5 emblematic doors you know from film and TV
Ever since sitcom’s early days in the 50s, doors have been used to influence viewers, boosting dramatic effect. When one door is open, the spectator moves from one scene to the next. This is a transition that in may require a change of stage and different lighting in theatre. The echo of the slammed door evokes a sense of anger and drama, while the rattling lock and the creaking, slowly opening door increase the viewer’s tension and fear. At first glance, elementary techniques are used in cinema and television, but with great success.
When we talk about some of our favorite TV shows and movies, we often associate the doors with certain scenes and characters. The doors often appear in the final captions of the films – closed. Thus, they give a strong visual feeling to the viewer that the storyline is coming to an end. A clear example of this is the last episode of the hit series “Friends”, in which the last frame is the iconic purple door of Monica’s apartment, but this time closed.
And so, doors, although seemingly a negligible element, have become quite important to storytelling in movies. Case in point are the following 5 examples. Enjoy!
#5 The doors in Monsters Inc.
Doors are rarely used in film and television as a major part of the storyline. There are exceptions, though, one of which is the animated film by Pixar – “Monsters Inc.” In the world of monsters, doors are used as a portal to our world – the world of humans. Monsters go through different doors to sneak in and scare the children while they sleep.
The plot of the first film revolves around the two main characters – Mike and Sully, who try to return little Boo to her room through her door. Curiously, all the doors to the children’s rooms in the film are made of wood, except for the doors that are used to drive out the monsters in exile, which are metal.
#4 Carrie Bradshaw’s door
With 94 episodes and 2 feature films, “Sex and the City” was a real phenomenon in modern television. Thus, the apartment of the main character – Carrie, and the large wooden doors at the entrance to the building have become an iconic place that viewers easily recognize.
#3 The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets
One of the most beautiful doors in the series for the boy wizard, and in the whole film genre, is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The door to the hidden underground room below Hogwarts can only be opened by those who speak Parseltongue – the language of serpents. The door itself is round and made of solid iron, and the locking mechanism is a snake that circulates around the periphery of the door. And for all the Harry Potter fans, the door can be seen at the Warner Brothers film studio in London, a great treat by the way.
#2 The round hobbit doors
Under number two on our list we have the quirky round doors of the homes of the hobbits from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”. The memorable round doors have already been included in another of our lists – the most famous doors in the world. But the current list cannot be complete if the round doors are not on here as well.
The village of Hobbiton – the home of the hobbits from the hit trilogy, which has a bunch of Oscars to its name – is a very real place you can visit as well. It is located in New Zealand and annually attracts thousands of tourists from around the globe. After filming “The Hobbit” was complete, a decision was made to preserve the entire village, instead of tearing it all down, as was done after “The Lord of the Rings”, so now one could go there and be part of Tolkein’s magical world at least for a little while.
#1 The purple door from “Friends”
Recently, the popular streaming platform Netflix paid an incredible $100 million to retain the rights to the cult series “Friends”. Undoubtedly, the decision took into account the uniquely high interest in the show. Thus, given the numerous fans of the series, quite logically at the top of the rankings remains the purple door, which we mentioned at the very beginning.
The purple front door of Monica’s apartment is something that every fan of the American series remembers with nostalgia. Interestingly, in the first season the purple door had a number 5 on it, but it was later decided for the apartment number to be changed to 20. Another small detail that makes a big impression on viewers is the interesting frame that surrounds the door spy. How did the frame get there? Completely by accident, actually. During the construction of the set, one of the crew members broke a mirror that was standing in the very frame. Left empty, the frame was placed on the door, making it the most memorable door of cinema and television.
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