rated R and rightfully so because it has VERY strong language and gang/drug references so obviously don't watch this one with your parents.

MYST POST #2: Billy Madison

I have seen this movie about 47564377483 times and it never gets old. Adam Sandler stars in Billy Madison, a story about a spoiled rich kid who spends his days drinking and partying. When his father becomes fed up with him, he issues him an ultimatum. Since Billy passed all his schooling thanks to his father's influence and bribes, he must retake and pass every grade in 24 weeks. Otherwise, the business will be turned over to his father's annoying associate.

If you have never seen this movie, you are really missing out. I have never been much of a fan of slapstick comedy, which this movie is a mostly compromised of. This is one of Adam Sandler's first movies, and it's one of his best also. This is good to watch when you're in a bad mood, or if you're stressed out, because it will perk you up quicker than any coffee you can name.

Each time I watch Billy Madison, I focus on a new scene. For this post I decided to pick one of my favorite scenes. It's the scene where "Billy pees his pants."

(Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRpouK0KmWQ#action=share)

 

One of the students Billy has been in school with pees his pants on a school field trip and Billy, being the kind hearted guy that he is, decides to poor water on his pants and tell everyone that he peed his pants too to help make the kid feel better. He told all the students in the class that "You're not cool unless you pee your pants." I really like this scene because Billy is embarrassing himself in order to make one of his new friends feel better. You can't help but praise Billy for this. 

Overall, Billy Madison has a somewhat stupid sense of humor, but it does make you laugh, and it's such an entertaining movie. If you haven't seen this yet, see it now and see what it is all about.